Says “When I failed to secure admission to secondary School, my plan was to become a driver, but God made me end as a Central Bank Manager”

Chief Sunday Daramola, the Ajiroba of Ipetu Ijesa recently retired as a senior manager with the Central Bank of Nigeria. Preparatory to the celebration of his 60th birthday, PTL News was a guest of this proud Ijesa son, who was not only celebrating his birthday but marking it with the opening of an ultra-modern hotel and suites. He spoke about his life @ 60, what has helped him to make him what he is today, his life at 60 and how he wants to live his life after 60 years.

Congratulations on this your multi-dimensional celebration. Let’s begin by introducing yourself.

I am Sunday Daisi Daramola from Ipetu Ijesa, Osun State, Nigeria. What I am celebrating is about my successful retirement and my diamond jubilee.

And the third leg of it?

The hotel is opened in order to create employment opportunity for those who want to work. There is what we call corporate social responsibility to provide works for people within the environs, and to feel the impact. That is the hotel we are opening on Friday, the 4th of April, 2025. The hotel is a subsidiary of Ajiroba Integrated Services and Consultancies. We are consultants to banks. We have a farm too on which people are currently working as we discuss. It is basically to create more jobs for the people in the hope that very soon more will come for people to benefit.

What does celebrating 60 years mean to you?

Like my boss in the office used to say whenever we are celebrating our birthday, he would say celebration is not just about meat pie. If I look back about my life, there is every reason to thank God. Looking into what I have passed through in this life, like a song in our church CAC that says we should count our blessings one by one, and we would be surprised to see what God has done.

My early years

The celebration is about my 60 years of existence on earth and a successful retirement from Central Bank of Nigeria, but I will like to start from my background. From what I was told by my parents they had lost the first five children they gave birth to before I was born. It was after eleven years that they gave birth to me. The five children were born in Ipetu Ijesa and they later moved to a town called Oloruntedo under Atakumosa East Local Government with headquarters in Iperindo. They still gave birth to five of us without going to any hospital, what they relied on then was CAC Miracle water. It was just to pray on water and you drink it. That was what my mother used to give birth to five children and we thank God today that the five of us are doing well in all spheres of our life.

Early education and initial challenges

Then coming to my personal experience in life, it is not about the birthday alone but to thank God for the victory I have achieved in many of my life encounters and challenges. In the year 1978 when I was seeking admission to secondary school, I never picked Ikeji Ile, (High School), my option was Ikeji Arakeji. At the end of the day I was given an admission to Ikeji Ile High School. My parents said No that I could not go to Ikeji Ile, they said they were afraid. The admission was forfeited. In the year 1979, they now insisted that either I go to Ipetu Ijesa Grammar School or Aro Odo High School. What surprised me was that one of my uncle’s wife took me to the wife of the late former Ajalaiye Oba Baderin, she gave me a letter. On getting to the palace I met three people there. She gave us letters. Getting to Aro Odo, the person I met there was a relative. I thought it would be a smooth ride. But surprisingly he collected the letter from the first person, and the second person. He jumped me to go to the fourth person, gave them textbooks and sent them to class, after waiting for about two hours I asked about me, he said they didn’t have chance for me. Why? Because I attended primary school at Oloruntedo, that they didn’t value somebody coming from the village to come to their school. That compelled me to go to modern school in 1979.

After Modern School, what would I do again? I still passed through this Ajalaiye’s wife. What happened the first time happened the second time. What came to my mind as a person was to become a bus conductor. I thought that if those drivers and their conductors could survive. So I decided to become a bus conductor.

I decided to become a driver

One fateful day, we were coming from Iragbiji, we stopped at the front of the First Bank in Ipetu, as I was dropping the load my mother’s senior brother, a head master was playing game outside, when he sighted me he mentioned my name, Daisi. Immediately he mentioned my name, what came to my mind was that the man wanted to disturb my plan for this job. He asked where I was coming from, I told him I was on my duty as a bus conductor. The man called the driver, he collected the money he asked the driver to collect the money, he then drove me inside his Volkswagen car to my father. Till today, my father is late and the man is also late, I never knew what they discussed. He carried me inside his car, before I knew what was happening I met myself again in primary six again. One funny thing there was that one of us that we attended Modern School together was even a teacher in the school.

