Kofoworola, one of the children of the late inventor, activist and lecturer, Prof. Ayodele Awojobi, talks about his father’s life and academic feats with GBENGA ADENIJI
Please briefly tell us about yourself.
I am Kofoworola Awojobi. I practise as a medical doctor. I am the third of the five children of Prof. Ayodele Awojobi’s nuclear family.
Can you recall some of the memories of your growing up with your father?
My father was homely. He was a quiet person. There was some warmth that emanated from him and all the children shared the mutual feeling. Despite being a quiet person, there was that affection that radiated from him to people around. On the intellectual side, he was always telling us to be studious. He often told us to ‘condense’ our school notes so that we could read up the topics easily during the period of examination. I recall that ‘condense’ was the word he used when advising us to make our school notes compact.
Did he spend time with his family?
My father took time out to take us out as a family. I remember that we used to patronise some five star hotels to eat breakfast. The waiters already knew our seven-seater table and would usher us in whenever we visited any of the hotels. Sometimes, we could go to the hotels to eat lunch or dinner. He also took us to the Lagos bar beach and lagoon club. We would play games while he whiled away the time with some of his colleagues from the University of Lagos. We also visited relations in the family car.
Why didn’t you study engineering like your father?
My father did not influence any of us to make certain career choices. I lost him before it was time to make up my mind on the course to study. Hence, I ended up choosing the course I wanted to study myself. Two of my siblings however studied engineering. One studied mechanical engineering while the other read chemical engineering.
What was his method of disciplining any of his children who misbehaved?
I cannot remember anytime my father used either the cane or the whip on any of us. He could use a slipper to show he was annoyed about what any of us did, but he did not use the cane or the whip. He did not also make use of corporal punishment.
What kind of preferential treatment did you enjoy in school by virtue of your father’s academic prowess?
I did not enjoy any preferential treatment when I was in the university because of my father’s academic prowess as you put it. The only thing I ‘enjoyed’ as a student was the reaction that people always showed whenever I introduced myself followed by an enquiry Iike, ‘Are you related to Prof. Ayodele Awojobi?’ It happened many times when I was in school. There was really no preferential treatment. Rather than that, there was pressure on me to exhibit the traits of a genius my father was known for.
Did your father show any expectation that his children should exhibit his academic brilliance while in school?
If my father had any expectation regarding his children exhibiting his academic brilliance, it was in the area of ensuring that we studied hard. He was always asking us to condense our school notes so that we could do well in examinations. His idea of condensing our school notes was to highlight the key points in any topic to readable form. He bought us some exercise books for that purpose. There was no formal arrangement to ensure that I did well in school, it was assumed that I would get by academically without undue stress. I did not feel any challenges in school because my father was a genius. I would not say I felt pressured in school for having an intellectually famous father. I think I was able to handle things well while I was a student.
Were you motivated personally to surpass his academic feats while studying?
I did not go out of my way to study. I recall that I hated reading as a child. I would delay reading till when examinations approached. But I knew that whenever I thought of his brilliance I used to arrogantly tell myself that I could match it. I did well in Mathematics and other calculation subjects and my elder brother always told me that I could do well.
Beyond that, I think everybody is a potential academic genius. Everybody is a potential Prof. Ayodele Awojobi once helped with the right milieu conducive to learning. My father was a bookworm. My father’s uncle told us that he liked reading even as child. Everybody is a potential Albert Einstein given the proper foundation from childhood.
What was the reaction of his family when he took to activism?
There was no need for reaction of any sort because it was a progression of events; things were just unfolding. My father was close to Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He loved the late sage. In fact, Chief Awolowo wrote the foreword to many of my father’s academic publications. So, we knew they had an affiliation. My father also loved the Lateef Jakande education policy. He felt government had no reason not to provide for the people. As an educator, he wanted a system that worked because he was a beneficiary of such a system. Thus, it was a natural course for him to desire good governance. It was not that he woke up one day and took to activism.
Tell us about his celebrated conversion of the steering wheel of a vehicle from right-hand to left-hand drive.
