CULTURAL HERITAGE IS MY IDENTITY - Chief Mrs. Asabi Adesina

Chief Adewale Adesina (Wale Saranda) & Chief Mrs. Asabi Adesina

 Chief Mrs Temitope Asabi Adeshina is the beautiful wife of Chief Adewale Adeshina popularly known as Wale Saranda, she is a philanthropist and jolly good fellow. 'Asabi' as she is fondly called is the Yeye-Mesho of Yewaland, a chieftaincy title she got as a result of her powerful dress sense. PublicFaces Magazine and TV crew caught up with beautiful Asabi in her magnificent home where she intimated PublicFaces of her husband's contribution to the society and her role as the new Yeye-Mesho of Yewa-Land..... Excerpt

Tell us more about yourself?
I was born into the family of Late Chief Ayodele Falowo and Ibironke Falowo from Ijebu-Ode. My daddy is from Ondo state and my mummy is from a royal home in Ijebu- Ode. I was born and raised in Ijebu- Ode, schooled in Ijebu-Ode and Abeokuta, and then I went further for my Masters Degree in University of Lagos, Lagos State.

How did you meet your husband?
I met my husband 27 years ago when I went to visit my sister, when I got there; I met him in the living room chatting with my sister's husband. After a while, my sister's husband came to me and said
someone wants to meet me. We started dating officially in 1993.

Being a mother and a housewife, what are the lessons you've learnt?
The elders usually say 'Ile Oko Ile Eko Ni' meaning 'the husband’s house is a place where you attain knowledge'. When we were younger we always wanted to go out, go to places and have fun but when you get married, it’s a different ball game entirely. Being a housewife has taught me so much and I can say I am a brilliant student in that class, motherhood has taught me so much because I have learnt to be
tolerant and prayerful.

How do you spend time with your family?
I usually love to spend quality time with my family, sometimes I will decide not to go out but spend time with my family, and to avoid disturbances I always tell my Security man that I don’t want any visitors except on my orders, and sometimes we can decide to go to the Beach or Cinemas, and if we don’t want to go out we just stay indoors and have fun as a family.

Kindly tell us some of the traditional tittles you hold and others that are still coming?
If I decide to take count of my titles I might lose count because there are so many titles. In my husband's town in Yewa, we earned Olu-Omo and I was called Yeye Olu-Omo. In Itori-Land, I earned Yeye-Oge, my husband is Tayeshe and I was given Yeye-Tayeshe, my husband is also the Bashorun of Isele Kingdom.
I am also the Iya-Oba of Aga-Olowo, Yeye Okanlomo of Igo-Okoto and so on. Now I am on the verge of getting another from our amiable King, Oba Alayeluwa his Royal Highness Oba Kehinde Olugbenle who wants to bestow on me the Yeye Mesho of Ilaro and Yewa-Land.

How did you know about the Yeye Mesho title?
Last year, they brought a letter to us, but before that, my husband had gone to meet with the king so when they brought the letter, my husband told me that they want to give me a title and I asked which
kind of title it was, then they told me the king wanted to see me so my husband and I travelled to see the king in his palace, there he told me he wanted to give me YeyeMesho of Ilaro and Yewa-Land, it is
said that 'the king has the final say'  so there was nothing I could do than to accept.

What do you think prompted the King to bestow this title on you?
I think I was giving this title based on what my husband has done or given to the society, because he is a man of noble character and as well as a philanthropist, he has also contributed immensely to the growth of Ilaro and Yewa and of course Ogun state in general. With my husband being a Chief with many titles which include Babalaje of Ilaro, and Babaloja of Yewa-Land, couple with the fact that I always
represent our cultural identity in my appearance are the reasons I got the title.

As the Yeye Mesho, what are those roles you're to undertake?
What they saw in me before giving me this title as I said earlier must have been my dressing because I love putting on traditional wears, and being the Yeye Mesho I won’t stop doing my thing. I will even engross myself more in our cultural heritage so that our people would imitate me to promote our culture.

Have you ever had to turn down a party?
No, except I am not feeling too good or out of the country. My husband is next in command to the king, so being the highest title holder's wife, people expect us to grace their events so as to show our love
for them, that is why I usually grace events to represent my husband whenever he is not available. I don’t miss a party except on rare occasions.

How do you maintain your beauty despite having four kids?
Thanks for the comment, I maintain this beauty by the grace of God, I don’t use max soap on my face and neither do I use harsh cream on my body. I must say making up is not a daily affair for me but I do
make-up whenever I have an important function to attend, I also sleep a lot.

Have you ever had any difficulty in your roles as a wife and a mother?
Yes I have, but it takes the grace and wisdom of God to choose right. I always have to comply with daddy's needs first, because he is the first baby of the house, you know, I knew him before the kids came, so I attend to his needs first.

Most cherished fashion item?
My shoes, I love shoes so much and I love it high and colourful, sometimes I would have to put two or more shoes in my bag or Car when I go out for a function because I would want to change into another
when I am at the function.

What does fashion mean to you?
Fashion means simplicity and 'fabulocity' to me. To me, you don’t need to be overdressed, just keep it simple, but make sure you wear the right dresses of perfect colour combinations and look good.

Tell us about your husband?
He is the love of my life, the reason for my smiles and excitement, he is a man who has contributed immensely to the growth of Ogun State, a businessman who is into Quarry/Granite business and also his love for his family is immeasurable, he is that man that every woman would pray to have as a husband. He is a rare gift from heaven.

How did you acquire your dancing skills?
My daughter is a very good dancer, so we do all the dancing steps in the house because she teaches me how to dance.

If you're given the opportunity to choose another husband, who will that be?
Wale Saranda, I will choose him over and over again.

Who are your bosom friends?
 I have a lot of bosom friends that we talk every day and we see ourselves weekly, though we might be far from one another but we connect with each other. A few of them are; OLORI BARAKAT OLABISI AKAMO, ERELU AFOLASHADE ANIMASHAUN and SERIKI GBEGBAOJA OF EGBALAND. They are all
my friends.

Your advice for the single ladies?
They should keep calm, because all that glitters is not gold. They should pray to God to guide them through the process of choosing a life partner, from my experience, the wedding is just a day while marriage is a lifetime commitment.