Ikeji Ile High School

The man then counselled me that I should not bother, that in the next few months I would meet myself in a secondary school. I had that faith but to my surprise, because I was expected to gain admission to either Aro Odo, Elefosan or Ipetu Ijesa Grammar School but when the admission came it was to Ikeji Ile High School. The place where my parents first rejected. That was 1982. So I did not have any option but to go to Ikeji Ile High School. To God be the glory it was as if as Ikeji Ile High School is the foundation of whatever I am having today. When I got there we saw many good things in terms of the quality of teachers, cooperation with students and supports from the indigenes all encouraged us.

The second I got there I was selected as the class captain. It was based on merit. Even as at that time, if anybody couldn’t make their secondary school results they would still come to Ikeji Ile High School as the last result and they would make their results. Then in Ikeji Ile High School then we always had prizes for students that performed well. I won cash prizes in the name of leaders like Awe, Akinmokun and Orimobi that almost throughout my school days I didn’t have cause to ask my parents any money. I leveraged on the cash prizes given to me in Ikeji Ile High School and I never lived above my means. I didn’t have friends outside my school. Some of my classmates impregnated girls in those days but I never engaged in such. My mates used to call me Professor because they knew I would never joke with my studies. Even after closing I still remained in the class to continue reading my books.

In the year 1983, one of my uncles who as a teacher in Ikeji Ile High School, Mr. Oluwatayo and later Barrister Ikporupo advised me to take external GCE based on my performance, I enrolled for external GCE I had four papers with pass in English and credit in other subjects. That was how that level went.

My Post Secondary School days

After my secondary school my sister’s brother, now an uncle was a Controller General in the Central Bank, based on my performance in Ikeji Ile High School, he brought me to Lagos. Coming to Lagos, my intention was to go for higher education, but my uncle told me he did not have the capacity to send me to school. After staying at home for three and a half years, I had to tell some of my relations, and that my brother Leyenson, that you know said there would be no problem, and I obtained admission for Advanced Level papers, as at that time some of my friends had passed out of the university. I had no option, I had to go to Anwar-U-Islam College. He sponsored my A Level education.

Job at the Central Bank

In the year 1991, employment to Central Bank started, my A Level result was ok, and that my uncle who retired as Controller General said since he could not send me to school, he would use his influence to present me for a job at the Central Bank. I took up the job opportunity at the Central Bank of Nigeria.

When I got to Central Bank I never relented but continued to pursue my ambition for higher knowledge. I secured an admission to Abia State University. That caused my transfer to Imo State.

Getting to Owerri was another experience that only God saw me through. I was transferred to Oweri, Imo State on October 4, 1994. It was exactly a year that I got to Owerri that my signature was forged and that led to stealing about 7.5 million which led to my suspension for ten and a half months. I was suspended in our office, I was taken to tribunal and many things happened at the end of which God took the glory. I thank God for my Church here for their prayers, and that led to the termination of 35 Management staff of the branch. Some members of staff were convicted, I was the only person that was restated. I was then transferred back to Lagos on November 3rd 1996. At last I still completed my first degree.

Another thing that happened to me that I can never forget was how God saved me from evil men. That was what I learnt that it is good to be generous. It was the messenger in my office that saved me. This is because they knew me in my office that I would not receive bribe and they knew I would not allow any of my staff to accept bribe to induce them to do what they were not supposed to do. The head of the office told me when I resumed there that people had been buying cars and doing this and that with money without obtaining loans, I just ignored his advice.

Something happened in the year 2005, they were about reshuffling our department, this head of our department after the close of the day poisoned my items, poured charms in my office, did something to rob my seat, and he did this in the presence of the messenger. For this messenger, anytime I travelled I always gave him gifts. It was this messenger that called me in the night to tell me what the head of the office did.

It was this head of department that called me very early the following day, knowing that I used to resume very early to the office. He said he was expecting some visitors in the office and that I should attend to them. He knew that by 6.30 in the morning I was already on my seat. He expected that I would be in the office as usual very early, the messenger told me that when he left the office the previous day he did not step out, but went out with his back. The man later paid the price for that, what he was trying to cover was exposed. Three months later the man died. That time the man didn’t want a Yoruba man to occupy that seat. There is this problem of ethnic politics everywhere in Nigeria. Eventually, I was promoted. It was the same management that approved my promotion that approved his termination. He was posted to Sokoto, he didn’t live up to three months that he died. I later became a star in that office, both Lagos and in Abuja, the department became the first with the management, it was leading so much that we even got presidential recommendation.

