I Was Headmaster At 19 — 82-Year-Old Industrialist

Eighty-two-year-old Francis Ogunbamowo talks about life after he left the University of Nsukka as a lecturer in this interview with GBENGA ADENIJI

Tell us about yourself?

I am Francis Ogunbamowo, I was born on September 10, 1931 to the family of late Paul Ogunbamowo and late madam Elizabeth Ogunbamowo of Ijebu Imusin, Ogun State. My early education was in a primary school in my village, St. Peter Claver’s Catholic School, Esure between 1937 and 1946. It was a very popular school because it was attended by many prominent individuals from the then Western region. It was after I left there that I went to St. Leo’s College, Abeokuta between 1947 and 1950. There, I earned a Grade Two teacher’s Certificate. In fact, I was among the first set of the school. When I left, I was offered teaching employment in one of the three villages in my town. I taught there for sometime before I returned to St. Leo’s College to teach. I was teaching at St. Leo’s when I got a scholarship to Britain to further my education. Before then, I was studying privately for GCE Advanced Level. Read More Below...


What got you the scholarship?

My scholarship was from the Western Nigerian Government. In those days, the region was trying to get many people educated. It was not a colonial scholarship which was rationed. In the whole of Nigeria, only five or 10 persons could be chosen and it had to be divided among the three regions. The scholarship afforded me the opportunity to study business administration at Garnet College University of London. I went there in 1957 and returned to Nigeria in 1960. The country attained independence in October and I returned in December when the scholarship ended. Immediately after my return, I joined the Western region as an education officer/ lecturer. I didn't stay long in the civil service. I spent less than a year there.

Why did you quit the service so early?

I attended Garnet College where the then authorities of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, asked them for a good academic product. The university was told to go and look for me in Nigeria since I had returned home. Immediately they found me, the authorities asked if I would be willing to teach in the university and I said yes. That was why I decided to leave and join the university in 1961. We established the Department of Business Administration. I was one of the youngest lecturers there then. In 1965, another scholarship came for me to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, US, when I had spent two years in the university. It was sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme. By the time I was rounding off the programme, I was already qualified for a PhD. But I returned to the university to continue lecturing since I had finished the programme the scholarship specified.

Where you married before your academic sojourn to the US?

I was married even when I was in Britain.

Did you meet your wife in Britain?

No, I didn’t meet my wife in Britain. I was once the headmaster of a school named Holy Trinity Primary School, Ijebu Imusin, at the age of 19. I had known her since I was administering that school. Those days, parents would not allow their children to marry expatriates. They preferred their children to choose from their tribes. In fact, if one was planning to travel abroad, one would be compelled to show interest in someone even if one was not going to get married to that person before travelling. She was going to Britain too to study nursing at the time I was going there to study on scholarship. Her name is Phebean Oluronke Ogunbamowo (nee Taiwo). After the formal arrangements, we got married in 1966 and we both left for Britain.

Did she bear any children abroad?

Yes, one of our children was born abroad. But we had one before leaving Nigeria to study abroad. We left the child in the care of our parents when we were going for further studies. Immediately I finished my programme, I returned to Nigeria. She was still continuing her study then. In all, we have four children; three boys and a girl. Some of them live abroad while others live in Nigeria. My wife is 80 now. She is a very wonderful woman and the best wife for me. We ensured that all our children attended schools in Nigeria before allowing them to go abroad for further studies. We gave them the best education and training. To the glory of God, they are all doing well. We give God all the glory.

How were you keeping in touch with her when you returned home?

We communicated often through letters. But I was lucky because I took up a job in the university a year after I returned to Nigeria. The job was a three-year contract and it allowed employees to embark on leave every 18 months. So, the arrangement allowed me to visit my family abroad. It was not long after that the scholarship to US came. When I was in the US, I also visited her often. I ensured that I created time to be with her notwithstanding how busy I was then.

How many years did you spend in UNN?

Those of us from the Western region lecturing in the university were caught in the web of civil war. The then military governor of the Eastern region, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, decided that all non-easterners should leave the region. Though I had spent six years in the university, I had no choice than to leave. My father even spent 20 years there.

