His admirers and associates call him Gidado, a Yoruba sobriquet for a man of vigour and vitality. A man strong enough whose shoulder is broad enough for the weak to rest their heads on.
Bukola Nurudeen Sofidiya is indeed a man with broad shoulders and those who have rested their heads on his shoulders can testify that his shoulders are broad enough.
“He’s a kind-hearted man who is always ready to make one’s problem his own. He is a reliable man,” Ademola Olusola, a childhood friend of Bukola said.
Mrs. Bolatito Enilolobo, a neighbour who watched Bukola grow up on the dusty streets of Dopemu in Agege Local Government said he had always demonstrated a character threat which which positively marked him out among his peers then.
“Nuru, (as he was addressed when he was young), has always been a man who has interest of others at heart. As a young boy, he was a rallying point for his contemporaries,” she told this medium.
That Bukola has political traits in him is stating the obvious. Politics runs in his family. His late father, Chief Akinola Sofidiya, was among the first set of elected Councillors in the state, representing Ward B1A in Agege Local Government between 1979 and 1983.
His maternal uncle, Olakunle Waheed Amunikoro was a member of the House of Representatives for two terms. He represented Agege Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2011.
Suffice to say then that Bukola is a chip of the old block.
But who’s the man called Gidado?
BIRTH:
Bukola Nurudeen Sofidiya was born on 25 September 1978 in Dopemu, Agege, Lagos State, Nigeria. His mother is Alhaja Ojuolape Wasilat Oloko, his father was Late Chief Akinola Sofidiya (Soye) an Awoist who was elected as councilor representing Ward B1A, Agege Local Government Area between 1979 and 1983 under the council Chairmanship of Chief Gani Owolabi Dada while Chief Lateef Kayode Jakande was the Executive Governor of Lagos State.
EDUCATION:
Sofidiya had his primary education at State Primary School, Iloro, Agege. he attended Oniwaya High School and later Anwar-ul-Islam College for his secondary education. He migrated to the United States in 2008. He attended Houston Community College where he graduated with an Associate’s degree before proceeding to the prestigious Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi where he bagged a Bachelors of Science degree in Health Science in 2014. He attended Columbia Southern University, Orange Beach, Alabama where he bagged both Masters of Business Administration degree in Project Management in 2017 and Masters of Science degree in Organizational Leadership in 2018. He holds certification in Clinical Research Coordination from the University of Miami (CITI Program), he is also an SAP Certified Application Associate in Human Capital Management.
PROFESSIONAL CAREER
Sofidiya started his working career in Houston, Texas with Alcon Laboratories Inc, a global leader in manufacture and distribution of eye care products. He worked briefly as Juvenile Supervision Officer with the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department. He ventured into Health Information Technology Consulting in 2015 where he has been working as consultant for different hospitals in The United States and Canada. As an independent consultant, he worked in Houston, Texas with The University of Texas MD Anderson Hospital which is a world leader in cancer research and treatment, he worked with Ohio Health System in Columbus, Ohio.
He also worked as a consultant for Allegheny Health System in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He also worked as a consultant for Garden Grove Hospital in Santa Ana, California, he also consulted for Coney Island Hospital in New York and The University of South Alabama Health System.
Sofidiya worked as a consultant for The United States Department of Defense (DoD) on the implementation of its electronic medical record at the Naval Base in Everett, Washington. He worked extensively for Dignity Health Hospitals in Bakersfield, Sacramento, Woodland, Folsom and the Bay area of California where he emerged as the first non-hospital staff to be awarded the hospital Star Fish award for outstanding performance. He repeated the feat at the Dignity Health Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. He also worked as remote consultant for Provincial Health Services Authority in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and Mount Sinai Beth Israel in New York City.
FAMILY LIFE
Sofidiya got married in May, 2007 at the Ifako-Ijaye Local Government registry to his wife Temitope Helen Sofidiya (nee Olusuyi) who is also from Agege and they are both blessed with children.
Credit: The Gazellenews