After twelve years in Operations I was deployed to other Financial Supervision department, I was there for two years, after which I was deployed to Banking Supervision, my last department.

One day, one of my officers in my department jokingly said, if you want to stand out in the department you need to have a diploma in Law, and I went out again to Open University, on getting there I believe with my Masters and all the Certifications I would qualify to read law but no I was told that I had to obtain credit in Literature in English. I had to summon courage, by then my first, second, and third children were already in the university. It was the fourth one that I had to join to sit for GCE, and that qualified me for admission. I was among the best overall student, I had to enroll for my LLM at Strafford University, UK. I have done a lot, if you mention Daramola, they would all know me. How did they know me? It was for my stand for the truth. No compromise. If it was A, it would remain A, and if it was B nothing would change it.

Of course, there were some Judas, some of my bosses didn’t like that, to the extent that my life was threatened. But now many of them have left, and that is why I like what the current CBN Governor is doing. He has cleaned the whole place that there is no more space for indolent staff, and there is no room for compromise of any kind. I still tell you that even at 60 I am still a student, I have registered for another LLM in Criminal Law as that is my area of specialization at the CBN. I am still a consultant to some banks. I have received some awards. Before I retired I represented my banking supervision department on bank evaluation to see Nigeria out of the Green List. I know by the end of this year Nigeria will be out of the Green List. It is not good for a country like Nigeria to be on a Green List. When you are talking of a Green List, it discourages foreign investors from coming in.

By and large, Nigeria has done a lot under the present governor of the Central Bank Dr. Olayemi Cardoso. I thank God that my children are all doing well in their various callings. All I have to do is to thank God for what He has done in my life.

In life you cannot satisfy everybody

Well, you cannot satisfy everybody. I think I have been doing my best. Some people believed I am very strict because I believe in merit. That I will not help you to sit for any test, but if you can do well, we can help you to finish up, but for somebody who knows next to nothing or who is not serious, it will be very difficult to help such people.

I also know that God has been helping me in other areas like doing my best in my community, among my friends, and in my church. I can say God has been good to me. I can say nobody assisted me, but I can say it has been the Host of heavens that back me up and I am very grateful to Him. I acknowledge those people God has used for me in my growing years. Many people did not expect me to grow to this level. Even my last promotion was a miracle.

Motivating factors

If you remember what happened to Joseph, he had dreams and God made his dreams come true. I cannot also forget some of our people who have inspired us from our community. I can recall people like my brother Olaitan Akindapo, of the NDA, my brother Leyenson now in the UK, and our father Dr. Abiodun Badewa, see what he is doing home and abroad, I am sure he is one of the best doctors in America. I cannot but show my gratitude to some people like Mrs. Titilope Sopitan, Mrs. Adelabu, Prince Damola Oni. They played their roles at different levels of my growth and development. God is number one, and other people follow. There is no encouragement anywhere but God. God is the pillar behind me. If not for God, we would not have been saying what we are saying.

Regrets?

Life is full of ups and downs. The only thing I can say I regret was that I did not yield to an advice by our Pastor Joseph Folorunso Ayeni, now late. It was in 1992, we had a revival at our church in Dopemu. After the revival, our pastor then called me, asked some questions from me and when I replied, the man just shook his head and said there was no way in what I wanted to do then. He told me not to go through that direction. As a young man I couldn’t understand what he was talking about, but the reality dawned on me years later. God used him to warn me of something but I did not yield. Well, everything is in the plans of God. In life if everything is rosy it doesn’t last. In the plan of God when one road closes another opens. We need to thank God for everything.

Divine protection

Let me say this for record purpose. Most times when God is on your side, people try to ascribe it to the devil, that one is using charms. There was a time we went for a wedding programme in the East, specifically in Imo State. After the wedding, they said they would have Bachelor’s eve, they said they had official car to take us back to Lagos, and I went to my hotel room while they went for the Bachelors’ Eve. While I slept I had this terrible dream, and immediately I woke up I just dressed up, picked my bag and headed to Lagos. Surprisingly, on Monday morning they called to ask for where I was, and I told them I was on my seat. This was because while our colleagues were coming in the night they had a crash and none of them survived.

