10th remembrance anniversary tribute to my late father, Late Chief Japheth Adebisi Otufodunrin.
I had the option of retaking the West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE), which I wrote in 1979 as an external student in 1980, due to my poor performance, but my father would have none of that.
He enrolled me back as a full-time student with those who used to call me “Senior Lekan”. I also had to live with the Principal of my secondary school, Christ Apostolic Grammar School, Iperu Remo, Ogun State, Late Reverend Sokoya.
My father was an old student of the school.
Some of my 1979 classmates who came to check their results were shocked to find me back in school in uniform.
Back then, it seemed to be an humiliating experience, but I thank my father for the firm decision that kept me on the right education track.
When the 1980 results did not earn me admission through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), my father enrolled me for the Higher School Certificate (HSC) at Government College, Ibadan, instead of allowing me to seek admission at any institution below the university level.
More than any material possession, our father, who died on August 12, 2016, left us an inheritance of good education, for which we will always remember him.
I didn’t mind getting admission into the former Advanced Teachers College, later College of Education, Ijebu Ode, or The Polytechnic, Ibadan, but he declined, though he was not a university graduate himself.
Knowing I had no choice but to perform well to secure the direct university admission my father wanted for me, I prepared thoroughly for the General Certificate of Education (GCE) he enrolled me for before the final HSC examination.
I obtained very high points, which qualified me for admission to study Mass Communication at the University of Lagos.
My choice of Mass Communication was influenced by the exposure my dad had given me to newspapers, magazines and literary books. This got me interested in reading voraciously and eventually becoming a journalist.
At GCI, I was Library Prefect and Editor of a house magazine. Getting an internship placement before my final year at UNILAG was also through my dad. He told a staff member of the defunct National Concord, Mr Emeka Obasi, who lived near his hotel in Isolo, about my need for an internship.
My dad’s commitment to ensuring that all my siblings and I received education up to the tertiary level—ten of us—is something for which we remain grateful to him, among the many other things he did, together with our mothers, to raise us well and make us who we are today, by God’s grace.
More than any material possession, our father, who died on August 12, 2016, left us an inheritance of good education, for which we will always remember him.
Continue to rest in peace Omo Olumagbon Ayayo.
READ ALSO:
EXTRA: Tribute to ‘Abod’ Remi Aboderin at 60
Police arrest six suspected kidnappers in Kaduna
Super Falcons World Cup hopes ends after South Africa defeat
Osun election: INEC distributes sensitive materials
Funke Akindele’s ‘Where Is Mr. Right?’ set for release
NDLEA: We must remain resilient, Marwa charges officers
Tinubu assures NUPENG: We’ll revive refineries after a reset
Sanwo-Olu inaugurates mid-level agro-produce hub in Agege
Troops foil terrorists’ advance, recover arms in Niger
Nigeria exceeds OPEC quota for third month
Lagos police nab suspected cultists, armed robbers, recover pistols
