Obafemi Awolowo

When he was the Premier of the Western Region, what kind of relationship did he have with other regional Premiers?

Their kind of politics was quite interesting and quite different. They were all committed to what they were doing and to the progress of Nigeria. Of course, they had different methods but their commitment was never in doubt. They had gentlemanly relationship, they respected one another, very highly, and when it came to politics, that was just superficial, but they were all very committed and you could tell when you looked at what they achieved then.

Beyond the common interest, were they friends, did they visit one another at home?

I can’t quite remember but I know they did meet and exchanged phone calls when the need arose.

How did he feel the three times he lost the Prime Ministerial and Presidential elections?

He was disappointed, not in Nigerians, but in the system that rigged him out. He never believed that Nigerians did not understand his message. His party was the first party that had a structure, a manifesto, took campaigns to people and told people what they wanted to do and actually did those things. So, he had implicit faith in the judgement of the average Nigerian, they understood what he was saying but he believed it was the system that was the issue.

Tokunbo Awolowo- Dosunmu

After the civil war and he was invited by General Yakubu Gowon, he was reluctant and it took mama to persuade him to accept. Did he say why?

He probably was reluctant because it was a military government. He always believed that the worst democracy was better than the military system. And I think because he really didn’t know who he would be working with and whether they shared his vision or not. I’m sure those were his reasons but I can only surmise. It’s a different ball game when you go into elections with a team of people who share the same philosophies, aspirations and objectives, so you know exactly how to relate with one another. But when you go into that kind of setting, it was a different thing. He shared the news of the offer with his closest associates and I think the consensus at that time was that he should take it, plus mama’s advice.

Nigeria clocks 56 today, what were his dreams for Nigeria?

By now, I am sure he would have wished that Nigeria be counted among developed nations. Do you know that Malaysia took their palm seedlings from Nigeria, and today that country is the largest exporter of palm oil? They did so much. Then, there were industries everywhere, we had industrial layout in Ikeja, Ilupeju and other areas. They were streaking ahead. So, how could he possibly imagine that we wouldn’t be the likes of Malaysia, at least, or South Korea.

He is the only Nigerian till date with GCFR title and was never a President. How did he receive it?

That was when the government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari decided to honour him that way and we were glad. I was there. It was at a ceremony at the National Theatre in Lagos, and papa was very pleased. He was thrilled. Of course at that time, we didn’t know that he would be the only one with the title without having been a head of state, till this time.

How do you feel when you see the N100 note that has his image?

I feel very proud because it’s a very high honour indeed that his image adorns one of Nigeria’s currency notes.

Even though there are institutions and streets that are named after him, do you think he has been adequately immortalised?

He has been adequately immortalised, because what he wanted most was to live in the hearts of people and that he achieved even beyond his imagination. One of the few sessions that he had with us later in his life was in his sitting room. He asked if we realised that his name had acquired a life of its own. He said none of us could spoil that name any longer. He said if we used the name properly, it would work for us but if we didn’t, we were on our own. Those were his very words that day. Such times, we would say papa had started philosophising (laughs…). Anytime I remember those words, they pull me up and that helps to remember again that actually that was the name that was forged in the crucible of sacrifice and a lot of struggles and therefore it is not a name to toil with and it is not a legacy that can be sold for any kind of currency and I don’t mean money.

When the crisis was gaining momentum, were there times his wife tried to caution him to play down on some things?

Never, they were in it together. They were a team. During the crisis, when he was under house arrest, in prison, in detention, several occasions mama was called by some important people, advising her to talk to her husband and making all sorts of offers but she never bought any of that. She stood solidly with her husband. So, they were the same.

He was in prison when his son, who was on his way to visit him in prison had an accident and died. How did he manage it?

