Celebrating Mrs. Adekemi Okusaga, FNIQS, the Uncommon Woman @70

Celebrating Mrs. Adekemi Okusaga, FNIQS, the Uncommon Woman @70

By Kunle Awobodu

In a sequential anatomy of courage, feminine indices are considered to be thin on the ground. The anachronistic sociological diagnosis bereft of equilibrium in gender evaluation stumbled glaringly in the midst of the Synagogue church building collapse investigation.

How?

The onerous tasks that were placed on the shoulders of Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) by the coroner’s court enabled the filtration of minds.

Illness begets incertitude. During the scientific investigation of the cause(s) of the collapsed seven-storey Synagogue building, the death of the Chairman of the independent BCPG Technical Investigation Committee, Engr. Dr. Busola Awojobi, FNSE, FNIStructE, who was also the President of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers, elevated some scary spiritual assumptions.

Under the tensed atmosphere that could lure the capricious into taking a cowardly retreat, the Coordinator of BCPG Igando-Ikotun Cell, QS. Mrs. Adekemi Okusaga, FNIQS, who was also a member of the committee that was investigating this unfortunate building collapse that occurred in her BCPG Cell, maintained a stoic stance.

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Like the Rock of Gibraltar, she remained steadfast in the Inquest. I doff my hat to the courageous woman.

Following the recent press release of the BCPG Igando-Ikotun Cell, marking the 10th anniversary of the Synagogue Church building collapse and interrogating the state of the litigation, the former Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, raised a concern about the inconclusiveness of the case. He mentioned it during the just concluded Lagos State Physical Planning Summit.

Moreover, he reminded the audience that the building collapsed in the twilight of his tenure as the governor of Lagos State.

Fortunately, the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Lawal Pedro,SAN, was in attendance at the summit. A ray of hope emerged from our private discussion on the matter. The sky is fair, sans precipitation.

In view of this background, I join fellow BCPG members in the celebration of SELFLESS SERVICE TO HUMANITY, INTEGRITY, COMMITMENT, COURAGE, and CONSISTENCY epitomised by one of the foremost BCPG AMAZONS, MRS. ADEKEMI OKUSAGA, FNIQS, who is a past Chairman, BCPG Lagos State Chapter; pioneer Coordinator, BCPG Igando-Ikotun Cell; first female National Treasurer, Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS); past Chairperson, Women Association of Quantity Surveyors in Nigeria (WAQSN); and former Head of Department, Quantity Surveying, Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC).

May your days be long.

 

* Bldr. Kunle Awobodu, FNIOB, is the pioneer National President, Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG); and past National President, Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB).