When I meet a person who claims they lack the ability to attend school for one reason or another, I am not usually taken in, for I have had many experiences that included what I learnt from numerous individuals who struggled to attend school and eventually succeeded in life. One such individual is Dr Okeke Job Izuchukwu . If you have read the book 'Eze Goes to School' by Onuora Nzekwu and Michael Crowder, then you have a glimpse of what Izuchukwu went through to attend school.
Losing his father just about the time he was leaving secondary school changed everything for him. He had to be taken to Ilorin against his wishes, to become a sales-boy apprentice. However, his desire for a university education was burning, and he eventually found a way to enrol for a Bachelor of Arts in English Language at the University of Ilorin. Through thick and thin, he persevered, graduating with a second-class upper degree. Along the way, he also gained his freedom from his master, to whom he had been apprenticed. Now a free man, Izuchukwu went on to complete his national youth service and subsequently resumed work at the National Herald Newspaper, Ilorin, where Prof. Isiaka Aliagan happened to be the then editor. Izu can tell the story better!😄
We met when he was introduced to me, along with Mubarak Oladosu, Rowland Olonishuwa and others, by Professor Isiaka Aliagan, now of Kwara State University, Malete. I had just assumed duties as the State Project Coordinator of the Kwara State Fadama Development Project and needed a group with whom to engage in quiet rumination on creative writing. At the time, the University of Ilorin's dismissal of 44 lecturers had taken a toll on the fortunes of the Kwara chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors. Hence, we decided to establish the informal Ilorin Writers Circle. We held meetings at my rented apartment along Fate-Tanke Road, Ilorin, around 2006. Professor Aliagan eventually persuaded us to merge into the Kwara ANA fold, which was then under his leadership, which was handed over to him by Professor Olu Obafemi FNAL, FSONTA, FEDAN, FANA, National Merit Award winner. Being an existing member of ANA, having joined from ANA Niger in 1998, I did not hesitate.
One intriguing thing was that Professor Mahfouz Adedimeji, whom I didn't physically know at that time, had introduced some of them in our Ilorin Writers Circle to two of my works, 'Tales Across the Plains', a collection of short stories, and 'Weevils on Grains', a collection of poems, sometime in 2003. Prof happened to be their lecturer at the University of ilorin; apparently, Izuchukwu seemed intrigued that I, an agriculturist, was venturing into the field of literature! My works were introduced to Prof. Adedimeji by Professor Isiaka Aliagan, ironically, I had been privileged to come across Professor Adedimeji's excellent piece of work, 'The word or Sword', around 1997, when I was residing in Minna.
Along the way, when Professor Aliagan secured an appointment with the then First Lady of Nigeria, Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan, he also secured an appointment for Izuchukwu with a news magazine in Abuja. From there, Izuchukwu proceeded to the Republic of Korea, where he obtained a Ph.D. degree. Today, Izuchukwu is an accomplished writer, and his story is truly inspiring – one of determination and doggedness. As he celebrates today, I join others in wishing him a happy birthday and many happy returns of the day. Congratulations, bro!
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