Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state yesterday appealed to Nigerians
to stop eating imported rice and go back to eating indigenous ones such
as Ofada rice and others. Aregbesola made the call while speaking at an
event to mark the 2016 International Day for Eradication of Poverty in
the state yesterday.
“Rice was not a staple food in Nigeria before 1980. Ofada rice was the
only rice eaten during festivities. We should return to the time when we
were eating indigenous rice. We have cassava, plantain, beans and yam.
We should return to the time when we were eating our indigenous foods"he
said
A former Vice-Chancellor of the
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Prof. Wale Omole,
shares his views about what makes a father.
What are the major things a father must know?
A father must know that being a father
is an assignment from God. He must know that the children he has are not
his property; he is only working for God to raise them on earth. He
cannot play god to them. He must ensure that he trains them in the ways
of God. A father must do everything to train his children and not depend
on school training. The school is there only to reinforce the good
values a child has imbibed from his parents. One should not think the
school is there to teach the children values. It is there to confirm the
fact that a father has done a good job. A father must also be a role
model to his children. The mother is closer to the children as she
bathes and gets them ready for school. But the father is the one they
see as their role model. They study and copy him. He must treat them
with respect, authority and ensure that they grow up with good values.
Fathers must love their children,
properly train and not spoil them. They should not create an impression
of being ‘big men’ to them. It is important that they allow them to
experience the reality of development. Do not try to impress your
children. Do not give them what you cannot afford. If death comes any
day, they will be able to survive since they have learnt to be
self-reliant. All these worked for me.
In those days, whenever I took my
children for shopping, I always told them that one should not buy things
because one can afford or want them. One should buy things only because
one needs them. They believed me because as their father, one is next
to God. Children tend to believe their fathers especially if they see
them leading by example. God trained my children for me.
I do not pray to be a billionaire. I am contented with what I the little I have. I am happy with the joy I get from my family.
While growing up, was your father your role model?
Yes he was in many ways. My late father,
Adedeji Omole, really demonstrated this. I learnt a lot of things from
him. He was disciplined and never ate carelessly. He did not eat pepper
and I also took after him in that regard. I do not eat pepper. I laugh
each time I hear that people who do not eat pepper may not live long. I
am over 70 years now. I also do not like eating outside and eat only
once a day.
When did you become a father?
I became a father at the age of 34 in
1976. I was not particular about the gender. I am not that kind of
person. I wanted two children and my wife wanted four. We eventually had
three children. The first is a female, the second a male and the third
is a female. I have no problem if they are all males likewise if they
are all females. The training one gives one’s child is the most
important thing. It is not the gender. If one gives one’s child proper
training, they will impress one with the kind of progress they will
make. He taught us well and particularly trained us to be honest. It was
thus easy passing godly values to my children. Also in school, I had
white teachers who taught us that honesty is the best policy. Any child
that is not well trained is bound to disappoint his or her parents and
also be useless to the society.
What were the things you helped your wife to handle when the children were young?
Omole with his family members and grandchildren
I did not do much of school runs when
the children were born. If my wife was busy, I assisted her to do what
needed to be done. I did not partition roles. We are jointly responsible
to them. My wife is very good at taking care of the home. She is a very
wonderful woman that God gave me. If there was anything she was doing
somewhere, I quickly do what ought to be done. I do not like seeing
children crying. I will quickly find how to carry and pet them. It is my
nature. I still do that for my grandchildren. I did all I could do to
take care of my children.
How did you discipline your children?
Occasionally, when they were young and
did something wrong, I smacked them. I never used the cane on my
children. I do not believe in corporal punishment. I am not saying it is
wrong but for me, I never used it. It is my principle. I never had any
problems with my children. We are close and discuss a lot. The drawers
in the house were always left open. If my children needed money and I
had travelled, they would call me with the Nigerian Telecommunications
pay phone then to ask for my permission. It did not matter whether the
amount they used in calling was more than the money they wanted to ask
for my permission to take. Before I said something, they did it and it
is still the same way with them even as the females are mothers now.
Also, my children do not speak English
to me. It is Yoruba. Even when my son, Damola, was teaching in the
United States, he would call and say, ‘Ekaro, se alafia ni gbogbo ile wa (Good morning. I hope everybody is fine). He would not speak English to me.
During my birthday, my daughter gave the
vote of thanks and many people thought she lived abroad and only came
home for the ceremony. It is because of her English accent. I didn’t
allow them speak English at home but they speak it fluently.
It is a culture I developed and passed
on to them. If one can learn science and other languages and do it well,
we should also teach our children English as a course and not relegate
our mother tongue. I am very interested in Yoruba language. I chair the
Yoruba Academy worldwide. Yoruba is very important and I love the
language. I also love my country. I do not want to live in any other
country other than Nigeria. I do not want to belong to any other group. I
prefer being a Yoruba man. I am content with what I have. I do not want
to be born by any other parents. When I was in the US on sabbatical and
I was to be given a permanent job, I politely declined. A delegation
was sent to me twice in Nigeria. It was a difficult time in Nigeria at
the time and ‘Andrew was checking out.’
