Retired mechanical engineer, Joseph Osifoh, tells Olufemi Atoyebi how he kept his ambition alive despite many distractions
How will you describe the community where you were born 82 years ago?
I was born at Okuame in Onwa East Local Government Area of Edo State. It was a long time ago and the road networks that exist now were not present in those days. There were bicycles and very few vehicles. The road that linked the village to the town was constructed by the villagers, using cutlasses and hoes. The few social amenities that existed at the time were all done with communal effort.
Did the community have schools?
There was no school and market in the community. The Catholic missionary school was in the main town, which is about three kilometres from my village. The market was also located in the town. We trekked to the town each time we went to the market. A few people in our village and other villages around had bicycles so they took their farm produce to the market with the bicycle while others put them on their heads. It was a difficult way of life but because there was no alternative, we did not complain about it. But apart from the long trek and absence of the social amenities that are present today, life was beautiful at the time.
Were you walking the three kilometres to school every day?
We walked to school in groups at the time. All the pupils would leave the village for school at the same time and returned as a unit after school.
Did the stress of walking to school have effect on your performance in the school?
We were young and healthy so it had no effect on our academic life. It was just part of the training. We endured the long walk twice daily and in the end, we came off it better.
Did this also continue when you entered secondary school?
I did not have the opportunity to go to a secondary school. I stopped schooling after my primary education.
How would you describe primary school education at the time?
We were taught by white men who were employed from abroad by the Catholic Church. The quality of education we got was superior to what we have today. Even if you had only the primary education in those days, it was okay to start a decent life. It was very interesting going to school every day. Apart from the class work, we were also involved in manual work, which kept us busy. We would go into the forest to get firewood and we also went to the stream to get water for the school.
Can you still remember some of the child’s play you engaged at the time?
We had a play a game called joge. It involved both sexes. We would play drums and danced around the village while those who appreciated us gave us money and gifts.
How much did you make on the average?
The money was not important to us. We just liked to play and the dance. Some people gave us as little as a penny.
How many children did your parents have?
I was the last born of my parents. I met 11 children but they have all died now. I am the head of the family now. They all lived long.
When you left primary school, what did you do?
I stayed with my parents for a few years, helping them while I looked out for a job opportunity of my choice. But my parents died and I left the village and moved to Ibadan to live with a brother who worked at the catering department of the University of Ibadan in January, 1955. He was also a student in the institution. Sometimes, I would follow him to work and help him in my little way. It gave me the opportunity to mix with the workers and the students and soon, I was accepted as one of them.
On March 18, 1955 he helped me get a job where I earned a little income. My primary school certificate could not earn me a better job in Ibadan because there were many people with superior certificate so my brother advised me to learn a job skill. I had always wanted to be a mechanical engineer so I was employed as an apprentice at the maintenance department of UI. Twelve years later, the institution formally offered me a full employment because I was working hard.
Through training and seminars, I developed myself on the job and rose to the position of senior technical officer before I retired on July 15, 1990.
How would you describe the experience?
It was very interesting. The university was dominated majorly by Europeans at the time. There were foreign students and white lecturers. The environment was an example of how the society should look like. Everybody worked according to schedule and the authority was always ready to improve on the welfare of the workers.
How did you cope with the change in environment when you moved to Ibadan?
I was ready to learn for a better future so I adapted fast to my new environment. I speak Yoruba language but not fluently despite having spent 58 years in Yoruba land.
What is responsible for this?
Living in the university environment did not help me understand the language as much as I would have done. We related with each other speaking English language more often. So it limited my knowledge of the language. My choice of words is good but I pronounce the words in a funny way. Unfortunately, I cannot speak my own language fluently again because I left it behind in the village. There are few people from my village in Ibadan so I have a restricted opportunity to speak my language every day. My wife grew up in Ibadan so she preferred speaking Yoruba and English languages at home.
Did you dream of being an engineer when you were in the village?
I was one of the brightest pupils in the school and all the teachers liked me. When I finished from the school, my ambition was to become a mechanical engineer. I visited my sister in Ilesa sometimes around 1950 and 1952 and discussed my ambition with her. She told me that I should consider other profession. I ended up as a plumber and water engineer but it was not what I wanted so I did not like it.
