At a very tender age, he was bogged by poliomyelitis and has walked with a limp ever since. At 10, another sad fate befell him; he lost his loving mother. These were additions to having been born into a family where resources were scarce. But his deformity and challenges have not hindered his stride to greatness. With long but decisive steps, Isaac Taiwo Fakaye has risen beyond initial life limitations and now lives his dream as an unfolding success story. Only recently, he was inaugurated as the first President of the Lagos State Scout Council, Kosofe Divisional Council. He shares his story with OLUSHOLA RICKETTS and KINGSLEY JEREMIAHISAAC Fakaye's life presents as an interesting story. It is the story of one who could have ended as a social dreg or, perhaps, one barely managing to survive by begging crumbs at the table of others. But against odds stacked against him, he has, with a dauntless spirit and an uncommon ability to endure adversity, risen beyond his limitations.Rising to his present status in life, Fakeye says, has not been a bird of roses. His upbringing was from a polygamous background. Though, his father did try to give him the educational training he requires for life, it took extra effort and determination for him to see it through. Even at that, he still had to contend with a host of other vicissitudes of life.First, he was struck by polio at a tender age, a development that impaired his walking ability. Then, he lost his mother to the cold hands of death when he was just 10, robbing him of the motherly care he very much needed at the time. Yet, on completing his primary education, he managed to emerge the best student at Saint Paul's Catholic Primary School, Lagos.He had since recorded many high points in his life, the most recent being his appointment as the Personal Assistant to the Managing Director of Moreno Group Plc, a multi-national construction outfit three years ago and, lately, his inauguration as the 1st President of Lagos State Scout Council, Kosofe Divisional Council.Born into the Fakeye family from Egbado Local Council in Ogun state but raised in Lagos Island, the family was not financially buoyant. Due to that constraint, he had to combine schooling with work. And in 1992, he finished from Jubril Martins High School, Iponri.By 1993, he secured a job as a teacher in a Nursery and Primary School where he was being paid N80 monthly. To support his salary, he took children on private lessons in their different homes after school hours. Later that same year, he secured admission into Yaba College of Technology to study Business Administration. But he was more interested in such professional programmes like the Chartered Institute of Local Government and Public Administration, because, as he puts it, he wanted to be on top of his career. And in 2004, he qualified and became chartered.Fakaye discloses that he has always attached so much importance to academics. This explains why, soon as he got chartered, he commenced his Masters programme in Marketing Management at the Lagoke Akintola University of Technology. He completed the programme in 2005. 'By virtue of that, I became a member of the Nigeria Institute of Chartered Management, and associate member of such institutes as the Nigeria Institute of Public Administration, Institute of Management, Institute of Chartered Auditors of Nigeria, and the Institute of Economists of Nigeria.'To get his Master degree, which he did through part-time study, he made a lot of sacrifices. 'When I was in school, I did not have more than four shirts and three pairs of trousers. I would have to wash at night and get my clothes ironed early in the morning so that I can look neat. I kept doing that because I could not afford to fail in spite of my financial challenges,' he explains.Fakeye notes that the most important factor that has brought him this far against all odds and the challenges of his physical disability is determination. 'I never waiver or play with my job. Many people fail to realise that opportunity comes once and to few persons. We have a large number of people out there with no job, so when opportunity comes your way, irrespective of the financial benefit, you must put in your best at all times and do it diligently.'With hindsight, he also affirms that disability is not an excuse for anyone not to be successful. 'I was not born as a polio victim, it struck me at a tender age. But I have not allowed it to hold me down. I have challenged the condition and rode it to succeed. God has blessed me.Fakeye recalls an instance while he was in primary school, when he summoned courage to lead a parade during a particular Inter-house Sports Meet. 'I was a member of the scout and the person to start the parade was not around. I was not ready to see my school being put to shame in the presence of dignitaries. I eventually did it well such that all attention was on as if I was the only person they all had come to watch. I got an award for that parade.'The applause he got that day challenged him not to see deformity as a sort of hindrance to achieving greatness in life. 'If you go back to my school days, I played football and other games. My teachers were always amazed with the kind of things I did. At Primary Six, I was even made the Health Prefect due to my neatness.'Fakeye walks with an obvious limp. It is a condition that ordinarily should make him chauffeur-driven. But he drives himself. His job as a Personal Assistant to the boss at Moreno Group Plc, he confirms, also exposes him to a lot of things. 'There was a time the MD sacked people but I discovered it was because most of those affected did not make attempt to improve themselves. Some were lazy and carefree.Sparing thoughts for physically challenged persons in the society, Fakaye wants government both at all levels to establish agencies that would pay the right attention to them. 'If not for exposure and the grace of God, someone like me would be nowhere today.'He however counsels persons with physical challenges not to see the world as a place where people must pity them. 'You must work hard and must be willing to go extra miles to be someone in life. I appreciate people that have supported me to get to where I am today, but I helped myself first,' he says.As the 1st Divisional President of Lagos State Scout Council, Kosofe Division, Fakeye has plans to build a website, visit orphanages periodically and contribute positively to his immediate environment. 'We want to encourage and support orphans with materials, spend quality time with them, among others. We want to support the Lagos State government to develop Kosofe community,' he says.
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