Many people were at the embassies to
leave the country. No matter how difficult it is in Nigeria, it is our
country. We should water our pastures to make it green.
What advice did you give your children in terms of relationship?
Thank you for this question. If one does
not have peace in marriage, nothing will work for one. I told my
children to be sure of the person they are dealing with. They should
know whether the person is sincere because I know that they will be
sincere with whoever they are dating since they were brought up to be
sincere. I do not choose for them. I also did not influence their career
choices. What children need is good background. Let them know their
strengths and weaknesses. I teach my grandchildren some courses. I do
not do that because I want them to choose their careers from the
courses. They will choose their preferred disciplines based on passion.
One will only have to encourage them. Marriage is very important.
Would you have loved to do some things differently as a father?
Let me tell you that God has been very
kind to me. Great is His faithfulness. I wrote in the programme for my
birthday celebration the popular hymn: Great is Thy faithfulness!
/Great is Thy faithfulness! /Morning by morning new mercies I see/All I
have needed Thy hand hath provided/Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto
me!.
I took decisions that looked stupid but
God blessed them. Let me summarise this with the names given to my
grandchildren. My first granddaughter is named Anjolaoluwa (We bask in
the grace of God) while my second granddaughter is Oreofeoluwa (Free
gift from God). My first grandson is christened Oluwatobiloba (God is
awesome) and my second grandson is Ifeoluwa (Love of God). These are
names deliberately given to them to give thanks to God because I cannot
take credit or glory for anything. God makes everything possible for me.
This is why it will be difficult for me to write a memoir because it
will look so superlative that people will say I am telling lies about
the story of my life.
While you were a
vice-chancellor, many students might have looked up to you as a
father-figure. How were you able to perform this role effectively?
I did that to the best of my ability.
The issue that we have in the university is that the parents of most
students have no time for them. Hence, the students try to imitate the
behaviours of friends rather than copy their parents. I am highly
disciplined and most times, I took difficult decisions. For example, in
1994, computer was not as popular as it is now in Nigeria. The varsity
did some pioneering efforts in this regard. I directed that every
student must take two courses in computer regardless of his or her
course of study. I said so because I sensed that if they refused to
learn about it, they would become unemployable after graduation. The
students protested.
The minister of education at the time
called to tell me to handle the case well and not allow it generate. I
said as the vice-chancellor, I was their father and wanted the best for
them. I explained that my determination was to train them for their own
good. My daughter was also a student then. Later, the students blocked
the entrance to the university and the following day, I shut the school.
Their parents came to plead that I should reverse the closure. I told
them that the directive that they should register for computer was for
their development. Sometimes, I played football with them. Ego is not my
problem. I have no problem about position but I always want to do what
is right.
There was pandemonium at Oke Fia area of
Osogbo, Osun State, on Tuesday when a commercial motorcyclist stabbed a
young cyclist, Remi Gbadamosi, following a head-on collision between
the two of them.
As at the time of filing this report, doctors at Emmanuel Medical
Centre were still battling to save the life of the cyclist whose
intestine was spilled following the knife attack on him.
Our correspondent gathered from eyewitnesses at the scene of the
accident that Gbadamosi was riding against the traffic when the
collision happened.
But some claimed that it was the commercial motorcyclist who rode against the traffic.
Following the collision, the duo were said to have engaged in a brawl
but one of the eyewitnesses, Fatima Jamiu, said the Okada rider reached
out for a dagger from his jacket and stabbed Gbadamosi in the stomach.
The motorcyclist, on seeing the harm he had done, was said to have
attempted to flee the scene but eyewitnesses grabbed him and with the
help of some policemen nearby, he was taken to a police station.
Jamiu said, “The Okada man and the cyclist started fighting after a
head-on collision. They had fought for about two minutes before the
Okada man brought out a sharp knife from his jacket and stabbed the
cyclist.
“Everybody ran when we saw his intestines coming out. Some courageous
men grabbed the Okada man, while others called Osun Ambulance, which
came to take him away to the hospital.”
One of the doctors at Emmanuel Medical Centre, Tunde Afolabi, said that the patient had been stabilised.
And though there was panic among the victim’s family members, who
thronged the hospital, the doctor assured them that Gbadamosi was
responding to treatment.
The Commissioner of Police in Osun State, Mr. Femi Oyeleye, when
contacted on the telephone said the suspect had been arrested and that
he would be charged to court at the completion of the investigation.
The CP said the suspect was already in Police custody and that
investigations would be done quickly in order to enable them arraign the
suspect without delay.
