By Olushola Okunlade
About Dr. Abiola Oshodi: Dr. Abiola Oshodi is a Nigerian from Ondo State, a medical practitioner who practices a specialized medical field, Psychiatry in Canada. Dr. Oshodi is married to Mrs. Tolulope Oshodi and they are blessed with two Children Ayomide Oshodi and Ayobami Oshodi. Dr. Oshodi is the CEO of Dr. Oshodi Specialist Services and the Dr. Abiola Oshodi Foundation, Triple A&T Farm with a burning and visceral passion for Nigeria.
Dr. Abiola Olumide Oshodi was born on the 2nd of October 1971 in Lagos to Chief Owolabi Oshodi and Mrs. Helen Modupe Oshodi. Abiola Oshodi grew up in Owo like every other child but with a moral core societal values inculcated and instilled in him by his parents which today distinguished him as an accomplished psychiatric Doctor and one of the history Makers who have carved a niche for themselves in their areas of calling and in philanthropy.
He started his nursery and primary school Education at the Adeolu Nursery and Primary school Owo Ondo state, established by the late Chief Adekunle and Mrs. Olufunke Ajasin and he eventually completed his primary school education at the government primary school Owo in 1982. He proceeded to the Apata community Grammar school Apata Ibadan in 1982 where he completed his secondary School Education in 1987. He attended the government college in Ibadan briefly for his higher education in 1988 before he proceeded to the University of Ibadan to study Geology between 1988-1990. While studying geology, Dr. Oshodi developed an unusual interest in studying medicine hence, he secretly wrote the entrance examination popularly called JAMB at the time and he gained admission to the University of Benin to study Medicine in 1990 and graduated in 1998, he completed his houseman-ship at the Lagos State University teaching hospital Ikeja in 1999 and also his national youth service at Otta General Hospital Ogun state in the year 2000.
As a pragmatic personality with the ability to assess situations and thereby make informed decisions based on what would be of great benefit to himself and humanity, coupled with his quest for more knowledge, Dr. Oshodi thereafter proceeded to the Republic of Ireland in 2001 for his postgraduate training. He was admitted to the Royal College of Surgeon Ireland for the four years psychiatry residency rotational training scheme from 2003 to 2007. Dr. Oshodi relocated to Canada in 2012 to set up his private psychiatry practice, he obtained the Canadian psychiatry Fellowship in 2014 and he was appointed an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in 2014.
This versatile and industrious man of integrity has been described as a caring, benevolent, and cheerful giver who would go the extra mile in making far-reaching decisions to impact positively on his people for the benefit of mankind through his Foundation- The Dr. Abiola Oshodi Foundation. This Foundation has in various ways transformed so many lives as countless testimonies abound.
Dr. Abiola Oshodi’s humble beginning and how he admires his hero, Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s philosophy of people ‘living a good life by creating an egalitarian society where everyone enjoys the good things of life.
Oshodi has continued to develop a society where no one is deprived of education just because his/her parents could not afford school fees, managing a society where no one dies of common diseases just because they cannot afford money to buy medications and having a community where none goes to bed hungry just because poverty still persists around him.
He observed another hero of his Chief MKO Abiola’s philosophy (incidentally his namesake) of giving back to the society and of alleviating the suffering of the less privileged in the society by dishing out his hard-earned money to pay school fees, sponsored football clubs, sponsored people to pilgrimage, advancing money to small entrepreneurs without the hope of being paid back, etc. These and many more he wishes to replicate in his own little way if God will bless him.
So, the desire to serve the people, the desire to give back to society, the desire to show the light to other people to follow, and the desire to rise up by lifting others have been a lifelong pursuant of Dr. Abiola Oshodi. In everything he does later in life, these factors/ virtues have been his driving motive. He chose to study medicine because he dreamed of a life of saving other people from dying unnecessarily from avoidable diseases.
Beyond saving lives, he chose to become a philanthropist just because he desires a society where everyone has access to education, good accommodation, to good health, and more importantly, he envisages a society of happy and joyous people as was earlier imbibed in him by the actions of his two hero’s, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief MKO Abiola. He subscribes to the belief that it is not rich people that are givers but people with good hearts. That maxim made him start out early in life to pursue and embark on philanthropic gestures not because he was rich himself but because of his desire to enthrone an egalitarian society where no one lacks.
Fortuitously enough, destiny brought him to Europe where he observed the way the white people built a society where no one is too poor to live a decent life. He seeks to replicate this life of poverty eradication even back home starting from his own immediate society, Owo/ Ose constituency.
