He is the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Redeemer’s University, Ogun State. Prof. Fola Aboaba, 80, a professor of Agricultural Engineering, reveals intimate details about his life, educational career and others in this interview with ADEOLA BALOGUN
How does it feel to be 80 years?
It’s just like any other day. We are the ones that apply years to it; you take one day at a time. But I feel happy that I have been able to attain the age of 80.
Does longevity run in the family?
My father died at 86; my mother unfortunately died at the age of 56. My eldest sister died at the age of 88; my other sister at the age of 82. My grandparents were in their 80s when they passed on. I had an uncle who lived to be 90.
How would you describe your typical day in retirement?
I wake up in the morning, pray and do a few chores. When I am not travelling to Igbo-Ora or somewhere else, I sometimes come to the Redemption Camp or go to Lagos. I have retired as a parish pastor; of course I have retired as a professor from the university. I am still involved in church activities even though I have retired.
I learnt you sing. Is it as a passion?
Well, I think singing runs in the family. My father was a church organist; he was an organist at St. Peters, Faji, Lagos for many years. He was an organist at St James Cathedral in Ibadan and also at Osogbo. I understood many years ago that sometimes at evening services, he was at Christ Church Cathedral to play. He was a choir master and so most of us could sing.
You mentioned about three places that your father lived, was he a teacher or what?
My father was a public servant and they used to transfer him from one place to the other. At each place he went to, he was a church organist and he was easily absorbed into the church.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Lagos. I attended primary school in Lagos. I had my secondary school education at CMS Grammar School in Lagos also. I worked for a year after getting my school certificate in Lagos, then I moved to the School of Agriculture, Moore Plantation in Ibadan. After that, I went to the University College, Ibadan. After graduation, I worked for a year before I went to England for my Masters; I came back and worked for sometime in the civil service. I transferred to the University of Ibadan as a lecturer in 1964 and from there I went to Wisconsin on in-service training for my PhD. I came back and continued as a senior lecturer and then, the university wanted to start a faculty of engineering and we were advised to call it a faculty of technology. We had assistance from CEDAR, a Canadian aid group, and we were called the Institute of Applied Science and Technology. When the then Canadian director returned to his country, I was made the director of the institute. When we evolved into a full-fledged faculty, I was the foundation dean. I was the dean from 1975/76, went on sabbatical in 1979/80 and came back and continued as the dean for another session. Then I went back to my department as Head of Department. I stayed on as professor in the faculty till 1992 when I retired from the University of Ibadan but I was immediately given an appointment as secretary general of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors for two terms of three years each.
How would you describe your stay at CMS Grammar School?
I had a very interesting experience. In those days, some of us started off at CMS Girls School and then when you got to Standard 2, you moved to CMS Grammar School, which was a sister college, and there you were put in preparatory class one, preparatory class two, preparing you for secondary education. Then you would go on to form one till form six when you took your school certificate exam. I took my school certificate exam in 1949 and it was called Cambridge School Certificate.
What are the fond memories you have of CMS?
I was a boy’s scout throughout my stay at CMS. I was very young and by the time I was in form six, I was just about 15 plus.I have fond memories of some of my classmates; some of them have gone and some are still alive. Some of them are Emeka Ojukwu; Bolaji Fashola; Yemisi Kuforiji; Victor Banjo; Ayo Adebanjo; late Bode Kuye; Laide Ososanmi, who was a pharmacist; Femi Bucknor; Jimi Omagbemi; and so many others.
What was CMS known for at the time?
We were known for athletics and soccer. In athletics, we had people like K.D. Olowu, he is still around. While in school, he broke Nigerian athletics records in those days. He took part in 100 yards and long jump. Jimi Omagbemi, as a school boy, too broke the 100 yards record. We had discipline instilled in us by then Reverend, later on Bishop S.I. Kale of Lagos who was our principal from Form one to Form Six. At preparatory class, we had R.T. Louis, one of the missionaries. But Rev. Kale was very strict, a disciplinarian.
When you were young, what pranks did you play?
I was the youngest in the class and I used to tease the older ones quite a lot. Sometimes, they would just look at me and laugh and sometimes, some of them would scold me. But we got along very well, even after school.
In those days, it was common to know what to pursue in secondary school. So, was it at CMS that you started dreaming of going to study agric engineering?