He heard the news on the radio. The others in prison were crying and he was the one consoling them. That same day, he worked on the note of evidence for Chief Enahoro’s case which needed to be ready the next morning. He said that if anything would bring him back, people would have donated whatever it was, whether it was tears, prayers or anything, but there was nothing he could do. Chief Enahoro was still fighting for his freedom and his case depended on what papa had to do, so he sat up and did it. Chief Abraham Adesanya was astounded when he came to take the documents from papa the following morning. He had worked on them, despite what happened. He was a remarkable man.

Tokunbo Awolowo- Dosunmu

Even though people from other tribes benefited from the free education programme he introduced, some people still see him as a tribalist. How does that make you feel?

There is a senator who spoke at an event that I attended. He didn’t know I was in the audience, and he was just extolling the virtues of mothers and how his mother shipped him from the old Rivers State to the mid-west to benefit from the free education that papa introduced. He went to school and that was how he got free education and today, he is a Ph.D holder. There was no discrimination and anybody who could show a proof of residency in the Western Region was accepted, and of course all papa’s children and ministers’ children went to those schools as well. Papa supported Mr. Ernest Ikoli for the Chairmanship of the Nigerian Youth Movement against (former Mr.) Oba Samuel Akisanya at the time when the contest was on. That was another example. Also, all his domestic staff were people from other tribes. There was no Yoruba among them. So, when people talk about tribalism, it is just politics.

Sometimes, when great men are about to die, there are signs. But in his case, was there any?

There were, but we missed them. On his last birthday, he was asking for a book called ‘Life after Life’ and he was talking about life after life and I was thinking papa had come again with his philosophies, so I was just enjoying myself. The following day, Chief Alfred Rewane came to the house, distraught, and raised the issue with him. He asked papa why he made such remarks, as to looking for a book on ‘life after life’ but papa laughed and dismissed his fears. Obviously, Chief Rewane got the message but none of us did.

Also, his last Sunday, which is the 3rd of May, 1987, they had the Jerusalem Pilgrim Anniversary and he was talking about living life or something about that. Again, we missed it. I think when you are so close to someone, the tendency is there to miss certain facts. So, we missed those signs.

I was with him on Friday and he wanted me to stay till Saturday. He said he wanted to talk to me, but I just decided on my own that I would come back on Monday to see him and then he died on Saturday. I regret that but I consoled myself with the fact that that last night was for mama and he shared his deep thoughts with her, according to her, but she also didn’t have an idea that she would not see him again.

Mama said when she left him, she just bade him goodnight (asunji o). In the morning, he had woken up that day, because we saw his note on the table where he wrote the things he planned to do (like he always did) that day and the order of service for the church service on Sunday morning. He had done his devotion and he had been to the chapel. And in fact, his steward had taken his water to his room. All those signs were there. There was a connecting door between his room and mama’s room and he locked it anytime he was going to the bathroom because his bathroom had no connecting door to his room, so that little children would not just come in at a wrong time. So, he locked that connecting door. Papa’s sister came to see mama and they were both in mama’s bedroom. After a while, they realised they hadn’t seen him for a while and so mama knocked that connecting door gently. No response, they knocked several times, and there was no response, so they felt something must have happened. By the time they forced the door open, there they found him and he was still warm at that time. So, he died in his room, and I think he just spent his last moment alone with God.

He was a national figure that people could relate with, even from the distance. What kind of man was he at home?

He was a very loving and very devoted father at home. Due to his many engagements, he could spare only very little time at least when we were growing up. He could only spare brief moments but he tried his best to make those moments count. We also appreciated those times that we spent with him. I remember he used to keep a box of chocolate in his room and he would tell us to go to his room and get chocolates. As we grew older, he tried to spend time with us, still those times were spent advising us, talking to us about our lives and trying to teach us what life was like and telling us to draw examples from his life. He tried his best, and of course when grandchildren started coming, he was thrilled and took them as his own. He was really a very devoted father. Everybody feels that they belong to him and he’s theirs.

Do you remember his favourite meal?

I think it was pounded yam with Okro

Credit: The Punch. http://punchng.com/father-coined-naira-nigerias-currency-tokunbo-awolowos-daughter/