TheCable

Olubisi Osinbajo, mother of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, says she still scolds her son in spite of his age and position as the nation’s number two man.

She said Osinbajo would call her “mummysco” whenever she scolded him. She said she earned the name from her children because she sometimes had to act tough.

“Yes, I do (scold him) and on occasions like that, he calls me ‘Mummysco’. It doesn’t matter how big they are now, they are still my children,” she said.

In an interview with Punch, Olubisi said she and her husband had warned their children to steer clear of politics but when Osinbajo indicated his interest in politics, she knew “it was God that put him there”.

Olubisi said she prays for him frequently.

“I pray for him every minute; even when I see him on TV. I always tell God to take care of him,” she said.

“We don’t like politics. My husband and I also told our children not to partake in politics. However, Femi was once a councillor. But he later resigned and returned home. He said he could not cope with them.

“When we heard of Yemi’s own, we knew that it was God that put him there. Since then, we have been praying; I cannot rest again.”

Asked about her experience raising four sons, Olubisi, 85, said it was tough.

She said: “I had my first child, Femi, on July 29, 1955. I was delivered of Yemi on March 8, 1957, and I had Akin in 1960. Tunde came in 1962 before Tolu (the only girl) came in 1970.

“It was a tough time. When you are dealing with boys, you don’t sleep with your two eyes closed.

“As a mother, you have to be active. Sometimes, you have to put on trousers and show them that you can act like them. When they jump, you jump too; and that is why I am called ‘Mummysco’.”

Her husband, she said, died in 1996.

She said they raised their children “in way of God” and are happy that they didn’t “touch anybody” until marriage.

“Daddy always told them that if they impregnated any girl, they would have to marry the person, whoever she was,” she said.

“He told them that he did not care if the girl sold pepper or salt, he would ensure they got married. We were happy that they didn’t ‘touch’ anybody till they got married.”