My Son Has Brought Joy To The Family - Father Of Tribune Star Prize Winner

Babatunde

In this discourse with SEYI GESINDE, LAWRENCE AMAKU and ADEGBOYEGA ADEWALE, Babatunde Osotoye, his father, further expressed their feelings. Excerpts:

Success, they say, has many friends, and this, of course, is playing itself, going by the testimo nies of the Star Prize winner in the Tribune Read and Win Promo, 25-year- old Babatunde Osotoye, who eventually went home with the key of a brand new Hyundai Accent car.

Babatunde beaming with smiles in company of his father, Mr. Sola Osotoye, who is the current State Secretary of the All Nigeria People’s Party, Oyo State, Alaba Bolarinwa, Chairman, ANPP, Ibadan South-West and Bello Akolade, the personal assistant to the chairman, paid an unannounced ‘thank you’ visit to the Tribune House on Friday.

They all could not hide their feelings, basking in the euphoria of joy, they sang praises of Tribune for its ingenuity in packaging the promo, most importantly, the proud father seemed fulfilled seeing his son exposing the family to such a sudden limelight.

Babatunde, a former student of the School of Hygiene, Eleyele in Ibadan, who could not hide his feelings while speaking with Saturday Tribune said the development had changed people’s perception of him. Now, he is the toast of many friends, relations, acquaintances who, he said, were even calling on phone to congratulate him, including those, he said, had neither met nor had a relationship with.

Mr. Sola Osotoye, when asked what the family will do with the car, liberally said that, he had no say over it, that it all depended on what the owner, his son, had in plan. But as a proud father, perhaps also once a journalist, in nostalgia, told his own story.

At the end of the day, he informed Saturday Tribune that he was the first journalist to interview late M.K.O. Abiola, cornering him at the 1976 Constitutional Assembly. And as if the family has been destined to receive special gifts, Sotoye who was then on a N120 salary per month, in Sketch, said MKO gave him N250 in appreciation of his efforts.

As if that was not enough, after the story was eventually published, MKO, again, gave him another N250. Within two days, he had gained something more than his four mouths salary! Sotoye also made some other giant strides which were not entirely through his efforts. For instance, it was Chief Lateef Jakande, the former Lagos State governor who sponsored his studies abroad at the Belgrade University.

As a staff of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), he was also sponsored to the former Chechoslovakia Republic for a foreign course. The family has been a fortunate one.

I Submitted 80 Entries Before The Draw - Star Prize Winner

Father of the star prize
winner, Mr. Sola Soteye

How did you feel when the news of your son’s victory at the Tribune Read and Win Promo reached you?
Father: As a matter of fact, I never knew that my child put in for the promo until he emerged victorious on that day. On the said day, I went for a check-up when I got a call from him that he had won the star prize of a new Hyundai Accent car. As a former journalist, I’ve made it a point of duty to always buy newspapers daily, but I have a preference and long-standing loyalty for the Tribune titles. I didn’t even know that he had been gathering coupons.

Do you have other children apart from Babatunde? And how are they fairing?
Father: Yes, I do. They are all doing fine.

What plans do you have for the car that you have just won?
Father: The car is not mine, it belongs to him, so it all depends on what he wants to do with it.
Babatunde: Right now, I intend selling the car so that I can use the proceed to foot the bill of my education. I am a graduate of the School of Hygeine Eleyele, Ibadan. I’ve just rounded off my programme with the practicals at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.

Were you the only one sending the entries in your family?
Babatunde: Yes I was. I took interest in the promo right from the outset. Then I started cutting out the coupons and gathering them. However, on the day that I was to submit my entries, I expressed some doubts, felt reluctant and almost changed my mind about it. Even some friends who saw me gathering the coupons dismissed my quest as an exercise in futility. That notwithstanding, I remained dogged in my pursuit.

Have you ever participated in a promo like this before in the past?
Babatunde: No, but I could remember my father partaking in such in the past. That was in 1996 when he took part in the Radio Nigeria Promo.

How has the mood been like among your friends and neighbours since you won the car?
Babatunde: It’s been overwhemingly joyful. I have suddenly made so many friends and admirers since then. Even people who had not spoken to me before now have started speaking to me. I hear my name in whispers wherever I go in my area. For many, it is just a way of expressing their joy for me. I have received several calls, over a hundred, since that day, congratulating me.

How long did it take you to come to terms with this reality?
Babatunde: Of course I doubted it when I heard from a caller that I had won a car. I was sleeping and having a rest after suffering from chicken pox for three weeks. The first voice I heard was that of a lady who screamed that I had won a car and immediately the call dropped. I doubted it until I heard another voice and yet another announcing the same news to me. This time around, I became convinced and my mind quickly flashed back to the Read and Win Promo which I put in for. I stormed out of the house, borrowed a sum of N500 from a friend with whom I took a bike down to the Tribune House. Immediately, I stepped into the premises and as I was identified as the winner, and saw the M.C, Yemi Sonde, ushering me to the promo ground, my joy knew no bounds and I was visibly shaking.

Do you see your recent success as a manifestation of great things to happen in your life in the future?
Babatunde: Well, I see this as just the beginning of many great things to happen to me. I have a strong faith in God and a devout member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. I remember attending a church programme not long ago where I prayed fervently for God’s special favour.