Charity they say starts from home, he felt burdened seeing people suffering on all fronts, and he felt very uncomfortable with deprivation, hence, from his base in Canada, he chose to create time out of his tight schedule to come home to feel the pulse of the people by instituting some life-changing policies which have impacted positively on the life of the people of Owo/ Ose in the past 6 years or so.
Abiola Oshodi Foundation: Dr. Abiola Oshodi’s philanthropy took a new dimension in 2017 when he instituted a Foundation, Abiola Oshodi Scholarship Foundation as a statutory body to henceforth, formally administer his long-established act of annual payment of school fees of some students who have issues with school fees payment.
Prior to the formal inauguration of this body, Dr. Oshodi has consistently been in the habit of paying the school fees of students who cried to him for help.
But seeing that there are still more indigent students out there suffering and who may not have access to him for one reason or the other, he felt the best way out of the problem and the reasonable solution is to constitute a body that will advertise the program, distribute the forms (free of charge of course) and do the selection devoid of unnecessary bias.
Since 2017 when this program was formalized, the program has recorded an outstanding success even far and beyond the initial dreams of Dr. Abiola Oshodi himself.
The foundation was established and registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in 2017 to achieve Abiola Oshodi’s lifelong ambition of helping the less privileged became a reality with the establishment of the foundation.
“Major driving force behind the setting up of the foundation was to reclaim, remember and recover the person who I truly was, my authentic self just like everyone else lies beneath all the layers built up over the years as we pick up limiting beliefs, dysfunctional assumption and irrational fears of the world around us. Hence the master, Jesus Christ in Mattew 18:2-4 that unless we change and become like little children we cannot enter the kingdom of God. Just think of this fact, a newly born child knows no fear but love and kindness.
But as we start to develop and grow, we start to acquire all sorts of irrational and dysfunctional belief systems, assumptions that shape our lives and decisions and can potentially affect and alter our personalities. We all owe it a duty to reclaim our authentic selves, our authentic self is pure, simple, completely filled with love and kindness. One of my landmark memories as a child was that I enjoyed being helpful to others. Hence, over time I have come to the conclusion that life is a journey and the whole reason we are alive is to be able to successfully find our way back home ( or find our way to the values we held in high esteem as little children) by rediscovering our authentic selves. My authentic self believes in a better Nigeria and a better world and that Nigeria and the world can be better if we collectively and genuinely rediscover our authentic selves which we all lost at some point while navigating this world.
Setting up the Dr. Abiola Oshodi Foundation and giving and empowering the less privileged strengthens my personal and spiritual values and also imposes upon me a moral duty to use what I have to help others. Having the resources to improve the lives of others is a privilege, and one that comes with a sense of obligation and for me, it takes me closer to my authentic self.
The vision of the Dr. Abiola Oshodi foundation is to be maximally impactful in human and capital developments and make the world and Nigeria a better place. At the Dr. Abiola Oshodi Foundation, our belief and our value are that a life that is truly worth living is a life lived for others.
It has become a source of hope for the hopeless and each year a lot of new students are enrolled in the program and they are been succored by the prompt release of funds, as soon as, the process of selection is completed. Parents who are being relieved of the pressure of school fees paid annually are praying for Dr. Abiola to live long to continue with this life-changing policy.
Testimonies abound everywhere of the timely intervention of this program in saving the education of a lot of Owo and Ose residents thereby changing their story for good, forever.
It should be noted that this scholarship program is available to every student resident in Owo/Ose community and not necessarily for indigenes only, hence, we have people from Akoko, Kogi States, as well as, Benue states but resident in Owo/Ose Local Governments enjoying the scholarship currently.
According to Dr. Abiola Oshodi, the educational program intends to continue even on a larger scale in years to come. It should also be noted that these and many more other philanthropic gestures by this world-acclaimed humanist medical practitioner have been embarked on a long time ago before he dreamed of coming home to vie for any elective positions in his constituency.
The desire to serve further and the fact on the ground that his people are been shortchanged by lack of quality representation by the current occupier of the post necessitated his resolve to contest for the position. While the APC delegate election is taking shape, Dr. Abiola Oshodi once again reiterated his desire to serve his people very effectively at the Lower Chamber of the National Assembly.
He further enumerated those policies he desires to pursue while holding the leadership position in his Owo/ Ose federal constituency. Policies that will liberate the people from poverty as he has seen and observed while working in the advanced countries of the world. Such policies and programs will enable him to free his people from the shackles of poverty.
