# Alaba Lawson

Alaba Oluwaseun Lawson (18 January 1951 – 28 October 2023) was a Nigerian business magnate and academician. She served as the first female president of NACCIMA and Chairman of the board of the Governing Council, Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Ogun State. Chief Lawson was also the president pro-tempore of the Forum of Female Traditional Rulers in Nigeria.

## Quotes

Iyalode Alaba Lawson, shares her experiences in this interview with SAMUEL AWOYINFA.18th March 2017
* I was not born with any silver spoon. My father, late Pa Emmanuel Abiona Jiboku alias Jiboku Tannatanna was an electrical technician with the old Electric Company of Nigeria for 42 years. And my mother, late Ruth Olabisi Aina Jiboku(nee Aderupoko- Coker) of the famous Itesi area of Abeokuta was a trader.
** Would it be right to say you were born with a silver spoon?
* There was nothing peculiar about my birth, at least as far as I know.
** Was your birth peculiar?
* I attended St. James’s African Church School, Idi Ape, Abeokuta between 1957 and 1962. Before that time, my father enrolled his children in a kindergarten school founded by a Sierra Leonean woman who we called Mama Saro. All she taught us were bible verses and we crammed them.
** How would you describe your childhood?
* She never used the cane, but she had another way of doing this. Her countenance when anyone misbehaved was more potent than the cane. Once her countenance changed, one got the message.
** Did Mrs Hughes use the cane on the pupils?
* I was not troublesome but I stood for my right and asked for it. No other student could cheat me and I never gave anyone the chance to cheat. No one could take me for granted.
** Would you say you were a quiet kid or a troublesome one?
* I got into trouble each time I took my mother’s clothes and wore them for a photo shoot. I would have poured perfumes on the clothes and my mother would get to know. She would then report me to my father, who would use cable to beat me. You know my father worked with the ECN and he did about two years with the National Electric Power Authority before he retired, so he had cables to beat anyone of us that misbehaved.
** How often did you get into trouble especially as a teenager?
* No. My parents were disciplinarians. If my father asked any of us to recite any verse of the Bible and he or she fumbled, he or she got spanked. Again, any of us could be asked to handle the morning devotion and such a person should not mess up or else… There was a cable nearby to beat sense into your brain. We were well trained, most especially in the fear of God.
** Were you pampered by your parents?
* Yes, I travelled to England. I attended the St. Nicholas Teacher Training College, to train and at the end of the third year, I graduated with a First class diploma. I really loved the training I got.
** We learnt you later travelled to England to further your study. How was the experience in England?
* None at all. We were close to 30 Nigerians who went for that training. Blacks and the whites co-existed in a convivial environment. We were treated like human beings.
** Were you ever faced with any racist situation?
* I think those South Africans doing that are crazy. They have forgotten so soon what Nigeria did to help them fight the apartheid regime to a standstill. Nigeria spearheaded the boycott of the 1983 Commonwealth Games because of apartheid. The United Kingdom which was then hosting incurred losses due to the boycott, because so many other countries joined Nigeria in boycotting the games.
** That brings us to the Xenophobic attacks in South Africa, where blacks are up in arms against Nigerians and other African nationals. How do you react to this?
* It is a divine call. I could still remember that very day at the Green Park in London. I sat there and was enjoying the scenery – the lake, the ducks and the serene atmosphere. Suddenly, I saw some children walked into the park and they were chatting. Something struck a cord in me that I wanted to start something where I could mould the lives of youths. That was when I decided to attend the teacher training college. I went there and graduated with first class.
** Why did you decide to go into the education sector unlike most of your friends that would have opted for the corporate world?
* It is true. It was given to him in 1957 by the Queen of England. It was a solid sterling silver, which I inherited. The day I was given the MFR title in 2004 by former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, I wore the MBE medal.
** We learnt your father was a Member of the British Empire, how true is that claim?
* It is true. While I was in the secondary, I was a member of the school’s drama and cultural group. I was good at acting and mimicking others. But that divine call changed everything. But I have no regrets at all.
** Is it true that at a time in your life, you wanted to become an actress?
* I don’t believe that. No one can even pay enough for what we do as teachers. No amount of money can pay for our sacrifice. Teaching is like a calling, you must be trained for it and you must have passion for it.
** Do you believe that a teacher’s reward is in heaven?
* I don’t have anything called sad day and I don’t pray for anyone to have a sad day. But there was a day I felt the grace and faithfulness of Jehovah God in my school, when a three-year-old girl swallowed a 5 kobo coin many years ago.
** What would you ascribe to be the happiest and saddest day of your life?
* I don’t entertain any fear, because I live every day as being tailored by Jehovah God. All I needed, Many people know i am an educationist but not many know that I am a big time trader who began at the age of nine.
** Although you are a well accomplished woman, what is your greatest fear?
* My mother trained us the children in the act of buying and selling. She started with clothes. She exposed us to the nitty-gritty of trade. She told me the importance of being a trader as early as when I was nine. My brother-in-law, brought me into commerce by getting me the distributorship of so many breweries and cement companies.
** How did you develop an interest in business and why did you stop being a trader?
* That is not true. Both installations were done openly and there’s nothing hidden about the two titles; there is nothing mystical about it. Iyalode means prime minister of the womenfolk. It requires someone who has integrity and who’s hardworking.
** Is it true that the title comes with some mystical powers?
* The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Pray and get along with your life.
** What is your philosophy of life?
* The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Pray and get along with your life.
** Alaba Lawson's quotes
* I don’t entertain any fear, because I live every day as being tailored by Jehovah God.
** Alaba Lawson's quotes
* Many people know you to be an educationist but not many know that you were a big time trader who began at the age of nine.
** Alaba Lawson's quotes
* Teaching is like a calling, you must be trained for it and you must have passion for it.
** Alaba Lawson's quotes