I regret starting primary school at 18 – Retired civil servant

Eighty-three-year-old Suleiman Aminu, who retired from the Ministry of Defence, tells EMMANUEL OJO how his father’s perception of Western education affected him

Did you attend school early?

My name is Suleiman Aminu. I was born into the family of Alhaji Aminu Ojogun in 1940 in the Ojogun family house, Akoko North-West Local Government Area of Ondo State. I attended school in Arigidi Akoko. I went to school late. I was a grown-up boy before I started schooling because my dad was a staunch Islamic scholar and his reason was that if we (his children) went to school, we wouldn’t be able to observe the Islamic prayers. For that singular reason, he didn’t allow us to start school early. All our contemporaries were done with primary school and had gone to secondary school at that time but we had yet to begin.

How old were you when you eventually started school?

I was about 18 years old when I started receiving primary education at an Ansar-ud-Deen school in Akoko, Ondo State. I had setbacks because at that time, some people were already exploring Western education as a means to build up themselves and you know that Islamic education has its limitations. It wasn’t like we didn’t like being educated at that time; we wanted it but our dad, being a staunch Islamic scholar, wouldn’t want to even hear anything about Western education and it drew us backward.

How was your dad convinced to let you have access to Western education?

It was through soft persuasion from members of the Ansar-ud-Deen society in our area at that time and some families that had an interest in our dad. They continued to persuade him to allow us to have access to Western education. Our dad made us focus on the Arabic school where Arabic lessons were taught. Although my dad was a cocoa farmer before the town witnessed civilisation, he didn’t want us to take part in farming because he initially had a delay in childbirth. So, when we were born, he pampered us; he didn’t want us to go to the farm. He didn’t want us to do anything. The only thing he wanted us to do was to attend Arabic classes in the morning and evening. So, it was by chance that I went to school.

The school close to where we lived that was popular among the Muslims was Ansar-ud-Deen and the teachers there at that time knew the level of my dad in Islamic studies and they knew that he wasn’t poor, so, they came to him and tried to convince him, telling him that as time went on, Western education would dominate the system because the teachers also had exposure to Western education. Also, some Christian families that had the privilege of getting Western education convinced him. He eventually gave in and that was how he allowed us to have the level of education we got.

What was the highest level of education you were able to attain?

I attended a technical school in those days. Later, I took a supervisory management course and I got a diploma, which was equivalent to an ordinary national diploma before I started my career.

Looking back at your career and how life has gone, do you have regrets you will like to fix if you have the opportunity?

The only regret that I can say that I have is the fact that I didn’t attend school on time. I started late when compared to my peers; most of my peers were far ahead of me in academic pursuit when I started. However, I didn’t allow that to recur when I had my children. We attended to their educational needs early enough and presently, I feel happy that they are all graduates and they are all doing fine in their various fields of endeavour. Some of them have even obtained their master’s.

Looking back, it was not as if my dad was a poor man who couldn’t afford to send his children to school at that time. He wasn’t. It was just Islamic education that didn’t allow him to venture into exploring Western education, but we have discovered that it is not a barrier. Receiving Western education does not necessarily mean that one cannot receive Islamic knowledge. These days, most of those who receive Islamic education are doing well in their endeavours. So, we learnt a lesson from that and didn’t let that happen to our children. Meanwhile, the woman I got married to is an educationist by profession, so she helped me in that aspect by making sure that our children received the right education.

What was your career like?

Initially, I worked with the Lagos State City Transport Service before I joined the Federal Ministry of Defence, Nigerian Army, and I worked in the electrical and mechanical department. I worked with them at their airport base and that was where I retired, at the Nigerian Army Engineering Department. I joined as a civilian in the mechanical department. At one stage, before the Civil War, they needed some civilians to work with them.

What was your experience during the Civil War? Were you also taken to the war front?

I was with them before the Civil War and the experience was tough because I was in the army base. They treated us very well and we were responsible for the maintenance of their equipment at their base. It was a very tough time but they treated us well. It was the Federal Ministry of Defence that was responsible for our remuneration.

