Soothsayers said I won’t live to be 40, but here I am at 80 —Olubukanla Okusanya

Professor Olubukanla Tejumola Okusanya, a man of high scholastic success, is the first Professor of
Halophyte Ecology in Nigeria. In this interview with AKINROLABU AKINDURO and EBUNOLUWA OLADITAN on his 80th years birthday, he spoke about his growing up, what motivated him to venture into academics, marital life, challenges, guiding principle and other sundry personal issues. Excerpts:

 

What was your growing up like Sir?

Thank you very much. It is a pleasure to be around and I also thank God for keeping me up till today. I am the fourth child from my mother and fifth in my family altogether. I never knew I would reach this age as soothsayers had said I would probably not pass the age of 40. At my birth, I learnt some people told my mother that I may not get to 40 years, but I thank God for preventing this prediction from coming to fruition, though there were signs that it could have happened. That was why I gave the testimony when celebrating my 70th birthday 10 years ago.

I have a very different opinion about how to celebrate my 80th birthday. My major aim is to give thanks to God. I really cannot thank God enough for all that He has done for me. So, for whatever it is, I will give thanks to Him for this birthday. Meanwhile, I don’t want a lavish celebration but a decent one though, people who know me know I am a sophisticated person who likes good things.

So, back to how I grew up, like I said, I thank God for this. Another big factor to my growing up was my parentage. I had a very good parentage. My parents were hardcore disciplinarians. From my mother’s side, we are six children. Five of us are graduates. And among the five graduates, two of us are professors and one a medical doctor. This is due to the way our parents brought us up and also the love we children showed amongst ourselves. There was a subtle healthy competition among us which propelled us to strive towards excellence and be the best always. That is why when you talk of education in my village or anywhere in Ogun State, my family is well at the top, as a family with the children that have achieved a lot in life. And like I said, this was due to the way our parents brought us up and I give thanks to God for all that.

 

Were you born with a silver spoon?

No, I was not born with a silver spoon, but we were comfortable. My father was one of the very few educated people in our community. He was literate and exposed. His priority was to educate all his children, as he was a headmaster and also became secretary to the local government in Sagamu. So, when his friends those days were busy using their money to build houses in Lagos, Ibadan and the rest of western region, and they asked him why he was not building houses, my father told them that we, his children, were his own houses. He spent his money to give us sound education, which consequently transformed our lives and made us people of enviable achievements.

 

What motivated you into academics, resulting in your becoming a professor?

God has a plan for everybody. You may be striving to become something, but only if that’s God’s plan for you. God has his own way of directing you to the appropriate place in life. In fact, back then, my father used to call me ‘Ibukunolu Medicine Store’ because he wanted me to become a medical doctor. But after my higher school certificate course, I did not qualify to study Medicine, so I went for Botany. In fact, I wanted to go in for Chemistry as I had a distinction in Chemistry at A Level and I had been admitted into the University of Ibadan for it. I was then teaching at the Muslim High School, Sagamu, preparatory to entering the university as was the case then. But when I got there, something told me it was not my line. I did not know much about Botany until I got to the university. On getting there, I was invited to do honors in Botany because at that time, you have to be invited by the department to do honors in any course. The department had to look at your performance and guide you rightly by choosing appropriate course based on your capacity and performance. That was unlike now that students can choose the courses of their choices and go right to do them. So, in my case, I was asked to do Botany and the field I was pushed to was Plant Ecology. This was against my own plan, as I had wanted Physiology as my field in Botany. But when God has a plan for you, you cannot change it. That was how I ended up specializing in Plant Ecology.

Three of us did very well and the university wrote to us to apply for Commonwealth scholarship for the Master’s programme and to the glory of God, the three of us got the scholarship and went on do our Master’s degree. That was how I began to veer towards academics. After Master’s, the next was Ph.D. Interestingly, my elder brother, Barrister Sola Okusanya, who was very close to me, was instrumental to my resolve to pursue the Ph.D.

He said it would be a thing of pride for him to introduce me to his friends with doctoral title than a Master’s title.

Consequently, I applied for the Commonwealth scholarship again for my doctoral programme and I was awarded the scholarship. That was how I went for the Ph.D. However, after my first degree from the University of Ibadan, I went to Ijebu-Ode Grammar School to teach because I had the Lagos Anglican Diocese scholarship for my first degree. It will interest you to know that virtually all my education was on scholarship. Upon returning to Nigeria after the programme, I went to the Federal Department of Forestry Research in Ibadan. When I was there, I discovered that I was not fully utilised as I had wanted. I then crossed to the University of Lagos in 1971.

Basically, what brought me into academic line was all that had happened to me in the course of my educational pursuit. Although my father had also wanted some of his children to go into teaching line because he was a headmaster and so believed that there was dignity in teaching in those days. That was how I found myself in academics.

 

How fulfilled are you with your life?

There is a song which goes thus: ‘My life has been a joy to me wherever I may be.’ The song applies to me, because my life has been a joy to me. I had looked back sometimes and marvelled at what God has done for me. Like I had told you, I had scholarship for most of my education. As a matter of fact, I had the Commonwealth scholarship three times. It was probably unheard of in Nigeria then for one person to have Commonwealth scholarship three times because this scholarship was administered in the United Kingdom. I had it for my Master’s, Ph.D and after I became a professor, for a Traveling Fellowship to the West Indies. Not that there were no ups and downs, but for me, it has been mostly ups. I became a professor within nine years of getting my Ph.D. That was one of the shortest time one could spend to become a professor after getting Ph.D. So, for me to have become a professor within nine years of getting my Ph.D could only be the grace of God. Again, I have a wonderful and supportive wife, who does everything to support me and thank God for the accomplishment of our sons, who are doing very well in their respective areas of profession and career. This gives me a great joy and high sense of fulfilment.