What motivated your desire to become a mechanical engineer?
I was just interested in the profession. I liked to do something that involved handiwork. I didn’t want to be a clerk, messenger or produce vendor in one of the few companies around at the time. I liked to control what I chose to do.
When did you get married?
I got married a bit late because I was around 33 years. I decided not to marry early until I had a good job.
How did you meet your wife?
We were both living in the same compound. One day, one of the ladies who came from my village called me to come and meet a girl I could marry. So that was how I met my wife. She was in school but I waited until she finished before we got married. She was born in Warri but her parents relocated to Ibadan when she was a little girl
There was a girl I would have married from my village. We were friends and she was ready to tie the knot with me but I told her that I had no job to start a family. When I moved to Ibadan, she also came to the city and we met again. But my brother encouraged her to marry someone else because he thought I was not ready to have a wife at the time.
How did you take it?
I did not quarrel with him because he was older than me. We were brothers and moreover women should not be the reason for fighting ourselves.
How much did you pay as dowry on your wife?
I cannot remember the amount. The dowry is important in our tradition but in those days, the bride’s family did not put a price on their daughter. The parents were more particular about the happiness of the couple. I paid a little money which I could afford.
What type of fashion was in vogue when you were young?
Fashion is dynamic because it changes with time. I lived in the village and later in a university community. Apart from the shirt and trousers, we also wore lace, aso oke, brocade and sanyan. All these are still in vogue but people now sew it differently from our time.
Which topic dominated your discussion when you were in the midst of friends in those days?
We discussed politics and football. Obafemi Awolowo and Adelabu Adegoke were two great Western Region politicians who dominated our discussion at the time. There were unpleasant stories around their relationship until Adegoke died on March 20 1958 in a motor accident. He was the leader of the opposition in the West. We called him penkelemesi, which came from the phrase ‘peculiar mess,’ frequently used by Adegoke to describe the opposition.
When there was a football championship at the Liberty Stadium (now Obafemi Awolowo Stadium), we would leave UI and moved to the stadium in large numbers. But I stopped watching live matches after witnessing crowd trouble during a match between Ibadan team and Bendel Insurance. I was lucky to leave the stadium alive. Since then, I only watch matches on the television.
How many children do you have and how did you train them?
I have seven children. I have just two boys, though I was interested in having more boys, but I couldn’t get more. After trying severally, I told my wife that we should stop having children.
Because I lived in the university community for so long, my wish was to ensure that all my children have university education. I earned a little income but I struggled with my wife to give them university education. They are all independent now.
The world is a stage where things change. Children of today are disobedient. Back then, children listened to their parents’ instructions. But now, things have changed. When you correct them, they call you old school.
Did you beat erring children?
My father told me a story that made me hate beating children. He was tough but he never beat me. I did not beat my children but I talked to them when they went the wrong way. I still do it.
What do you enjoy doing most now?
Apart from watching football, I love listening to music. There is no message in today’s music so I still listen to the music of I.K Dairo, Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey because their songs have deep meaning. Sometimes the songs lift the listeners’ spirit.
Before the civil war broke out in Nigeria, Dairo warned the people through his music that war was not the solution to a disagreement. At the end of the war, the song became more prominent in every society.
When you clocked 70, did you celebrate it in a special way?
I did not see it as anything special because I felt like a 50-year-old man. My children wanted to celebrate it but I told them to wait until I clock 80. It was a funny response to their desire but I was also sure of my optimism. I knew that with the lifestyle I live, I would live beyond 80. At 80, my children came around and we celebrated it. Longevity actually runs in my family. I was born when my father was getting to 80. My senior brother was about 120 years before he died. I don’t know what is responsible; it’s just God’s work.
What food do you enjoy most?
I eat every good food except eba. In my house, we don’t eat it at all. I like pounded yam and amala with ewedu or melon soup. I also like olele which Yorubas call okiri. It’s made with beans. You can eat it any time. It is very sweet.
Do you miss home?
Yes of course. There is nowhere like home. Home is home; where ever you are, you must think of home. But my children are keeping me here.