The second one happened at Uromi. It was with my boss’s mother’s burial. After the main burial they said there would be another party on Saturday, strictly for our staff. I wondered what was left to wait for. I didn’t argue with them, I just carried my bag and went to the garage to board Lagos bus, the following day one of them asked me where I was and I told him.

What happened? Armed robbers visited them in the night to ask for the remaining money they spent at the party. My friend said the robbers came in the night and they took everything remaining with them including their wears. They had to go and buy another set of clothe to leave the place the following day. All the remaining money he was supposed to use for his trip to Kaduna for training was taken from him. What happened was about divine guidance, obedience and protection as said in Psalm 91. It’s a fulfillment of the scripture, and that is why we are thanking God.

There was another incident. We went for an inspection and examination in a bank, that one I was a little bit careless. There, my boss said we would not eat, but I said I would eat pounded yam, and I eat that pounded yam in the morning and I woke up 6 o’clock in the evening. I could not write anything. It was the following day they asked me what was the matter. They put something in my food. I slept off.

The same thing happened in Abuja, we went for examination, they gave me pounded yam, that took me six months before I got rid of the problem. That is it. What we are celebrating is not all about birthday but for me to have passed through all these things and come out successfully. The day we were appointed they gave seven of us our employment files, as at the 31st of December 2024, I was the only one remaining. Some had died, some were dismissed and others were taken away by other challenges of life. Despite all those things I am still alive.

Projections

As I have said before, I will be active. It is not an issue of money. I see myself being active in the house of God. I will be impactful. I will see what I can do for people to feel my impact. I don’t believe in not being active. My studies will still continue. My focus will not only be in Nigeria, I will have to spread my tentacles. I just came from Canada weeks ago. I have some things to do to make more impacts. I will continue with my second Masters in Criminal Law. It will be obtained outside Nigeria.

My Guests

First and foremost, is my God, the Alpha and Omega, I will be expecting the ministers of God, the Ajalaiye of Ipetu Ijesa who also happened to be my childhood friend. I cannot forget this fateful day when I was in the secondary school. I didn’t have money. I went to buy food to eat in one of our friend’s mother’s place, I bought food from her with the intention that when I do my labourer job I would pay her, I ate the food and there was no money to pay. This Kabiyesi, then asked me what was happening, knowing what was happening, may be I ate one kobo food and I couldn’t pay. He then paid for three days, beyond the breakfast. That was a miracle.

Ajiroba

I am the Ajiroba of Ipetu Ijesa. Now when he became the Oba, the Kabiyesi wanted a title for me among the kingmakers which I carefully refused.

I told him I won’t be any of that. I told him I was a pastor, he said that was not possible. There was a day he called me to come and see him. He told me to sit beside him. We were four there, and I reminded him that I had just lost my wife, he said if I needed a Phd holder he would get me one. I told him as somebody at the top of his career, and knowing where I was that it would not be easy for me to leave my works to sit with him. He then agreed with me and he now gave me the title of Ajiroba of Ipetu Ijesa. Ajiroba is a honourary title in the modern days. It is also an influential title in the community.

Views on the economy

From my personal and professional point of view, with what I am seeing, there is hope for the country, if Nigerians allow the system to work. Sometimes ago, Godwin Emefiele former CBN Governor, introduced redesign of the naira. Yes, there was nothing wrong about it but the timing, the approach and the intention. Even America is about changing her currency, two years ago, the United Kingdom changed its own, very soon Canada will change its own. The intention was bad. It came as a personal vendetta. The man contested he had no way, he had to impose that to dissuade some people to contest for the election. We need to correct an impression that if you don’t carry cash it you cannot make payment. It doesn’t help us. When you talk about cash it tells on our economy. It has to do with our security.

What they would have done is to stop the whole notes and continue to issue new notes. Fact is that many politicians have hidden cash in their homes, because the court said the spending of the old notes should continue many Nigerians have been bringing the old notes to buy dollars at whatever cost. One of the ways they can reduce currency stealing and abuse is to change the currency completely.

