Kayode Aderinokun is a man of many parts; a poet, journalist and successful businessman, who was at a time, the Chairman of Lekki Residents Association. In this interview with Tunde Ayanda, he speaks about growing up years in Kano, his family and how he feels at 60. Excerpts:

CongratULATIONs on your 60th birthday, but do you feel 60?
No, not at all. I grew up believing that men and women that attain this age must walk around with walking sticks and wear thick lens glasses. Honestly, that was what I thought I would be right now but the age proved me wrong as you can see, I still go about in jeans and sneakers and people don't even fear me!

When we were young, we used to fear elderly people. I think age 60 comes with the grace of God coupled with the fact that we eat healthier and try to stick to the doctor's advice, though we indulge ourselves a little occasionally. We have to remind ourselves that we should keep the body healthy but its not the easiest thing to do, but I thank God that I'm 60.

Aside the fact that you keep to the doctor's advice and eat good foods, what exercise do you do to keep in shape?
Looks can be deceptive. In fact, when people ask me if I work out, I simply wonder, me? Work out? Though, we have all the facilities at home, we have a small gym and swimming pool which I've not entered in a long while and I sometimes wonder what I can attribute my agile look to and realised its nothing but the grace of God.

I'm a socially active person, I drink alcohol, I keep late nights. But here I am! I think I'm a bad example of indulgence, though we have a long history of longevity in my family, my parents lived to very ripe ages before they died. My mother died at 84 and my dad died when he was 80.

Looking back to how you started, how have you fared? Are you fulfilled with what you have been able to acheive at 60?
Yes, I am fulfilled. You keep aspiring for bigger things, wider things, better life and opportunities but you have to, at some point, take stock at various milestones and thank God for His mercies. This is because most of the things that we achieve in life is not how hard or focused we are, and most of the time, you find out that its not necessarily the strongest or most ambitious people who achieve in life.

So, we all started out having big, robust dreams and we worked towards them and I'm not quite sure that I'm a success. Rather, I would simply put it that I'm a contented person. I'm happy where I am though, I still want to go forward and even if I don't, I still leave my life to the grace of God.

Take us down memory lane, your growing up, what was it like?
I was born in Kano in 1950 to a very respectable family. My father was in the Nigerian Railway, my mum was a trader, but what was unique about our family then was the fact that our parents exposed us to people of other tribes and religions very early in life.

I grew up practically like an Igbo boy because it was normal in the neighbourhood to mingle with everybody as parents enforced discipline among everybody irrespective of your tribe or background.

I also got a lot of interaction with the Hausas because my mother was trading in textile with them.

I even had a godmother who is Hausa, her name is Hajia Hawa. I also have an Hausa name, Balarabe, because I was born on Wednesday. I still speak some little Hausa, many of my sisters and brothers speak several languages too because of the way we were brought up in a highly detribalised setting. It wasn't until my parents felt it was time for me to go to school in the south that it dawned on me that I was afterall a Yoruba boy and this is one thing I still find interesting up till today.

I went to Baptist Boys High School in Kano, then in Abeokuta and later ended up at CMS Grammar School in Lagos. I later went abroad where I attended Coppi State College in America and I came back to Nigeria to join the family construction business headed by my brother, Otunba Deji Aderinokun.

And that was how I cut my teeth in the business, though I have actually gone through the whole spectrum of businesses in Nigeria. There were moments of trials, failures, successes. I was at a time a journalist with the Daily Express and later I joined Lagos Weekend, I have pioneered different groups and belong to a lot of social clubs. I am a Rotaract, I am a former chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors, I am the grand patron of the Disabled Association. I was the Chairman of Lekki Resident Association for five years. I am into construction, the chairman of an insurance company, co-founder and director of a bank, chairman of a finance company, I’m into oil and gas, am into information technology. I am also a poet. I write good poems and here I am today.

What was it like growing up with your brothers and sisters?
It was quite harmonious and our childhood was very memorable. We were such a happy family that we didn't know that sadness, failure and regret existed.

Everything to us then was just so sweet in Kano, but fortunately or unfortunately, I had moved to the southern part of the country before the civil war broke out.

I didn't witness all that but my younger brother and sister painted the gory story for me. The North was a home to all of us and my parents found it extremely difficult to leave.

Growing up in Kano was a memorable part of my life that I cherish and these are things that played significant part in moulding me and it would be quite an ommission not to talk about it because I won't be building a complete record if I miss such a significant part of my life.

I was a man of many parts when I was growing up and that was where I started from. Our mother had passion for education even though she had little education herself, but the passion was just there and in those days, education was the only road to success. With my brothers and sisters, all of us were relatively raised and doing well.