Asiko Ti Wa, Na Ma De: When Our Time Comes
Asiko Ti Wa, Na Ma De: When Our Time Comes
By Engr. Bola Babarinde
Political Analyst and Social Commentator
Some words are ordinary when they are spoken, yet become extraordinary when life eventually gives them meaning.
For me, “Asiko ti wa, na ma de”—our time will come—is one of those expressions.
I was reminded of its meaning recently as I looked back on a conversation I had many years ago with my old friend and classmate, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, long before he became Governor of Lagos State. At the time, the words sounded like a simple expression of hope and patience. Today, they represent something much deeper: a lesson about leadership, timing, contentment, restraint and the wisdom to understand that not every opportunity is meant to happen immediately.
After spending more than two decades in South Africa, I returned to Nigeria with my friend and business partner, Mr. Nicholas Herholdt. Together, we developed an ambitious housing proposal designed to address one of the persistent challenges facing ordinary working families, particularly teachers and lower-level civil servants.
Our vision was to develop approximately 10,000 affordable homes annually in partnership with the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC). We envisaged financing from European sources at close to zero interest, with repayment spread over as much as 20 years. It was an ambitious plan, but we believed strongly in its potential. Thousands of hardworking Nigerians who could never realistically afford decent homes through conventional means could have had an opportunity to own one.
The proposal had earlier been presented to the then outgoing Managing Director of LSDPC, Mr. Wasiu Akewusola, who showed considerable interest. He was also a classmate of Sanwo-Olu at the Federal School of Arts and Science (FSAS), Victoria Island.
So, when Sanwo-Olu came into the picture, we were naturally excited.
We knew Jide personally. We knew him to be intelligent, kind-hearted and progressive in his outlook. We believed that, as someone who understood the system and shared our desire to see meaningful development, he might be able to help move the proposal forward.
My partner and I made our presentation, and he listened patiently.
Then came his response.
It was not the response we expected.
Sanwo-Olu explained that the proposal could not succeed simply because he personally supported it. He understood the political and administrative structure within which he operated and knew that ultimate authority rested with his principal at the time, the Governor of Lagos State.
He could have encouraged us simply because we were friends. He could have made promises he knew he might not be able to keep. He could have told us what we wanted to hear.
He did none of those things.
Instead, he was honest.
He made us understand, in essence, that the circumstances were not right and that we should not depend on his position to make the project happen.
Then he said something I have never forgotten:
“Our time will come.”
We left his office disappointed, but we also left impressed.
Here was a man who understood the difference between ambition and authority. He knew what he could do and, perhaps more importantly, what he could not do. He understood the boundaries of his position and the nature of the political environment around him. Rather than create false expectations or engage in a battle he was not positioned to win, he chose patience.
At the time, I had no idea just how prophetic those words would become.
Years later, Babajide Sanwo-Olu became Governor of Lagos State.
And when that happened, I remembered our conversation.
Asiko ti wa, na ma de.
Our time will come.
The housing programme we had proposed never materialised on the scale we had envisioned. I still regard that as a missed opportunity because I remain convinced that thousands of families could have benefited from such a scheme.
But life has a way of rewriting our plans.
When Sanwo-Olu eventually became Governor, he had a much broader platform from which to pursue development. Under his administration, Lagos embarked on major projects and programmes across transportation, infrastructure, healthcare, housing, economic empowerment and other sectors. The Blue Line and Red Line rail projects under LAMATA headed by seasoned adminstrator, Engr. Abimbola Adams Akinajo, major road construction, bridges, housing initiatives and other infrastructure developments became significant parts of the story of his tenure.
Yet, for me, the most important lesson is not necessarily found in the roads, bridges, buildings or railway lines.
It is found in that old conversation.
It is the lesson of knowing when to wait.
We live in a world that increasingly demands instant results. We want success quickly. We want appointments quickly. We want recognition quickly. We want financial rewards quickly. And when someone else receives an opportunity before us, we sometimes begin to wonder why our own opportunity has not arrived.
But life does not work that way.
Someone else’s season does not cancel yours.
Another person’s success is not evidence of your failure. A closed door does not mean that there are no doors left to open. Sometimes, the most important thing you can do while waiting for your opportunity is to prepare yourself for it.
Contentment does not mean abandoning your dreams. It means appreciating where you are while preparing for where you hope to go.
Patience does not mean weakness. It means having the wisdom to recognise that some things cannot and should not be forced.
And understanding your limitations does not mean that you lack ambition. On the contrary, it can be a sign of maturity. True leadership requires knowing the difference between what is within your power and what is beyond it.
That was the lesson I took from Sanwo-Olu’s response all those years ago.
He did not reject the idea of progress. He simply understood that the circumstances were not yet right.
His time had not come.
Eventually, it did.
Looking back, I sometimes wonder whether he knew that one day he would occupy the Lagos State Government House. I cannot say that he did. But I remember the confidence with which he spoke.
“Our time will come.”
Today, those words mean something different to me.
Perhaps that is one of life’s greatest lessons: there is a season to plant, a season to wait, a season to prepare and a season to harvest.
The mistake many of us make is that we want to harvest when we have barely planted.
We want the position before acquiring the experience. We want the recognition before doing the work. We want the reward before enduring the process.
But timing matters.
To everyone who is waiting for his or her own opportunity, I would say this: do not lose hope.
Do not become bitter because someone else arrived before you.
Do not compromise your principles simply because your opportunity has not yet appeared.
Keep learning. Keep working. Keep believing.
Be content, but never stop preparing.
Your season may be closer than you think.
When I remember that meeting today, I no longer see only the housing project that failed to materialise as we had hoped. I see a much more enduring lesson.
I see a young leader who understood his limitations, respected the authority above him and refused to make empty promises simply to please friends.
And I see how life eventually brought that same man to a position where he could make decisions on a much larger scale.
That is why my reference to that old conversation is not an accusation. It is a reflection and, in many ways, an appreciation.
Life teaches us in unexpected ways. Sometimes the person who cannot open a door for us today may one day teach us why the door needed to remain closed. Sometimes a disappointment that feels painful in the moment becomes, years later, one of our most valuable lessons.
My prayer for all of us is simple:
Asiko rere ti wa, na ma de.
Our good season will come.
May we have the wisdom to recognise it, the courage to embrace it and the humility to remember the people, experiences and seasons that shaped us while we were waiting.
The time will come.
The season will arrive.
And when it does, may we be ready.
Engr. Bola Babarinde
Classmate of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu
Political Analyst, Publisher and an Advocate of positive change.