I didn’t even know. I thought I would go in for orthopaedic medicine. Then one day, I just felt I would be a reverend. I didn’t want to study in Nigeria but the funds were not there for me to go abroad. So, I worked at the Customs. They told me there was a technical school in Ibadan called Moore Plantation where one could do a diploma in agriculture and I opted for it and loved it. And when I finished, I was made to stay on to teach and this time, there was an expatriate principal who loved engineering. He put me through many engineering programmes and posted me to the workshop where I developed the love for the engineering aspect of agriculture. Then, there was nowhere in the Commonwealth where you could do a first degree in agricultural engineering, so I decided to finally take an entrance examination to the University College, Ibadan. I got through where I read agriculture. There again, we had an expatriate agricultural engineer who taught us the rudiments of agricultural engineering and he it was who introduced me to Kings College, Newcastle on Tyre, the only place in the Commonwealth where you could read agricultural engineering. If you had agriculture as the basic degree, you did two years of engineering; and if you had engineering as the basic degree, you did two years of agriculture. It was there that I developed my love for agricultural engineering.
Didn’t you feel like going into farming when you came back?
When I finished at Moore Plantation, they made me stay on in the school to teach. When I came back from abroad, I was in the Ministry of Agriculture as a senior agricultural engineer and then there was an opening at the University of Ibadan left by an expatriate. As a qualified Nigerian, I was asked to apply and I was through, then my teaching career continued.
How was Ibadan as an undergraduate?
For a long time, we were the only university in Nigeria even though we took London degrees, through a special relationship. Then, you were proud to be a university student; people looked at you highly and you were respected in the society. Then, a job was automatically waiting for you, they would come and interview you right there in the school and before the results were out.
You stayed on in the university for a long time. What would you say caused the great decline in educational standard?
The funding of university education began declining towards the 80s. But for the love of teaching, one was getting frustrated. There weren’t enough funds for research and for overseas conferences; you were more or less a glorified school teacher. Thank God for the occasional aid from Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, CEDAR, that helped but there was the paucity of funds for the university.
In other climes, universities are autonomous in terms of funding. Why is it that none of Nigeria’s public universities is autonomous?
He who pays the piper calls the tune. There were no private universities; all the universities were government-owned, federal government first of all and then states. And of course, when you put your money into something, you must have a say. And so at a certain stage, we were almost regarded as public servants. The funding was entirely by government, not until gradually when you began to have private universities.
What are the things that gladden your heart as pro-chancellor of Redeemer’s University?
The thing that gladdens my heart most is that the students are being oriented that they would become employers of labour rather than job seekers. The vision of the university is that once you enter, there should be no disturbance and you graduate on time. We have turned out some of the best brains, even some of them got awards at the national level and many of them are doing very well in post-graduate institutions overseas.
But ironically too, by the time the likes of you were in the university, our universities were turning out quality brains. So, how can we bring such back?
Let’s have more of God in our system; we mustn’t drive God out of our system. It is very important. We should look up to God as our goal, our standard and ultimate. If you follow the standard of God, you find out that you will be a good citizen because the laws of the land are based on the laws of God, wittingly or unwittingly. The primary thing is to have God first in all that we do. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, as the Bible tells us.
You said you thought of becoming a Reverend as a young man. Was it that you became a born again as a young boy?
No, on the contrary, I wasn’t born again until 1982 when I was 49. I had forgotten about the reverend aspect but I gave my life to Christ in 1982. I was already a professor. Even when I did, I never thought that I would be a pastor.
When you look back now, what would you say you were doing that you regret?
I was wasting time; that’s one regret, that I didn’t come to know the Lord earlier in my life. In those days, fun was drinking beer, smoking cigarettes. There was a lot of influence; you saw people around you with whom you went to club. Everybody was having fun drinking and smoking. Sometimes, you drank to fill your equilibrium, but you discovered that the more you took, the following day, you woke up with a headache and the problem was still there.
How was it easy for a professor to decide to be born again?
It wasn’t my decision initially. I just went to this crusade and listened reluctantly. I just felt I should listen briefly because any sermon that was more than 15 minutes was too long for me. But this time around, the sermon went on for about 30 minutes and at the end, they said those who wanted to give their lives to Christ should put up their hands. I put up my hand but I didn’t know why; something within me urged me to do so. When it was time for us to come out, because I was already a professor, I just felt I should stay back so that people would not see me. But gradually, I found myself enjoying the new life.
I am sure some of your friends would be shocked to see you changing overnight; didn’t they try to talk you out of it?
