What are your most exciting experiences as a father?
It’s been exciting, amazing, sacrificial and most inspiring, especially when you have children who look exactly like their DAD……Having to bathe them, change diapers, prepare them for school while my wife cooks, having to hear them pray, having them jump on you while playing, having to scold them for their youthful exuberance, having to see them demonstrate great intelligence and brilliance at school work and life events in general! My experience as a father has been most exciting and blessed, to say the least.
What’s one thing your parents told you growing up that turned out to be true?
Your secondary education is a great foundation for the remaining part of your career. We are Levites in our family. We serve God!!
What were your most traumatic experiences as a new father?
Well, one of such experiences was the night when our daughter got sick in the night and started running a fever (her temperature could boil banana…smiles) that made her completely restless. Mehn, it was prayer that kept us. As soon as it was 5 am, we rushed her straight to the hospital and God took control, but it was really a traumatic experience.
How do you balance work and supporting your new family?
I try to create time for everyone and focus on each person at their own time. So, when I am at work, I am at work. When I am at home, I am at home.
When it comes to raising a child, what’s the best advice you’ve ever received and how do you apply or plan to apply that to raising your baby?
Give your children the best education. I am a product of my parents giving me the best education and sacrificing a lot for me. I practically saw my Dad sell assets several times to pay our school fees, all because he wanted the best for us, my mum had to resign from her job as a teacher to start a business that gave her the time she needed to raise her children. Some time ago, my family gifted my parents a vehicle just as a token of appreciation for the best education given to us.
This is one of the reasons why I prayed to God to never be in the situation of owing my children’s school fees for a day, and no amount would be too much to afford to give them the best.
We have also opened a Heritage Trust for our children with the sum of N300k and hope to increase it as time goes on to take care of their educational needs.
What’s one piece of practical advice you wish you knew sooner?
Education and childcare are expensive. I would have been saving for it since secondary school!
