Among the other people in the Synod board were: Erika Moore, Venerable Philips, Dalemo, Dr. Oluwole, and others. He was coming from the interior to preach in Lagos and also preached in the cathedral. We knew about white people a long time ago in my family. My mother had a lot of things which were ordered from abroad. The family at home sent a message that she should bring the children, but she said no. That was why I attended so many schools before going to secondary school; I went to school in Oshogbo, Edunabon, just a few miles from Ile Ife and Modakeke near Ife. I also went to school twice in Osogbo. Among the friends of my father I lived with was Mr. Akinyemi, Bolaji Akinyemi’s father. I think Bolaji was born the year I went to live there because there was the cry of the child all the time.

There, I experienced a lot of things. The Orisha devotees often came into the river to wash and they would leave cowries and coins in the water. We could see the bottom of the stream, and often went to pick some of these things, but we had to hide them. That was where I had my first experience of the clash between tradition and Christianity. In the night you heard a loud cry. ‘‘I no bi thief o! I no bi thief o! etc. That was the resident’s cook in the hands of the vigilante hunters. For a long time, on the way to school, we saw them. Somebody dashed to the back of your house there was the parlour and the kitchen. The villagers would dash in to escape from the CID that came from Ibadan.

The man who was the leader was a tall handsome man with a beard. But by the time they were finished, he had no beard, and his jaw was swollen because they were pulling his beard as they questioned him. I also saw the masquerades in Osogbo that time. Then I went to school in Lagos. I lived with my relations and I knew what Shadare street looked like that time in 1942. In 1943 I ended up in Ila.

In Ila, I went to school first in the Native Authority, NA practising school, which was in the administrative section very near the palace. That was where we also lived. I was part of the children’s masquerade. We watched the annual festival and that was why I knew about things like eunuchs in the palace, and young Oloris. That’s where I knew some of the architecture, some of the artistic carvings. Some of the biggest carvings were in wood, like Elempe, Adamude. I knew the palace inside out. A kind soul was on the throne at that time. A handsome black man. Even after becoming king, he was a very quiet, soft spoken man. He reigned in 1943. There, I also knew about the bell that rang around noon time. One of the queens rang the bell and she must not meet you on the way.

When I got to Lagos, I was familiar with the museum; I was going there in 1947. I went to the library which was not for away from the museum. All those areas I went to, I saw these same things that I grew up with in the palace in Ila. They were already there. Then I moved from the Native Authority, N/A practising school to St. Mathews which was owned by the Anglican. There, an old catechist used to upbraid one of the boys that he didn’t know anything about his culture.

We lived at that time, with an old catchiest, Pa Obadina who did herbal medicine, knew all the songs; including the ones by Olorisha. He did some type of herbal Vaseline. I learnt a few things from him. He also played tricks on us. He would say “can you tell me the person that is coming to the compound? He would describe the person and the person would come exactly as he said. It was later on we knew that he had a mirror he set somewhere that he was using. We were interested in worms or ekulu. That was why we ended up with scratches on our bodies. In Ekperin, the catechist was Ladipo, Duro Ladipo’s father. That was where we knew each other. My mother was teaching the women stuff relating to home economics in the church, showing them how to cook and care for the home.

Was this teaching by your mother the reason for your movement from one school to the other?

My mother was a trader. She learnt how to sell things; she went as far as Kano. She was itinerant. I would stay with people while she travelled. But she was still part of the place, because when she came back, she took part in the activities of the community.

How were you prepared for your entrance examination into Igbobi College?

I took my first entrance exams in 1945; that was at the age of 10. But I did not think it was any big deal. It was when it was getting a bit too late that I realised that I had to go to secondary school the following year, otherwise I would have been stranded. What happened was that I had to go to so many schools to go through this same process and I was still able to make it. Sometimes I went to two schools within the same town. I went to St. David’s Lafiaji, from there, I went back to Osogbo, tried my first entrance exams.

What was responsible for your movement to St. Davids then back to Osogbo?

Yes, I had to go with my mum. My mother came at about the time I came out of the hospital. She insisted on taking me with her.

What was the nature of the illness?

Pneumonia. In Osogbo, I took the entrance exams. She took me with her to Ilesa, and I went to St. Johns. At the end of the year, she took me to Lagos. By this time, my sister had returned from abroad. That was Juliana. She was well-known and appeared in the Pilot newspapers at that time. They knew when she passed out of secondary school, because she was in grade one. They knew when she went abroad and they knew when she came back. They put it there; “Aig-Imoukhuede arrives” when she came back in 1947.

From Ilesa, I came to Lagos, started in a new school, Yaba Model. From there, I went to the school which my sister was familiar with. That was near the cathedral which was opposite her own school where she was teaching (CMS Anglican Girls School).

Was it your sister who encouraged you to go to Igbobi College?

No.

How did you come about that choice?

The school that we always wanted was Kings College. That was what we knew about. There was CMS Grammar School behind us, Methodist Boys High School was down the road; those were the two schools apart from Kings College. It was in Lagos that I knew that if you wanted to go to King’s College, you had to be more serious. Also, it turned out that Igbobi was there and had a reputation. So, I opted for Igbobi. My brother was already there, he got in there in 1947. Later on I confirmed that K.O. Mbadiwe was an Igbobian, Lambo was an Igbobian,