Another thing they can do is to regularise the pays of politicians like that of the civil servants, which would not make the office of the politicians attractive any more. We need to amend our laws, the constitution itself covering the criminal code, penal code and the electoral acts. If any leader can be so bold, they should make the political posts less attractive to politicians by leveling their salaries with those of the civil servants. If they find unusual transactions on politicians account he should be made to face the music.

My father died at 102 years. Two years later we were still begging people to come and carry his clothes. We had to bury the remaining that were not taken. What I am saying in essence is that like the bible says, we brought nothing to this world and nothing will be taken away. Where is Abacha today? What about Yar’ Adua, talk about MKO Abiola, they took nothing away but they would be remembered for what they did to humanity. No matter what they had they did not bury them with anything.

Then another issue has to do with corruption, which I tell people starts from our homes. If you can control corruption in your house, there will be no corruption in the society.  If you give a woman any money to go and buy something, they will not return the change.

I have been to many advanced countries, they don’t wear more than jeans and polo. No matter your financial position you cannot just go and buy cars and be parking them inside your house. You will pay for the parking space. Even if you are a landlord, you cannot just go and buy cars and park them in the space meant for your tenants. That tenant may not even have any vehicle. Our people will just go and acquire what they don’t need. Where people are not insane how do you imagine people storing and keeping food items meant for others in their homes?

Coming to this administration and fuel subsidy, Nigeria does not control the price of fuel. It is controlled from the international market. Take for instance the price of petrol in UK sells for three pounds. That’s how much in naira? N2,300 times three you are talking about N6,900 per litre. Can we buy at that price in Nigeria? Subsidy is between what we pay and what we are supposed to pay.

Another issue is that they had destroyed everything before President Tinubu got there. Tinubu met nothing. Nigerians must allow things to be put in proper shape before they expect any positive results. Now the prices of food are coming down, more investors are coming to the petroleum sector to refine oil. I believe Nigeria is going to be great and Tinubu will not be there forever. Unfortunately some people are campaigning against all these things, they cannot see the import of what he is doing. The bible says you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free. If Nigerians accept the truth it will certainly set the country free.

If you are talking about economic crisis, it’s all over the world. So if anybody is talking about loans, we can see that this government is taking loans and fixing roads and working on infrastructure. Nigeria is coming back to life. Definitely we will get it right, but the problem is sustainability. Because after his terms, who follows? I am sure that in the next few years we will see a lot of changes, so much that the international community will be interested in the Nigerian economy. Even our people in diaspora will come back, and people will come back to Nigeria to invest, and there will be more development in the country.

Appeal to Nigerians

Like you must have known, I am a farmer, people are working on my farms now. I am into cassava, maize and piggery and other things. If you remember in those days we used to go to the farm after school hours. Even while working with your parents you have a small farm alongside that of your parents. We derived joy in doing that. But these days, they are not interested. In that wise they are calling for serious hunger. That was why when this administration came on board, technically what they were telling people was to go to farm. That is it. We can see the results now. I was at home during December, we could see young people buying cars and living well in the village, they build house and they can establish small businesses for their wives. When you talk about government policies, it may favour you today and turn otherwise tomorrow. Go and look at the price of cocoa now, it is number one in the international market. Nigerians should go back to the farm and be productive, and that will help them, and help the country in future.

Thanks for reading this. Please like it, comment and share this story.

Also follow Julius Adegunna, and PTL News on our Social Media handles or call 234-8033260387, 8120969883, 7082666862, 8137319017.  

If you have been blessed by our website, you are free to bless us in return. Reach out to the Publisher for donations and supports. Your comments and reactions can be sent to editor@ptlnewsonline.com. God bless you.

PTL News: Call for Support

Dear reader, PTL News has existed for over 30 years now, providing the Christian public with qualitative and informative news reports globally, Online and in Print, we hereby request for your support or advert placement so that we can continue to serve you with more godly, authoritative, truthful, and juicy news regularly.

For your support/advertisement of your programmes, products and services, please reach out to us @ 234-8033260387

Our Bank Account Details:
Bank Name: First Bank PLC
Account Name: GOSPEL ARTS PROMOTIONS
Account No: 2005034558
God bless you. We promise to appreciate all your Supports and Donations.