Dr. Abiola Oshodi’s Impact On His People: Dr. Abiola Oshodi has done so much that he cannot finish recounting them in a day but some are so dear to his heart to the extent that he intends upscaling them after the elections by Gods grace.
He established the AT&T farm for the purpose of creating jobs for the people in the area. He is the Man that set an unforgettable record of sustainability that will forever be remembered and be in the book of record in the Owo kingdom. For the first time in this kingdom, we have a leader that redirects and redefine the hope of the masses towards achieving western education to an epic level and also gives them many reasons to be steadfast in pursuing an individual educational career without any fear.
He established the Remedial Academy to train our students who are preparing for JAMB and WAEC to prevent them from wandering around.
He established the Football Academy to scout and sharpen the skills of our youths in the area of sports development.
He set up the IT Academy to develop the abundant technical skill of our bubbling youth in the constituency.
God willing we intend to scale up these Academies as soon as we get into the house.
He also intends to put in place a leadership aura that will
Crystallize the abundant talents embedded in the youths of the area
A leadership aura that permeates the tender minds of the youths, tickles the mind of the elders to action and catalyzes the creative side of the youths in the community.
Of course, a leadership aura that harnesses the abundant resources of the land to pursue the greatest good of the greatest number of people in our society.
His commitment and relentless effort have repositioned the mindset of every Owo student to think positively and get serious in their educational pursuit. Dr. Abiola Oshodi has set a benchmark for excellence among Owo students and gave them the choice of career that will be a guiding concept to attaining intellectual growth and success. He understands the role of Education in societal and economic development, hence his significant impact in making sure our students get the best education they deserved.
He has been the driver and motivational factor of educational advancement and communal development in the Owo kingdom. He strives for talent and skill in people with the view of making them worthy of recognition in society. He is gifted with the ability to identify the intellectual capacity in every youth with the intention of developing them for individual growth and national transformation.
Oshodi has advanced a sustainable educational agenda that will enable inclusiveness of our youth in participating in the social and economic development of our community. He is a leader that takes responsibility for discovering even the smallest pressing issue with the intention of solving them. He is a leader that invests in human capital and also creates and generates wealth among people by empowering and giving them a sense of direction in their desired careers Humanity and prosperity will continue to appreciate Dr. Abiola Oshodi for his goodwill and selfless services exercised in the Kingdom.
His Unmatch Opponent: Dr. Abiola Oshodi challenged his opponent, Mr. Adelegbe, to come out to tell the people of this constituency those things he did for them before he became the Legislator representing the area.
“Like for like, no one can safely say, I repeat, no one can boast of matching up to our record or our legacies in this constituency.” Dr. Oshodi said. So, let a debate be instituted and let us face ourselves, and let’s enumerate the social responsibility projects that we did before now before the people.
“I am aware that my opponent has been going round listing his constituency projects as his CSR projects. “No sir! Constituency projects are constitutionally guaranteed for each constituency by law. It is quite different from CSR projects which you as a leader in the society are required morally to carry out among the people. Give back to the people for the blessings you received from God.
“Of course, “there is virtually none that our man can point to” We are simply unbeatable and unmatchable in that noble field.”
Dr. Abiola Oshodi’s Legislative Agenda: Dr. Oshodi stated that he intends to sponsor bills that seek to influence Government to site youth-oriented projects, such as IT hub, farm settlement, skill acquisition scheme, and artisan villages across the two communities to prevent excessive youth migration (rural-urban drift).
“Of course, we intend to be one of the prime movers in the house. We intend to be proactive and be heard, loud and clear. We will not be an ‘l concur’ Legislator. We will certainly not be another bench warmer from our constituency.” He concluded
These and many more, we vow to pursue while in the house. It is both a vow and a pledge to the good people of Owo/Ose.
“From me to them, it is a pact we intend pursuing with all the grain of blood in a body,” he concluded
Dr. Abiola Oshodi is surely the people’s choice and the people of the constituency have accepted him as their own project.
They have subsequently reserved the constituency seat at the National Assembly for him, come 2023. They are eagerly waiting for the elections to come in 2023 so they can formally install him as the Legislator representing Owo/Ose federal constituency at the National Assembly.
Dr. Abiola Oshodi’s Vision For Owo/Ose Federal Constituency 2023: Dr. Abiola Oshodi in his statement said: “my vision is to build a Federal Constituency of our collective dream for now and indeed for future generations and into the graduating class to become not just citizens of this constituency, but participating citizens in governance. Never had it been more important to heed these words and to this end, I hope you will take advantage of this rare opportunity to help me so that I can also help you.