How did you cope with the challenges of starting all over again?

It was not easy. Indeed, it was starting all over again. I didn’t want to return to the university community again. I felt I needed experience in the industry. Some of us who returned from the East to the Western region were treated as refugees. We were shared between the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and the University of Lagos. The University of Lagos was waiting for me to pick up a job but I was no longer interested in teaching. My focus was on industry. I then joined the Nigerian Tobacco Company, one of the multinationals in Nigeria, as a trainee. But my substantive post was Training and Development Manager because of my experience and discipline. My rise in the company was rapid because in no time, I became a senior manager and probably the first Nigerian Director of Personnel. I spent 16 years there, from 1966 to 1982.

I belong to many professional bodies such as the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, Nigerian Institute of Management and Chamber of Commerce. I became a fellow and examiner in the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria. My course was compulsory for the award of membership. I also served as the Vice-President of Industrial Training Fund.

What did you do after leaving Nigerian Tobacco Company?

I worked at Chesebrough Products Industries as Deputy Managing Director from 1982 to 1986. The post of managing director was occupied by an expatriate in charge of Africa. But he was sometimes in Kenya or South Africa and I had to take charge of running the company. Though I was a deputy managing director, I was not actually a deputy. I was the one running the company.

In 1987, I went into full-time management consultancy by joining Omolayole and Associates as a senior associate consultant. My most memorable work experience was with the consultancy firm because it was varied. We worked with multinationals and world bodies. We handled many jobs within and outside the country in professional capacities. On my 80th birthday, Dr. Michael Omolayole, wrote a tribute about me thus, ‘‘He is a rare breed of humanity in the sense that he is never impetuous nor tempestuous in character. Yet he is warm, charming and charitable. He is never given to bad manners or ill-manners.’’

What do you do now?

I retired when I was 79. I spent 15 years as a non-executive member of Guinness Nigeria Plc which means I was attending board meetings regularly at least four times a year. Right now, I do not do much. I have a passion to train young people and that led me to the establishment of Phebean Model Hostel in my hometown. It takes my time and I like managing it. It is my way of giving back to my community. After my primary education, I attended boarding schools where I gained a lot. As a teacher, I also ran some boarding schools. That experience is one of things that motivated me to establish the hostel.

How would you compare your experience as a teacher and an industrialist?

To be honest, being in industry is incomparable not because of money but the variety of assignments I handled. I served in many committees and assisted in conducting series of surveys.

Do you have any regret about quitting lecturing?

I have no regrets about leaving the university. I am still part of the university because I still deliver lectures from time to time.

How do you relax?

I relax a lot. I like taking a walk every evening round my estate. I walk an hour every day. Sometimes, I rest on the way whenever I am tired.

Do you have any special meal?

Even if one has any special meal, doctors always advise that one should not take certain kind of food. I cannot really say I have any special meal. But I like amala and ewedu.

How often do you attend social functions?

Occasionally, I attend some social events. I go to Metropolitan Club but I am not as involved as I used to be in Ikoyi and Island clubs. But I am more involved in church activities. I am a Catholic and also a member (4th degree) Order of the Knights of St. Mulumba of Nigeria.

Would you have wished to earn a PhD?

Perhaps if I still remained as a lecturer, I would have considered it a necessity. But considering the papers and theses I have written in the course of my job, I do not really miss or deem it necessary.

Are you still in touch with some of your old friends?

(Laughs). Many of them are no longer around.

How do you feel at 82?

I feel great and fulfilled especially when I look at what God has done for me and used me to do and continue doing for humanity. I was awarded the most prestigious award in my community and the primary school I attended did the same. I feel so happy that I am involved fully in God’s works.

What is the secret of your sound health?

It is God and nothing more.

What is your view about tertiary education in Nigeria?

Things are different now compared to when I was a lecturer. The reason I did not return to the university was also part of the changes I noticed then.

What advice do you have for youths?

I advise youths to be truthful and hardworking in all they do. It will pay them well to focus on their goals in order to attain success rather than depend on anyone. They should endeavour to be diligent in all they do.