Zacch Adelabu Adedeji, chairman of the National Sugar Development Council, NSDC, has revealed how as a kid, he started taking on responsibilities meant for adults.
The former finance commissioner in the administration of late former governor Abiola Ajimobi made this known in a recent interview to mark his 45th birthday.
According to the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife trained accountant, age has never limited his achievements.
Hear him: “Well, it’s humbling and I thank God for the privilege to contribute to President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. I consider this a rare privilege and honour I’ll never take for granted. My bosses that are the Ministers in charge of our parent Ministry have made my job a lot easier for me. I see them as exemplary role models who go every step of the way to ensure that their subordinates succeed in their assigned tasks. I’ve enjoyed good and harmonious working relationship with them, including members of my management team at the National Sugar Development Council. Indeed, it’s been very rewarding contributing to efforts aimed at revamping the nation’s sugar sector.
“But age has never really been a limiting factor for me. I started taking on adult responsibilities when I was a kid growing up in a village called Iwo-Ate, in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, following my father to the farm, working from dawn to dusk so as to make ends meet. I was fresh out of school (the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife), just in my early 20s, when I started working at Procter and Gamble. Before I turned 30, I was operating at very senior levels, negotiating with, and advising multinationals, and managing multi-million-dollar projects. By 33, I was made the Commissioner of Finance in Oyo State. In 2017, when I was 39 years old, I was appointed chairman of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, ATBU, Teaching Hospital, Bauchi. So, I will attribute wherever I am today to God and hard work. To the glory of God, I’ve had the privilege of serving and offering myself for service right from my teenage years. I was the Senior Prefect in primary school, Senior prefect in my secondary and I also became a Chartered Accountant during my undergraduate days in Obafemi Awolowo University. So, I’m not new to public office so to say. By God’s mercy and divine arrangements, I’ve always topped my class right from my primary school days. So, graduating with a First Class degree in Accounting from the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife perhaps the icing on the cake for me. Like I mentioned earlier, it is only God alone who made these feats possible. By strength shall no man prevail. I give God all the glory for where He brought me from, where I am today and where He’s taking me to in the future.
“I want to use this medium to appeal to our youths, especially as we approach the election season to shun practices that are capable of destroying them. Politicians across party lines would approach you guys with very tempting offers which at best won’t fetch you anything good than momentary satisfaction. Learn to say no to their offers. Never allow any selfish politician to use you to achieve their inordinate ambition. See yourself as a key player in the quest to build the Nigeria of our collective dreams and aspirations. Violence and civil disorder won’t fetch you anything, rather it will expose you do more dangers,” the Iwo Ate-born chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, added.
