Dr. Peter Obafemi was born into the strong Christian family of Mr. and Mrs. Obafemi Ogunlaye in the little town of Ikole-Ekiti on August 5. His dad was a railway worker and he spent part of his growing up years in Port Harcourt.
The doggedness which is intrinsic in all Ekiti and a personal desire to throw off the restraints of his environment crystallized when he was able to obtain a student visa to study Cinematography and Film Production in Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois in 1980. He attended the New York University Summer Film Production program in the summer of 1981. He later on moved to Essex County College, Newark, New Jersey, where he specialized in Cinematography and Television Productions between 1982 and 1984. As a student he was the resident videographer for the Nigerian Consulate in New York for each of President Shehu Shagari’s visits to New York. The young cineaste went on to produce many documentaries and features films including that of President Shehu Shagari entitled President and Power in Nigeria. He later obtained his BA from Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey in 1986.
Young Peter Obafemi’s business skills were honed very early in life. He went through a variety of business projects, acquiring shareholding very rapidly. He started his first business enterprise in 1985, named Budget TV and Appliances Rental Service Store on Central Avenue in East Orange, New Jersey and was a consultant in the opening of Heritage Spas on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, NY which became the place of choice for discerning customers. It is also on record that between 1985 and 1988, he owned one of the largest Western Union franchises in the state of New Jersey.
It was in recognition of his varied contributions that, Peter Obafemi was appointed to the Mayor’s Economic Council in East Orange.
In 1997, Obafemi was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree and given a Pastoral licence by the World Christianship Ministry Training Center, Fresno, California. From this point onward, Peter threw himself into the Lord’s work and won many souls for Christ. His propensity for doing God’s work had drawn him into the study of evangelism at the Billy Graham School of Evangelism, Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1996. This naturally led him on to the Billy Graham Advanced School of Evangelism, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois in 1998. Peter served God as the pastor of Seal of Life Christian Center, Norcross, Georgia from 1990 to 1999.
The man who had made the impossible possible; when he opened the route, Lagos- Atlanta direct flight possible with his Ritetime/ World Airways is also nursing the ambition of contesting for the number one position in Ekiti come next year spoke with The Octopus (www.theoctopusnews.com) on his ambition, plans for Ekiti State, his businesses and his love life.
Sir, another election is coming in your state, Ekiti, how are you preparing toward this?
Yes, but one thing I would tell you is that we are not doing election in 2015 in Ekiti but 2014, October 15 is the handing over date in Ekiti. We are preparing and we are trying our best to represent our dear party People Democratic Party at the governorship election.
You also tried your hands in the last election but failed, but right now what are you doing in 2014 that would be different with what you did in 2011?
In Ekiti state 2011 election was never held, what happened in 2010 was the spilt over election in 2006 primary and the election was held in 2007 and they gave the election to Oni and A.C.N went to the tribunal and won. The tribunal said Fayemi was the rightful winner of that election; but it wasn’t so, because if you look at that election, the re-run, the tribunal said they should not give Ido-Osi local government to PDP and everybody knows that Ido-Osi is primarily PDP strong-hold and the Court of Appeal knows that the Oni comes from that area. That was how they muddled up that result and gave it to A.C.N, the election was actually won by Oni, but you see the court has ruled. Oni had few months to complete his tenure then before Justice Salami ruling, so everybody went back to the drawing board. But I tell you by the grace of God I am going to be next governor of Ekiti State come 2014.
What give the impression that there is vacancy in the government house of Ekiti State?
That is what they say, no vacancy everywhere. Anyway, there was no vacancy when Governor Fayemi tried it in 2007 and won. There is the same way we are going to try under the umbrella of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). We are going to display what we have and tell Ekiti people who we are.
Politics has become highly capital intensive, how do you intend to raise fund for your campaign?
Not only that I can raise fund myself. I have friends and I have business associates who believe in my dream and are ready to go all out for me. So raising fund is not an issue for us.
There are other strong contenders in your party in Ekiti State, what gives you the impression that you will breakthrough?
There are primaries in my party, we are going through the primaries and whoever win the primary will get the ticket of the party. We are all equal in the party nobody is bigger than any other contestant in my own party.
Nigeria’s politics is famous for its godfatherism; do you have any god father somewhere?
Yes, the almighty God in heaven is my god father; that it is why we call Him God the father. Have I answered your question?