How old were you when you got married?

I was over 35 years old when I got married.

Was your marriage at that age connected to starting primary school at 18?

Yes, that was the reason, and I didn’t want to get married when I was not fully ready. I wanted to have something tangible in my educational pursuit before getting married. I believed that what I achieved would assist me in the upbringing of the children.

How did you meet your wife?

My wife’s dad was from Arigidi. We were in the same city and our houses were not far from each other. My wife’s family had a house in Lagos, but her dad usually took his family home during holidays. She and her siblings attended secondary school in Arigidi and that was where we met. When I got to Lagos and started working, I had the opportunity to meet one of her dad’s children who came to work with Nigeria Airways then. That was how we met each other and both families were very happy about it and that was how we got married.

At 83, what gives you the most sense of fulfilment and would you say that you are satisfied with the way your career went?

I am 83 and on December 22, I will be 84. Well, it’s only God that could have done it. Also, we didn’t commit ourselves to habits that deteriorate one’s health from the beginning. Our main target was to work and be committed to the service of God in the Islamic religion. I took care of myself and right now, the only health challenge I can feel at the moment is the eye problem I have and I have undergone a surgical operation for it. I am very happy in the sense that at the level God has placed me, I’m able to attend meetings in my religion the way I like and my wife and children accept my faith. So, they are very happy with me and I’m happy with them. My children also take care of me and each time I need something, they give it to me.

How different was life in Nigeria in the 1950s and 1960s compared to what it is now?

Well, if we look at the present, we can say that Nigeria is getting better and if we also look at the past, there are things at that time that did not allow us to say that it was 100 per cent good then. However, looking at the level of education and civilisation now, one can say that there is progress, unlike in the past when it was all about farming. Civilisation has taken over. If one leaves Nigeria and moves abroad, the person can cope with the level of civilisation there because there may not be much difference from what they saw in Lagos. That is to show that Nigeria is moving forward, but my advice is that people should take care of their children and make sure that they are well-cultured. Many parents have a lot of work to do for their sons and daughters.

Good character is learnt at home. If you see the way some people dress, you will be surprised and wonder if they are cultured at all. Some parents expose their daughters to the wearing of beads around their waists right from primary school and you wonder what will become of the children when they are grown. Parents need to look out for their children from the early stages and monitor the kind of clothes they wear and so on. Some call it civilisation, but they need to watch out for that to ensure that it doesn’t have a negative impact on the lives of children in the future. Parents also need to monitor their children’s movements and things around them so that they will not regret it and they should know the kind of company their children keep.

Was your dad a polygamist as the Islamic religion permits marrying more than one wife?

At that time, he was a farmer, so he had three wives. He was a cocoa farmer. My dad didn’t saddle his wives with too many responsibilities in farming; he employed the services of labourers but the wives gave him the chance and he took care of them.

What was it like growing up in a polygamous family?

I didn’t experience it in a bad way in the sense that all my father’s wives had a common place for cooking, eating and so on, and it was the same for the children; there was no segregation. We ate and did everything together, irrespective of who gave birth to us. So, it made us cooperate as children and outsiders didn’t know who gave birth to whom. So, we enjoyed that and the love still exists among us. If I call any of my younger ones now for assistance, they will respond and still give me the respect I deserve at the same time.

The things I am happy with are the lessons we were taught in Islam. I am happy when I remember them in the aspect of how I relate with people. I have expended that knowledge in the aspect of relating with my spouse, relating with others and in the aspect of raising my children, and since then, it has always been helpful. I apply the lessons learnt from my dad and other Islamic scholars and they have always been very helpful.

Did you consider marrying more than one wife?

No. Islam does not make it compulsory for one to marry more than one wife. It is up to the man if he thinks he is up to the task and can take up the responsibilities there. How many people can take up the responsibilities of having two to three wives now without being pulled down by the responsibilities? I restricted myself to one wife and it worked for me.