A review of Professor Babatunji Abayomi Omotara’s autobiography, The Odyssey of My Life, by Professor J.D Amin.
THE book, The Odyssey of My Life, by Professor Babatunji Abayomi Omotara, is made of nine chapters and about 400 pages.
It was written in a chronological order as is the usual case for biographies.
The Foreword was written by his long-term mentor and associate Professor Emeritus Akinjide Osuntokun and the book was edited by no less a personality than our own BRB.
It was well written in simple and lucid English, an indication of his sound liberal education.
After reading the book, I concluded that the title was well chosen as it was, indeed, the odyssey of his life.
In Chapter One: The Early Years, the author gave an account of his early life. He was born on the September 22, 1951 in Ado Ekiti, in present day Ekiti State.
His father was a nomadic public servant moving from one location to the other every now and then. Little Tunji led an exciting early life and made friends and had varied perspectives having stayed in several places. When his father acquired a gramophone, he quickly learnt to operate it which probably led to his love for music and ‘owambe.’ When a radio was added to the family possessions, it brought even more excitement with the added choice for news and more music.
He, like his fellow pupils, did not wear shoes to school, though he had two pairs.
In Chapter Two, Life at Igbajo, the author gave account of his stay at Igbajo, having left the Mid-west. He stayed mainly with his maternal grandmother and members of his extended family after his mother left to join his father in the United Kingdom. I was very surprised how easy it was for them in the Western Region of those days to go abroad in pursuit of knowledge hence the head start they had over many other parts of the country.
Like most pupils, little Babatunji had his impressions of his teachers. He had favorite ones as well as the ones he dreaded. He got exposed to politics very early in his life and the rivalry between Awolowo and Akintola was manifest in his hometown because it was also Mrs Akintola’s hometown.
Little Tunji was initially reluctant to help his grandparents on the farm like most urban children, but was persuaded and later developed keen interest in farming activities as most children eventually do. He was baptized at Igbajo, but retained his Yoruba name till date.
In Chapter Three, Life at Baptist High School, Iwo, Little Babatunji had a very good early education an indication of the importance attached to it by the then Western Region Government. His autobiography gives an insight into the opportunities available to people of the region even before independence all because of the purposeful leadership they had at the time.
In Chapter Four, Life in London, he arrived in London to the warm embrace of his parents and settled down in Battersea, famous for its park, powerhouse and the dog home. He survived very well in London despite the initial hiccups and in January 1972, he left for the USA.
In Chapter Five, Life in America, the author details his life in the United States after he arrived New York and later proceeded to Oklahoma.
After his studies in the US, he returned to Nigeria, which he focused on in Chapter Six, Back Home.
Despite his enjoyment of life in America and despite the fact that he had a job offer and could even marry one of his dates and followed a fast route to American citizenship and remained in America or even joined his parents in London, he opted to return to Nigeria.
His courageous decision to return home was most remarkable, but the fact that he stayed put in Nigeria and refused to ‘check out’ despite the widespread frustrations of the mid-eighties was even more remarkable.
He returned to Nigeria exactly 15 years after his departure on the September 15, 1982. He faced a number of challenges soon after his return but quickly adjusted. He had chance meetings on several occasions with the lady he was destined to tie the knot with.
In Chapter Seven, Family Life, the reader will know that Babatunji is by any standard a family man. His initial meeting with his wife to be, was certainly God ordained. He met her several times in favorable circumstances that it got him thinking. The rest they say is history.
In Chapter Eight, the author summarised his thoughts on all the bad things with Nigeria and there are many. He pontificated, sermonised, criticised and advocated for integrity,love and Godly life.
He decried the emphasis on religion and tribe as divisive factors in Nigeria.
Of all the chapters of the book, Chapter Nine, Tributes, was the best because in the last two decades, I have come to realise that life is more about how many other lives you have positively influenced, not how many degrees or material things you have accumulated.
The chapter started with the tribute written by his wife whom he fondly calls Dupsy. She adopted Anne Bradstreet’s poem to her husband John Thaw, which she says encapsulates the love between Baba, as she calls her husband, and herself.
Of course, she eloquently described in her own words the type of person Baba is and finally doffed her headgear to her Babateminikan.
Then came the glowing tributes from Adeleke, Folake and Gbenga to their father. As I said earlier, the family is at the heart of Babatunji’s life. The chapter also has many write-ups from colleagues, friends and associates.
It is remarkable that there were tributes from all the sets of medical students that he taught. They called him their mentor, teacher, role model, influencer, father and even friend among other names and described him in the best attributes and adjectives you can think of. He had extensive contact with most of the sets because he comes in contact with them sometimes almost every year of their stay in the University.
Many of his students are now consultants, professors, among others, holding very responsible positions in the field of Medicine and allied sciences. They are all over the world.
What I read in this chapter tells me that you can hold your head high, beat your chest and walk home even with a swagger feeling that you have put in your best.
In Britain, they would say you a jolly good fellow; I do not know how they describe people like you in America, but my people here in Nigeria, with their penchant for directly translating their mother tongue into the English language, would say you have tried. You more than tried; you distinguished yourself.
Finally, Professor Omotara attached his rich curriculum vitae (CV) at the end of the book in which he meticulously kept good record of all his milestones, which no doubt assisted him in writing his biography.
He had many awards, honours and held many positions. He taught many courses and to numerous students of different departments. He belongs to many bodies.
He wrote many chapters and monographs. He attended learned conferences and presented papers. He created knowledge through diligent research and published in reputable peer reviewed journals, he served as external examiner and assessor for several universities.
Needless to say, he has clearly carved out a niche for himself as a pioneer in the field of Environmental Epidemiology.
Professor BabatunjiAbayomiOmotara, as I said earlier, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your biography. You will be retiring at a time when epidemiologist will be needed in large numbers. I say this because gazing into the crystal ball without being a prophet of doom I see a future of a world with frequent epidemics. The combination of climate change, our increasing capacity to modify viruses, and the massive dislocations in forest ecosystems bringing wildlife in close proximity to man giving opportunities for zoonoses to spread are all factors that are bound to result in the frequent emergence of epidemics in the future. Of course, advances in Biotechnology will better enable humanity to develop vaccines faster than we are able to do now.
I must say that I not just enjoyed reading your biography but was also well inspired by it. The clarity with which you expressed yourself is an eloquent testimony to the sound liberal education you received over the years. The sentiments expressed is also a manifestation of high level of emotional and social intelligence on your part.
Of course, there are always unfinished businesses, my request for the creation of the MPH is yet to materialize. Don’t feel guilty though, you have paid your dues. Work never ends. I am aware of your decision to relocate to Ibadan as soon as you retire and open a new chapter in your life of mentorship. You can still visit us and tie some loose ends for us. I must say that our selfish feeling of loss of your services is tempered by this believe that others should also benefit from your selfless services at least post retirement.
As you are about to pass on your lecturing microphone to the younger generation, please be rest assured that you have acquitted yourself. You gave academic leadership at the College, you gave stewardship to your family and you have been a very good friend to many. In the process of your about 40 years of sojourn here in Maiduguri, you survived the difficult days of Buhari-Idiagbon regime of the early eighties because of your discipline, your survived the Structural adjustment programme of the Babangida administration of the late eighties and early nineties because of your entrepreneurship, you survived the bombings by Boko Haram in the last decade by the grace of God, you even survived infection by the corona virus in the last few months by the grace of God. I think you are still destined to touch more lives perhaps in a different setting when you retire. Congratulations Tunji in advance of your retirement and congratulations for the well written first edition of your biography.
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