 

What were the challenges you encountered before getting to this status and how were you able to surmount them?

The challenges were mainly from the workplace and had to do with envy. When some people see you progressing so fast, they become envious. I remembered when I was contesting during a Senate election at the University of Lagos, a friend asked ‘why is it always me?’ Also, when I was contesting for Deanship, some people I thought were my friends opposed me. They were envious of me. But I put God first in everything I do and I know when God says ‘yes’, no one can say ‘no.’ Aside from that, I give everybody their due respect and had made a promise never to do bad to anyone, even when I know you are not for me. Through this, God has been rewarding me with good things because I think well towards others.

 

Any regret at 80?

When your thankfulness is more than your regrets, you just completely forget all your worries because like I had said earlier, my father wanted me to become a medical doctor, but that was not the way God wanted it to be. However, I became a legend in my field. In fact, in the area that I specialise in, Plant Ecology, I am the first Nigerian to specialise in Halophyte Ecology, the study of plants that grow in salty environment like mash land and interestingly I did not know much about this before. I just applied to study for the Ph.D programme and my supervisor there indicated that there were two areas I could work in. Without even knowing what it was all about, I just chose Halophyte Ecology. But today, I thank God I made a success of it as I became an authority in the area. In fact, I am one of the world’s leading Halophyte Ecologists to the extent that when books are written in the area, they always make references to my research discoveries. I have reproduced other Nigerian Halophyte Ecologists. So to talk of regrets, sincerely, I don’t think I have any worthy of mention.

 

How did you meet your wife?

Well, in my final year in the University of Ibadan in 1966, I met a lady I fell in love with. Our love affair was so great to an extent that even the vice chancellor then knew us as inseparable peer. But when I went abroad for my Master’s degree in 1968 after we got engaged, she changed her mind and I thank God it wasn’t meant to be.  The woman I married is a close friend to my sister, Lolade and used to call me brother Teju. She used to come to our house to see my sister. One day, she came to visit and as I was seeing her off, something told me that she would be my wife and the rest is history. She is a strong and an organised woman. In fact, my father used to call her ‘Activity Number One’ because she has eyes for details. In fact, when she is in charge of anything, be rest assured it is done. She loves the family, both extended and nuclear family members. Meanwhile, we will be celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary in September. Though we have our ups and downs, we don’t go to bed without sorting out our differences.

 

What are your guiding principles?

Do unto others as you want them to do to you. Don’t do any harm to anybody. I take honesty as my guiding principle. As I told you, I have resolved not to do ill or take vengeance against anybody, no matter what they do against me. For this resolve, the Lord has been showing me mercies in all my ways and He has been giving me victory over my adversaries.

 

As a role model, what is your advice to youths?

They should do their best in whatever area they find themselves and do it to the fullness of their capacity. They should not cut corners, because cutting corners has grave implications. Above all, they should have the fear of God in all they do.

 

What do you want to be remembered for?

I always want to do good to people. For whatever reason, I won’t pull people down. I also like to go the extra mile to help people. I am conscious of the fact that all the successes that I have recorded today are not by my strength, but by the grace of God. God has been so good to me. I have received so much help and blessing from Him, and achieved a lot through His grace. Because of this, I feel I should give back to the society from my modest resources which God has blessed me with. So, I always want to extend hands of assistance to the underprivileged.

 

At 80 years, do you consider setting up a foundation now?

Well, I would have loved to if I was rich enough. What I have done so far is to assist children in need. I have sponsored many children, especially in my village, Ikenne. I have sponsored their secondary school and the university education. A group of friends and my former students in Nigeria and in the diaspora are donating to the Educational Foundation of Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne, on my behalf to mark this birthday. So, the little assistance I could give, I have always given, and I thank God, my wife has always been supportive.

 

What will you consider as your greatest achievement in life?

Training my children. It is very important for me to follow in the footsteps of my father. God has helped me to train my children to become successful in life. I consider this my greatest achievement. I thank God for it.

 

How do you unwind?

I usually go to my friends and family members to relax because I don’t go to the club and I don’t drink or smoke. I belong to some social clubs like The Sociables, Nigeria, of which I was Chief Sociable for many years; the Ikenne Youth Circle (IYC); the Young Men Christian Association (YMCA); Inner Circle of Friends, University of Ibadan, Lagos Chapter and Lancaster University Alumni Association, Nigerian Chapter. I was one of the founding fathers of the Botanical Society of Nigeria (BOSON) and the Committee of Deans of Postgraduate Schools in Nigeria. I unwind by attending their meetings and conferences.

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents

In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…

Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train

The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…

[ICYMI] Lekki Shootings: Why We Lied About Our Presence — General Taiwo

The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing the killings at Lekki Toll Gate, on Saturday resumed viewing of the 24hrs footage of the October 20, 2020 shooting of #EndSARS protesters by personnel of the Nigerian Army…

ICYMI: How We Carried Out The 1993 Nigerian Airways Hijack —Ogunderu

On Monday, October 25, 1993, in the heat of June 12 annulment agitations, four Nigerian youngsters, Richard Ajibola Ogunderu, Kabir Adenuga, Benneth Oluwadaisi and Kenny Razak-Lawal, did the unthinkable! They hijacked an Abuja-bound aircraft, the Nigerian Airways airbus A310, and diverted it to Niger Republic. How did they so it? Excerpts…

ICYMI: What North Will Not Accept About 2023 Presidency —Prof Mahuta, UDU Don And Kebbi Dev Foundation Chairman

Sahabi Danladi Mahuta, a community mobiliser and APC chieftain. Mahuta spoke to select journalists at the sidelines of an Islamic conference in Abuja recently. Excerpts…