Some said it was only a temporary thing; they said I would come back but as God would have it, I got healed by Pastor Adeboye’s ministry. From March 1983, he was coming around to teach us and I was learning at his feet. Being an educated fellow, I found it very easy to relate with him and I grew to like him as a teacher and leader. And the relationship has continued since then.
Before this time, did your paths cross?
Not at all; he was a mathematician while I was an engineer. The first time I saw him, I didn’t even know that the man had a PhD. He was such a humble person and I got to know him more. He had just become the General Overseer (of the Redeemed Christian Church of God) but he was not pedantic at all. I used to introduce him as Dr. Adeboye until one day he told me that he was Pastor Adeboye. He said if I introduced him again as Dr. Adeboye, he would not respond. We became great friends. Interestingly, I didn’t at that stage join the Redeemed Church. I was part of the Chapel of Resurrection of the University of Ibadan but we were part of CRM, Christ Redeemer Ministry. When the School of Disciples started in 1985, it was easy for us to go there as pioneer students and we were there for 10 years and I was still learning. People were asking him, these your friends, they are not even in RCCG and he would tell them to wait until God’s time. When I retired and came to Lagos, I had a few friends attending RCCG, so it was easy for me to join them. And gradually, from sitting at the back, the pastor said it might be a good idea for me to be at the front. By this time, I was already the leader of fellowship in Ibadan. They would invite me to preach. One day, the pastor invited me to the workers’ meeting and from there I became a worker. After a year or two, I was told to be getting ready for ordination. I was ordained in 1994/95 as an assistant pastor and immediately posted to a parish. After another year or two, I was made a full pastor and posted to another parish where I led for a number of years until I retired.
At a certain time in your life, you decided to get married. How difficult was it for you to do so?
It wasn’t very difficult at all. My wife gave her life to Christ before I did and I used to wonder what the meaning of that was. Gradually, she helped me along until I gave my life to Christ later.
If you look back at 80, what would you describe as your greatest achievement?
The greatest thing I have achieved is that I knew Christ. Ah, it would have been a monumental waste if I went through life without having an encounter with Jesus. But since I knew Jesus, everything changed in my life; things became easier for me.
Can you point at what you did as a young man which you wish you didn’t do?
As a young man, I didn’t care much about what happened. As a child, I had gone to Sunday school since I attended mission schools but it was like pouring water on a duck’s back. I was going downhill until I met Jesus; I felt I didn’t need anything anymore because I was already a professor. I was a dean, I felt I was at the zenith of my career. You needed to see the way I was smoking. I smoked over 20 sticks of cigarettes a day and before you saw me, you heard my cough. I am sure that would have killed me; I would not have lasted this long.
I am sure that was the first thing you dropped when you became born again.
No, funny enough, I stopped drinking immediately. But then, I was telling people, show me where it is in the Bible where it is written, thou shall not smoke. Nobody was able to show me, so I continued to smoke until one day. Pastor Adeboye knew I was still smoking, but he didn’t berate me. But one day, we went to visit him on retreat where he normally preached and conducted Bible study with us. That day, he said we should study David and Goliath. He preached about David choosing five smooth stones and that when he put one smooth stone in the fling, it went straight to target and then I thought, a smooth stone does not have corners because if it had what we called ‘cornering forces’ in engineering, that would not allow it to hit the target. It is the same thing in missiles. I then asked myself, what are those ‘cornering edges’ in my life? I said cigarette smoking must be one of the cornering edges in my life which would not allow me to hit target. That day, I had bought a packet and had just smoked one stick. While we were driving back home, I threw the remaining sticks of cigarette out of the window. From that day towards the end of 1983, I never had even the urge to taste cigarette again. In fact, I hated the smell, it became repulsive to me. Then, as a smoker, I was always coughing and I wasn’t as athletic as I would want to be. After that I picked up because I used to play soccer a lot, even up to PhD level in Wisconsin. In those days in Ibadan, some of us were selected to play and I played in Ibadan league.
The day you became a professor, how was it?
The day it was announced that I became a professor, I felt very happy. I felt I was accomplished and stocked my fridge with beer so that all my friends could come and congratulate me. This was in 1975 and of course they came, we all drank and had fun. I felt I had reached the zenith of my career and I think I was about 42 years old then. Almost immediately, I was head of department, I was dean of the faculty and it was a lot of responsibility.
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