For me this is not my speech making day. I just want to crave your indulgence to pay tribute to the agents that produced the nurturing and actualisation of events that led to today’s naming ceremony. First and foremost is the incomparable gift of the Inscrutable Olodumare, the genderless, limitless, timeless and ubiquitous teacher at the feet of who all sages and tutors are but ants.
I pay obeisance to my first teacher Alfa Abdul Raheem popularly called Alfa Igboho who stuffed my head with the 60 chapters of the Holy Quran before age 10. And my other first teacher in the British education Mrs. C. F. Taiwo who literally tied me with rope to her table so that I would not run away. In the same category were Pa. D. 0. 0. Sipe and Pa. E. B. Obajimi my headmasters in junior and senior primary schools at Ako and Imere Moslem Schools Ago-Iwoye.
In fact Pa. Obajimi appointed me Prefect in charge of Spoken English. Mr. Awoyemi introduced me to formal acting in 1954 while Tony Honnah the teacher in charge of Drama at Ago-Iwoye Secondary gave me my major roles in acting from 1959 till I left Secondary School falling later into the hands of Ms Ida Kugler the Jewish Principal of Ayepe Girls School that encouraged me to write and produce plays in the college.
But tribute should be paid to Mr. JOB Adebambo the Principal of Ago-Iwoye Secondary School who enforced a policy of a novel a week whereby all students were mandated to read a novel each week and submit the summary of such books every Friday to the supervising teacher. Professor Olubi Sodipo read the manuscript of my first published book Teen Agers Must Repent in 1960 and got me to meet Tai Solarin to take a second look and the bond with legendary Solarin issued there from.
Aye Ode was written in 1961, a culmination of poems chanted weekly on Radio Nigeria in Ibadan and Ijebu Ode, with nostalgic gratitude to Amagada and others and saluting the influence of the Rosicrucian Order, Readers’ Digest, Watch Tower a publication of Jehovah’s Witness, Aworerin edited by Laoye Oguntola who years later became my father-in-law and an early introduction to Astrology and Astronomy.
Youthful participations in Jigbo, Oro, Egungun, Agbo, Orunken, Orisa, Ifa, Ogun and Agemo rituals as well as Islamic Were chants were a major influence. Then to Mr. Ambaliyu Sanni Principal of Ijebu Muslim College who gave it all for my budding talents in writing, acting, debating, and promotion of African cultures to blossom. Segun Olusola took me to Chinua Achebe to obtain his permission to adapt his all time classic Things Fall Apart for Stage and television.
I was 20 years old. Great thanks to my English and drama teachers at the University of Ibadan. Special mention must be made of Professor Axworthy who gave me lead roles in major plays in my early years, Professor Errol Hill, Professor Yinka Adedeji, Professor Dapo Adelugba, Dexter Lyndasy and Demas Nwoko all of Department of Drama.
Professor Whitehall, Professor Ayo Banjo, Professor Oyin Ogunba, Dr. Youngman and Ms Pullin were great influences in the Department of English. Areoye Oyebola the then Editor of Daily Times brought me to the notice of immortal Babatunde Jose 47 years ago while Segun Osoba, Deputy Editor called me up one day and said ‘Tola, don’t mind people who are jealous and scared of your writing skills, write and write and write; write fifty columns a week if you can. Even write on the moon!’Uche Chukwumerije, I thank you for giving me a column in your Afriscope Magazine 47 years ago.
Thank you Uncle Sam for getting me published in your Sunday Times 48 years ago. Gbolabo Ogunsanwo for publishing my column in your 1 million copies-per-edition Sunday Times 45 years ago. And Babatunde Jose, the all time doyen of modern journalism for the uncommon love, appreciation and encouragement you gave me and for the implicit faith you had in me, I salute you. Chief Tola Adeniyi’s speech at the Public Presentation of In the Belly of Vutures. NECA House, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos. March 1st, 2018.