What is the main thrust of your campaign, how do you intend to make sure that your own administration is different if you get into power?
Our administration is not going to about fack and jack, our administration is going to improve the lives of the people. It is about creating serious jobs for the people of Ekiti State. To take the state from civil service state to industrialize state, we want to industrialize the state we want to industrialize it to the world standard. You remember our fore fathers, they are visionary, and they were able to establish cocoa plantation company, rubber plantations, all these kind of industries. All over there, even Nigeria government was depending largely on agriculture. But now we are now depending on Niger-Delta because of the oil. But as an individual I pray that our oil will never dry, what about if it does? What we need to do is this, we are not suppose to encourage oil alone, we need to encourage and exploit other areas of economy in the country, look for other natural resources we will tap into and develop them, so our income will not be from oil alone.
So what I want to do in the state is to create industries, manufacturing plants, bring in investors that will establish world class manufacturing plants in the state and partnership in agriculture.
Ekiti and Ondo state are known as education centre of Nigeria and I want us to tap into that again. We want to bring back that old glory of Ekiti in education where our students will be able to cope in any educational system in the world. That is what we want to do and focusing on. We will also create affordable health care system for people by establishing world class health centres for our people.
As I am speaking with you right here I have a company who has written a letter to me ready to establish these health centres in each of the local government across the state. Instead of our people travelling to South Africa or London for treatment these clinics will be well equipped to take up any kind of treatment.
We are going to this so when we leave office our people will attest to it that our administration has really done well in their lives.
You have intimidating and very impressive Curriculum Vitae; do you think this is enough for you to win the election?
You see this is not about intimidating or impressive CV; we are going there with plan to put Ekiti State in the world map of industrialization. Ekiti State has been a state of civil service but not until we revolutionize the state by industrializing it. We are going there to make the difference, what will come to play is the experience and exposure that I have in the western world that is what we are going to impact in the state.
Talking about experience, you are the first Nigerian to open the route from Lagos to Atlanta, but unfortunately the business didn’t last for long. (Cuts)
I appreciate it as you asked me this question, but it is a very disturbing one. I have been to the North, North-East, North- Central, people there whenever they see me they always ask me why did that business fail? They always appreciate me for doing what government of the day couldn’t have done. Yes, I was the man that opened that route from Atlanta direct flight to Lagos. I opened that same route for Delta Airline, now they are enjoy it out of the system, when I say out of the system, I mean that out of all the places they are flying, Nigeria is their number one, and they are making big money from Nigeria. I made this possible. It is part of ingenuity God has given us but unfortunately, being that I came from the background of being too civilized or because I spent most of my life in the western world and don’t really know how politics are being play.
While we are flying that route I later discovered that proposals were written by over 30,000 people to my partners in the US they want to take over that route from us, what really got into them is corporate greed, they wanted to take me out of that market and do it on their own, which they later achieved, they now went back to America to do business with North-American Airlines which was later flying from New-York to Lagos, but they couldn’t achieved it from Atlanta, but when they realized they have lost out of Houston Atlanta market which we did, they went to buy an existing airlines, North-American airways that was not doing well, just to destabilize us. Here we are, we went to court, and people said we did wrong, but to me, we did very well. It was a painful moment for me; it shook me to my foundations. I could not understand why humans will go to such lengths to bring down another person over money. I thank God for strengthening me and seeing me through that dark patch. It was planned to destroy me, but God raised me up and eventually vindicated me.
Here is a man who has done what government cannot do, here is a man who made the impossible possible, this is what we want to do in Ekiti. Before then people were suffering to travel to America but we alleviated their suffering by opening that route, this is what we are going to do in Ekiti State by industrializing the state.
Let’s go personal a bit sir, you are here in Nigeria while your family are away in the US, how do you manage the distance?
I just came back from America , my son was in spring holiday, and we travelled all over the US together, distance is not an issue.
Tell me how do you meet your wife?
We met in church in the same church praising God, we were match made by another church member and that is the beginning and the end of the story. And today we are happy together.
You are a handsome man, socialite and man about town, I am sure you will have girls and women running after you?
You know as politicians one of our assets is the ability to gathered people together and you cannot afford to send people that are coming to you away. Yes, I have lots of female friends, but that’s where it stops.
What about those who will want to extend their handshake beyond the elbow?
I don’t allow it to get to that level. But I don’t send my female admirers away as a politicians you need them as many as possible.
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