Happy Teachers' Day to My Mama.

I celebrate my Mom, today, for her scholarly teaching and the plethora of stories she told me about leadership and a lifetime journey. And some, I would later realize, are topics in a subject called Government in Grammar School. And I was just a kid.

It all began when I accidentally stumbled upon a copy of a Government textbook during one long summer holiday, preceding my entrance to Form Three in Grammar School. Flipping through the pages of the textbook was like magic. I was mesmerized by the avalanche of revelation.

That was when everything about Ensee-Ensee (NCNC), Action Group, AnyPC (NPC), Okotiebor, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Osadebe, Shaka Momodu, Obafemi Awolowo, Azikiwe, and Vasin(for the vaccine) stories by my Mama started making sense.

I had a firm memory of her stories, but I didn't grab all the concepts until I started reading the Government textbook. It belongs to my cousin, Mr. Emmanuel Alegbe. The author of the book was Mr. Ojo, and it has a deep blue cover. It was the summer of 78. Seeing that every story my Mom told me was inside the textbook, it became my biggest companion throughout the long Holliday.

The first time I came across NCNC in the textbook, I took a long pause, and reflect. And in a state of soliloquy, I shouted: So, that was what she was saying, Ensee-Ensee. And I smiled, telling myself again and again: My Mama is a phenomenal woman.

How? Without any form of classroom education? How did she come to be so blessed with wisdom and knowledge about our political leaders and current affairs? The more unanswered questions I asked, the more I listen and seek her counsel. She was such an exceptional lady, loved and admired by all, yes, by all.

And when classes began in August when I was now in Form Three, I could correctly guess the next sentence of our Teacher during classes in Government. Topics like Rule of Law, Separation of Power, checks, and balances, as well as Deligated Legislation were like rehearsals to me in class.

By the end of the Third Term in Form Four, I've already completed the entire syllabus in Government as set by the West African Examination Council (WAEC). So, when I got to Form Five, I decided to buy A-Level textbooks in Government, because I've already completed the entire O-Level syllabus in the subject.

When the WAEC releases the West Africa School Certificate (WASC) results for my graduating class, I wasn't surprised with my grade in Government, I already knew what I will get.

That was how the idea to study law came about. It started the year of that long holiday when I got a copy of the Government textbook.

And I thank my Mama for being a prolific storyteller. OCTOBER 05, 2022

She was the most unapologetic fan of Chief Obafemi Awolowo I've ever met. She wasn't educated, but she grew up a Catholic. And she was politically savvy. And I wasn't surprised when she came home one day during the dawn of the Second Republic and told us that, her friend, Mrs. Ughehi Atalakpa, one of the UPN Women Leaders in Esanland, told her to become the Women Leader of the party in my village.

And I didn't also realize that the story of Joseph the Dreamer she told us during one of her nighttime stories, comes from the Holy Bible. That realization came during Bible Studies in the Catholic Elementary School in her village where she transferred me to be able to learn and communicate in the English language.

The story of her connection with Papa Awo (for Chief Obafemi Awolowo) and her decision to transfer me from L. A. Central Elementary School in my village to Saint Mathias Catholic Elementary School in her village, is available here on my Facebook page.

Now you know how the journey towards the legal profession and love for books began - all I wanted to be like was the man she never relented talking about - Papa Awolowo.