What kind of childhood did you have?

I was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, in 1945. But by 1948, I was in Lagos State. I think I moved to Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, with my mother in 1949 when she was transferred but returned to Lagos in 1951. And I have been in Lagos ever since. My childhood was good in many ways. Growing up was exciting. I attended St. John’s School, Aroloya, Lagos. I also attended Kings College, Lagos. Most of the students represented Nigeria in different aspects of sports. We had a great time doing different things. We had our cadet unit, called Kings College Cadet Unit, with an armoury, where we had guns with live bullets. We had military training.

As a pupil, how did you feel when you held a gun for the first time?

I loved it. When we were given guns, we were trained on how to use them. I was just 15 at that time and we started with the Point Two rifle.

Having been exposed to military training at an early age, why didn’t you join the armed forces?

I already had military training and didn’t need to make it a profession. But a good number of us joined the military. I had other interests. However, I enjoyed every moment I spent in the cadet unit

What was your interest?

In those days, we had three professions —Law, Medicine and Engineering. It was later that other professions came in. I studied Electrical Engineering in the university. I was quite good at mathematics and Electrical Engineering is more of mathematics than any other thing.

Did your parents support your choice?

Yes. My father was hard while my mother, a teacher, was soft. My father wanted me to read all the time. So, any fun one had had to be while he was not around. I used to play football at that time. I had a tough father but I had the succour of my mother. So, there was a balance. When people reported us to our father, we got caned or served a punishment. My father didn’t spare the rod at all.

How did it influence you in the university?

Funnily enough, it had nothing to do with my studies but with my social life. I was at Portsmouth Polytechnic, United Kingdom, in those days. I got a scholarship from the Nigerian Tobacco Company before I got my A Levels. So, I was an NTC scholar and they sent me there (Portsmouth Polytechnic).

Being your first time in the UK, did you experience any culture shock?

You are touching a very interesting aspect. Kings College prepares one for the world. We had interesting teachers and our literature studies put us on a high pedestal. So, we understood the ways of the English. For instance, when I had my Higher School Certificate, which is called A Levels now, we had a group called Thinkers’ Group and the facilitator was an Englishman. We used to meet in his house on Sunday nights to discuss different aspects of the world. So, the culture shock didn’t exist when we went to the UK. We could walk up to our British colleagues without feeling inferior.

Is there anything you regret not doing in the UK?

There is really none.

What did you do after graduation?

I worked for Mobil Producing Nigeria. I was recruited from England and we went for training in their oil field. I worked in various arms of the petroleum industry, such as drilling and production.

Did you have any near-death experience during your time there?

We went offshore and I always had the fear of heights. When I first got onto an oil platform, I was directly facing the ocean and the platform was between 40 and 50 feet high. My first outing was on a drilling rig and it was connected to a vessel by a bridge called ‘Widow-Maker’. It was called that name because if it snapped, one could fall into the ocean and when that happens, death comes. So, I was on that bridge and I didn’t have all the safety kits I needed to have. It took the company almost two weeks before it could get them across to me. But those two weeks gave me the opportunity of acclimatising and getting to feel the place. The day the kits arrived, I decided to try them out. It was a stormy day and I wanted to go across the platform. So, the vessel started going up and I was sliding down and the Widow-Maker snapped. But thank God I escaped. The oil field was quite a dangerous place in those days. I believe more security would have been put in place now.

Did you retire from Mobil?

No. I left earlier, after five years. I’m involved in community service, which I have been doing for the past 30 years, locally and nationally, in service to humanity.

Why?

I wanted to venture into the outside world and see other things.

How did you meet your wife?

That is a full story in its own right. Like I told you, I grew up in Lagos and was at Kings College. One of my brothers was at Igbobi College and I used to go there. Some of my contemporaries at St. John were at Igbobi College. So, I became close to them. When I was at Mobil, I visited them occasionally. One of my good friends, now a traditional ruler, told me that we should travel to Ibadan together any time I was off work. So, I came back from the field on one Friday night in 1972 and he called to tell me we would travel to Ibadan the next day. He also told me he had a cousin he would like to carry along with us and I agreed.

That cousin of his happened to be Miss Jumoke Aina. Jumoke’s brother, Akinwunmi Aina, attented Igbobi College and was my contemporary. We returned from Ibadan, we had to take her home and that was the first time I met the brother. After that, Jumoke and I started talking with each other and found that we related very well and we got married. We started dating in 1973 and got married in 1974. She was an accountant.

How did you convince her to marry you?

After I got to know her brother, I discovered that he was a great friend. He used to visit me at home and I returned the visits. On one of the days I visited him, he asked me whether I would not see his sister. I spoke with the sister and after three meetings, I realised that she was a wonderful person. After that, I told my friend that I didn’t think I could wait for another week and that was it.

How did her parents receive you?

When we started going out, the father called me and told me he knew my grandmother’s brother. So, when I decided I wanted to get married, I went to him and told him that I wanted to marry his daughter.

What did he say?

He just turned back and said it was God’s doing. I didn’t understand that statement for years. But now, it is something I am looking into. But there was no objection. My wife and I have three sons.

Some of your contemporaries could have had more than one wife. Did you consider that since you had a good job at that time?

No. Polygamy wasn’t common during my time and it never came to my mind. I can’t even imagine it.

What did you do when you left Mobil?

I set up two companies. One of them a safety consultancy firm, came about because I was concerned in the late 1970s that drivers wanted to kill me.

How do you mean?

I had a driver and with the way he drove, I was sure he would kill me. I wondered why drivers drove recklessly and I realised that we lived dangerously in our country. Most of the people we call our drivers are not literate. We deal with them as if they are literate and as if they understand the instruments in a car. How can they? I had to shout at my driver when he was about to be hit by a trailer. That was why I set up the company to retrain drivers and it has been successful.

At 75, how do you do to relax?

I am still active in many ways. Looking at ways of making things better is a way of relaxing. But the best way to relax is the opportunity to go through my Bible, understand and apply it in the world. I volunteer my time for a number of things and that has kept me very busy. I was the chairman of the national polio programme for the country. I got involved in the polio programme and as I grew in it, it took up all my time in 2005. It became a full-time assignment until I left in 2013. We achieved a lot during that time.

How did you feel when Nigeria was declared polio-free?

Nobody knows what the best reward is. But, it’s an incredible thing to be alive to witness the victory, at least, in this country and Africa. It’s very sweet and rewarding to see Nigeria become polio-free. It’s more rewarding to realise that Nigeria is capable of doing great things if we put our minds to it. The greatest reward I would like to have is to witness a change in this country, and see this country reach the heights it is capable of reaching for the people.

Are you still an official of the Rotary Club?

I am a member, not an official. The last position I held was as the chairman, Nigeria National PolioPlus Committee of Rotary.

Do you have a favourite meal?

I don’t think I do. I just like tasting all kinds of food and do some of the preparations myself. I experiment with food. It’s an interesting hobby.

Do you mean you still cook at over 70?

I lost my wife five years ago and I don’t find it funny when people cook and feed me whatever they like. So, I do cook. My children do cook and bring food for me. But I also cook what I like to eat.

Do you drink wine or alcohol?

Of course, I drink wine and beer, but in moderation. I can go without any of them for months.

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