Not really. My parents were liberal. - Olubola Babalola

I actually wanted to study Pharmacy but I could not meet up with the cut-off points for Pharmacy for the three times that I did JAMB examinations. My dad tried his best using all the connections at his disposal including that of Late Mama H.I.D. Awolowo to get me admitted for Pharmacy, traveling with me to Jos, Markudi and Ikenne, because I was bent on studying Pharmacy but all to no avail because that was not God’s plan for me! Miraculously, at the last minutes, when all hopes were lost, God brought me into quantity surveying – the course I never heard of before at that time!

My view of life is that one should get all the necessary qualifications because no one knows when they would be required and since I found myself in academics with the catchword “publish or perish”; I worked hard to publish in both local and international journals in order to gain recognition in my field.

My dad worked with the Oyo State Civil Service while my mum was a trader.