While I have held no prior elective public office in the past or in the present, nevertheless I have worked behind the scenes for many years to provide stewardship and protect the interests of Owo/Ose Federal Constituency, Ondo State, and Nigeria in general. As a committed full-time political agent of democracy, I will ease the overcrowding in our daily endeavors and will work hard to find both short and long-term solutions to create new opportunities and new wealth through the power of legislation. With my organizational ability and leadership qualities, I want to reignite the charms of our Constituency and ensure that it shines as one of the jewels in the golden necklace that befit us as the food basket of the nation and protect and globalize our cultural inheritance. We will work hard to globalize our federal constituency, we will prioritize partnership with our diaspora constituency. I remain yours in service.
About Triple A & T Integrated Farm: Triple-A & T integrated farm is a private sector establishment owned by Dr. Abiola Oshodi which is a flagship of a new shift in our economy towards agriculture.
The Triple-A & T integrated farm is situated along Owo-Ikare highway Upenme, Owo, Ondo state. The farm currently spans over 250 hectares of arable land for the purpose of providing food availability, affordability, and security in Nigeria through mechanized and integrated cultivation of food crops, oil palm, cashew, and livestock.
A- Animal Husbandry
B- Bio-energy production
C- Crop plantation
For example, animal waste from our poultry, snail, piggery, and goat farms serves as raw materials for Bio-energy generation and manure for the optimal development of the crop farms.
Waste materials from crop processing will provide animal feeds to mitigate the cost of feed production.
Energy generated from the biofuel unit is utilized for powering equipment and facilities for crop and animal farms, and other farm structures.
At Triple A & T, agriculture is the reason for the advancement and continuation of lives as people must eat, cloth,e and house themselves. It provides basic needs of life- food, clothing and shelter.
The collective and deliberate participation in agriculture is an economic responsibility of every individual in every nation.
Our visions are to make agriculture and its value chains a viable business and attractive to the young and the elderly.
Aim And Objective Of Triple-A & T Farm:
*To ensure food security for our nation.
*To make Owo the food basket of Ondo state, Ondo state the food basket of Nigeria, the food basket of Africa the food basket of the world. In summary, we want to globalize our ancient town, our sunshine state and our fatherland.
*To educate many in the principles and practices of successful agriculture and produce many millionaires and billionaires from agriculture and the agric value chains
Dr. Abiola Oshodi is also the CEO of Triple-A & T integrated farms, a mechanized farm set up in order to be an active participant in ensuring food security in Nigeria and then the world at large. Dr. Abiola believes strongly and practice the doctrine that a life that is truly worth living is a life that is lived for others.
Chief Folahanmi Olaniyi is the farm General Manager, He is a graduate of political science and public administration from the University of Benin and M.Sc at the University of Abuja, Prior to being the farm manager at Triple-A & T integrated farms, he has always been very enterprising managing various businesses and projects across the State.
Mr. Hassan Ismail Akintayo is the Operational Manager, a graduate of Department of Crop production and protection, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife and his M.Sc in Agronomy (plant breading and genetics), University of Ilorin. He is in charge of the crop section with more than 30 junior Staff directly working under him.
Mr. Aliyu Hussein Taye is the Assistant Manager, A social and Political analyst and a writer. He is a graduate of Political Science Federal University of Maiduguri and M.Sc. student at Federal University Lokoja, Kogi State. He is in charge of the livestock section with more than 5 junior Staff under him.
Miss Mariam Suleiman Modupeola is the deputy Operational Manager who graduated from the Department of Agricultural Science, University of Benin. She is also supervising and overseeing the crop section.
Mr. Peter Anzaku Timothy is the farm supervisor on the Triple-A & T integrated farm. He is a graduate of Agricultural economics at Nasarawa State University and a seasoned farm supervisor with decades of experience. He helps supervise the farm activities and ensures proper work ethics on the Triple-A & T integrated farm.
Mr. Adebayo Oluwarokan Joseph is the assistant supervisor who graduated from the Department of Business administration, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic. He is the one supervising the laborers and making sure that daily farm routine is followed to achieve desire outcome
As it is a responsibility for everyone to be actively involved in agricultural affairs to ensure the anticipated economic diversification of Nigeria, Dr. Abiola Olumide Oshodi is not left out in this national responsibility.
It becomes the social responsibility of Triple A & T farm to provide positive AWARENESS, SENSITIZATION AND ENGAGEMENT STRUCTURE to help FACILITATE and IMPROVE the involvement of Nigerians in agriculture thereby creating individual and collective wealth for the nation.
