Reminiscences with the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji (Dr) Ado Ibrahim

Just after reaching the age of 90 last year, the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji (Dr) Ado Ibrahim granted an interview to Daily Trust on Sunday, in which he spoke extensively about many aspects of his life that many did not know. The nonagenarian recalled how he was dispatched on a diplomatic mission by the then Head of State, General Sani Abacha, to stop Nigeria from being expelled from the Commonwealth, his love for traditional music and how he would fly his private jet to Okene from England to listen to them, why his father was removed as the Atta; and his company. He explained why he is not afraid of death.

You marked your 90th birthday in February last year, how tasking is your new age?

I thank my dad who taught me how to live well. I must commend him for my education in Ondo High School. In Ondo Boys’ High School, I was a student boxer, and I loved the ring. Each time I came home, I put up boxing hairstyle and my father one time asked one of his secretaries, “What is he boxing and where is his box?” And the late G. M Baiye, who was my father’s secretary, said, “No,  he fights with his fists and he can wound people with his fists.” My father asked me, “You have to use energy?’’ And I said, yes. He said, “Don’t smoke and don’t drink. Don’t ever do it because you will be weak and people will beat you everywhere.”

This is what I learnt from my father. I have never taken any alcohol and I don’t smoke. I remember Churchill said, “I smoke like chimney and drink like fish,” but I didn’t go through all that. I love exercise, and boxing happens to be one of my games. When I was in England, I played polo very well, and up till today, I still have my equipment for exercise. When I have to work, I do it in line with this poem:

Work while you work

Play while you play

This is the way

To be healthy and happy.

One thing at a time

And done well

Is the best of rules,

As many can tell

So, work while you work

And play while you play.

This is a poem I will never forget and that is my principle: work while you work and play while you play. When I want to work, I work, and when I want to rest, I do. But when I got to 56 years of age, I began to slow down.

Did you actually train as a boxer?

Yes, I did. I actually started it in Kaduna, amongst some youth boxers. In Lagos, I was actually in the ring and I was two times very well beaten, but I also did beat many people.

Like who, sir?

I won’t tell you. Boxing is a very good exercise. That’s why I was very friendly with Mohammed Ali while in California and I had a number of photographs with him. I was not a trained boxer, just an amateur.

How would you describe your father, the former Atta of Ebiraland?

He was a great man; that’s all I can say. He spoke 14 languages. He spoke his native Ebira and English Language very well, with a bit of French. He was an interpreter for the British people when I was a young boy. He spoke Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Igala and Nupe, all very fluently. And a book was written by him. The man had brain; he was a marvellous person.

How many were you in the family?

We were 156, but today, we are about 13 men and women alive. But for grandchildren, we should be more than 1,000.

From how many wives?

I don’t know. There were many of them. If one left, she would be substituted by another to maintain the Islamic requirements. There were so many people in the palace then. Whatever you call them, whether they were concubines, I don’t know. I have very many good brothers and they all respect me. There was no discrimination amongst us at all because in our days, you didn’t eat in your mother’s house, you ate in houses of others’ mothers (step mothers). The woman that wold cook for you was different from your biological mother. There was no issue of poisoning another person, not at all. There was cordial relationship in spite of the large number in the family.

You were the only child of your mother. Were you pampered?

I was not pampered because I buried myself amongst my brothers. I saw them as my brothers too. The only time I had quarrels was with one of my late brothers. But we reconciled and I was very happy he knew he made a mistake. Besides that, I was very much at home with all of them.

Could you remember any memorable experience in your school days at Ondo Boys’ High School and Oduduwa College?

Yes, I learnt to do photography to augment my school fees. Apart from that, I speak Ondo dialect very well. I speak Yoruba very well.

How did you fit into the British society when you went there to study?

In the past, we had the Ford Foundation. They offered scholarships to poor people in Nigeria. And then, you could study whatever you wanted free of charge. At that time, I was lucky to go to the London School of Economics (LSE); and I did very well. When I wanted to go to Harvard Business School, I didn’t have the administrative experience because, for you to get there, you must have experience in evaluation of commercial issues. But I went and I came back to settle in Lagos.