I recall that it was an army-green Opel Rekord. The vehicle’s steering wheel was initially a right-hand drive. He thought of converting the steering wheel to a left-hand drive since the country had switched to the left-hand traffic drive at that time. Being a mechanical engineer, he saw the need to do the conversion and it became something that was celebrated in the newspapers. I remember that the vehicle was a family car and I noticed that its steering had become a left-hand drive when he was taking us out in it after the conversion. The second was the Autonov 1 which is an army-type vehicle bought through one of his friends. He fused accelerator, gear, clutch and other vehicle parts in it to generate another steering wheel at the vehicle’s back side. It was an interesting invention. There was a central revolving chair he attached to the vehicle such that one could be driving in an opposite direction and revolved the chair to another side to continue driving in that direction. I recall that he drove us in it on UNILAG campus and people came out to see it. It was very noisy and slow whenever he drove it.
Your father had many nicknames including ‘Dead Easy.’ Did he tell you why he was so named?
He loved teaching people not only his students but anybody who had contact with him. Teaching was something he really enjoyed doing. He also liked making topics on engineering simpler. He would simplify formulae so that all students could understand what he was explaining. So, after his explanation of any topic or having solved any mathematical problems, he would say ‘Dead Easy.’ That was to capture how simple the topic was. It was from there that his students and many others started calling him ‘Dead Easy.’ Each time he was walking on campus and students shouted ‘Dead Easy,’ we would know that our father was the one passing.
How did he tackle disagreements with his wife?
As an intellectual man that he was, he found ways to wriggle his ways out of any disagreements. From the distance that we observed as children, he had a way of calming situations. He was a gentle and calm man.
What ideals have you imbibed from him?
I have learnt his thoughtful ways. He would prefer quality solutions to problems. I have imbibed this from him. Also, his calm nature is another ideal I have learnt.
How did he relax?
My father enjoyed stretching out on his bed or a chair reading the newspapers. He could take garri Ijebu. Whoever prepared the garri must also ensure that a bit of lime juice was added with ice cubes. At times, he could be reciting lines from famous plays like that of William Shakespeare’s. He could also sing some old tunes. He was a literary and debating pupil while in the secondary school. He was also active in the drama class.
How did he like to dress?
When going to work, he wore dark or light coloured suit. Sometimes, he could complement his dressing with a bow tie. That was how he always dressed to the office. For social events, he liked wearing buba and sokoto with an agbada to match (native attire).
What was his favourite meal?
Like I said earlier, he liked taking garri ijebu. He would prefer it to be soaked with lime juice or milk. He liked to say, ‘Go and make me my garri,’ whenever he was at home. He also liked bokoto (cow leg).
How sociable was he?
My father never went out of his way to socialise. He was sociable in a private way. He socialised by engaging in intellectual discourse with his friends with some jokes. That was the kind of man he was.
How close were you to him?
He was a kind and quiet father. I was like his right-hand man among his children may be because I was very playful. I would be the last person to sleep and whenever he was coming home late, he was sure I would be awake to open the door for him.
Was he involved in any sports?
Yes, when he was young, he was involved in badminton, table tennis and athletics.
What was his normal daily schedule?
When we were young, he would drive us to school. He would leave home before 7pm to go to school. He often returned home late.
How did he die?
He had a protracted illness. He was managed by some doctors before his death. I would not say I know the exact cause of his death. Perhaps, I am talking as a medical doctor. If someone dies, there is an exact medical cause of the death traceable to a chain of events which one can put together to say, ‘this is the primary cause of the death and this is the secondary cause of the death.’ I cannot really say the exact cause of his death because I was young then.
Where were you when he died?
I was at home when he breathed his last. We are coping as a family after his death. But it was tough for a while especially as my mother took up the role of the breadwinner after his death. It was not long after she retired as a nurse that the incident occurred.
Where is your mum now?
She is in Lagos.
How has his name opened doors for you?
My father’s name has not opened any doors for me. His name will open doors if I go out of my way to announce that I am one of his children. By nature, I am conservative. I have never gone to anybody to use his name to seek favours.
Are there plans by his family to organise a memorial event 30 years after his demise?
As a nuclear family, I do not think there are plans to organise any memorial event to commemorate 30 years of my father’s death. I think each of us is busy with individual struggles. If we are all relaxed, have time and the wherewithal, we could have planned for it. We are too busy looking for money to pay the school fees of our children. Is this not an irony? My salary probably cannot pay the tuition of a child per term.
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