Two-time minister and daughter of multi-billionaire industrialist, Chief Samuel Adedoyin, Miss Funke Adedoyin reduces the effects of stress by spending time in the kitchen.

In Kwara State, not very many women are famed in politics. But, obviously, the likes of Gbemisola Saraki, Madam Sarah Jibril and Ms Funke Adedoyin are more than prominent. They've all attained both national and international recognition, even having started from the local portal of politics.

Adedoyin, daughter of a front-line industrialist, Chief Samuel Adedoyin of Doyin Group of Companies, who served Nigeria twice as minister during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007, is notable as a political force in Kwara South.

Although some had contended that she was simply leveraging her father's philanthropy by riding on his coat tail, she has also carved a niche for herself as one of the rare Kwara women with a rather relentless commitment to the well-being of the masses, especially the women folks.

This, she has shown through her numerous empowerment schemes that have further endeared her, not only to the women folk, but to the entire people of her senatorial district and the state in general. Adedoyin, a grassroots mobilser, who has continuously maintained inter-personal relationship with her people, was appointed minister twice on the recommendation of her people.

Though some had insinuated at the time that she was not prominent in the intrigues and ongoing realignment of forces in the state where she was meant to be a factor, she readily disagreed with such assumption. For her, this is not a time to relent and as such, she is not relaxing but consolidating to ensuring that any decision taken would represent the wish and aspiration of her people.

To affirm this, she has been going between Abuja and Kwara, not just for anything but a comprehensive consultation. She would not say specifically what she may be aspiring to in later elections; she has always insisted that the wish of her people would determine her political future. But what seems obvious is that Adedoyin is already warming up to some political activities ahead of 2015.

Given this scenario, it speaks to common sense that she may not have been finding it easy, navigating the political process as well as her personal engagements. But a smart woman that she is, she has invented her own ways of unwinding. To satisfy this urge, she seems to combine a number of elements to beat stress. One, she is an avid reader of books as pastime. She claims to read all kinds of books- fiction, non-fiction, magazines, amongst others. She also loves to watch films. But not just any kind of film, she prefers the Yoruba home videos which she patronises as a form of support for the Yoruba movie industry.

She also does Zumba which is dance and a lot of aerobic. But the clincher, according to her, is cooking. This, she considers her greatest pastime.

"Cooking is my favourite form of relaxation. When I'm tired, I bake. The process of creating something to cook relaxes me," she said. Whilst it is easier to dismiss this as a pastime since the kitchen is considered the first office of every woman, Adedoyin is certainly not in the kitchen doing one thing or the other because it is incumbent on her to do so, she is there to have fun, strangely and this, she confirmed, goes a long way moderating the degree of stress she may have accumulated on the political front. Thus, baking, she was quick to say, has been part of her life. "I've been baking almost all my life- since I was in secondary school. Sometimes, I want the people to come around and eat with me and on some other occasions, I bake and send it to people."