Life is a play of light and darkness. For either of these two divides, history will continue to jingle its bell according to the choice of a man or woman. As a matter of choice, Emeritus Professor John Taiwo Da Rocha-Afodu shines a very bright light, and Tony Agbugba, treading the path of that light, brings The Da Rocha-Afodu Clan to see the light of day.
The Da Rocha-Afodu Clan is a creatively-woven biographical narrative in which Tony Agbugba looks at the various exploits of Prof John Rocha-Afodu – his birth and formative years as a primary school pupil, to when he became a young teacher immediately after graduating from St. Gregory’s college, Lagos. Agbugba moves his retrospective lens further and captures professor’s life as a medical student in England, his life pattern as a doctor who specialised in surgery, his experience of marital bliss and so on.
The narrative begins in Chapter One with Prof. Rocha-Afodu’s maternal grandfather who had virtually everything at his disposal as a wealthy businessman, to when Prof. Rocha-Afodu is brought into the picture of history. Even though his father, Ladipo Afodu, a pharmacist and cricketer died in 1940 when he was only three years old, life was not miserable at all for Prof. Rocha-Afodu. His grandfather, owner of the famous White house built in 1895, made him to enjoy wealth, but did not entertain any act of loitering or indolence in him.
Hear Prof. Rocha-Afodu: “I was made to ensure that I fed all the animals and birds at the various stalls at home every morning before I left for school”. Hear him further: “I was also invited to take active part in home chores. There was no room for laziness or frivolities,” he added. He was made to imbibe the culture of hard work and the sense of commitment to duty and excellence.
It is a thing about life that when some people made their stories from grass to grace, and some made their stories from grace to grass, Prof. Rocha-Afodu made his story from grace to grace. A scholarly eagle that soared to the highest sky in the academia, Prof. Rocha-Afodu did not set his goal too low to reach it; instead, he set his goal very high and was able to reach it. His story is a moving story of luck, of hard work, of dedication to duty, of commitment to excellence, and of passion to serve humanity. To his beloved country, he offered service, not disservice. He made himself joy, not a killjoy. He made himself hope, hope to the hopeless.
In this biographical narrative, Agbugba treats readers to a sumptuous dish of history. A former Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Ogun State Chapter, Agbugba brings his journalistic prowess in excellent reportage and his dexterity as a creative author to bear. As he drives the train of history, he takes readers through eleven chapters in the journey of the book of one hundred and sixty-three pages.
In every chapter of the book, Agbugba excites readers with useful information about Prof Rocha-Afodu who believes in the efficaciousness of prayers, but worked assiduously, by subjecting himself to rigorous work to eventually, become an accomplished surgeon, a Professor of Professors of excellent vigour and then an Emeritus Professor at the University of Lagos.
Chapter One is about the childhood years of Prof Rocha-Afodu – his birth, parents, siblings, primary school friends and the catholic home where he grew up. Chapter Two is a playback of activities of Saint Gregory’s College, Lagos, where Prof. Rocha-Afodu was an active student and a young teacher who earned a salary of thirteen pounds. But this salary was stopped because he was using the school’s laboratory for practical works while preparing for his A Level examinations.
Chapter Three tells the story of Prof. Rocha-Afodu’s medical school life in England where he eventually qualified as a doctor. In chapter Four, Tony Agbugba let us into the house of reason for us to know why Prof. Rocha-Afodu preferred medicine to any other discipline, how thorough his teachers were, and how he missed home when he was in England. While Chapter five is a record of Prof. Rocha-Afodu’s employment at the Lagos University teaching hospital (LUTH) after graduating from medical school, Chapter Six is about his enlistment in the Nigerian Army as a soldier-doctor, helping to treat wounded soldiers during the Nigerian-Biafran Civil War.
As Chapter Seven paints a picture of his marital life and parenthood, Chapter eight is devoted to Prof. John Taiwo da Rocha-Afodu’s religious life as a devout catholic who believes in vibrant faith and the efficaciousness of prayers. Chapter Nine is titled The Da Rocha-Afodu Clan. This chapter paints a very large canvas of stories of various people like Chief Candido da Rocha and other family relations both dead and alive who came before Prof. Taiwo da Rocha-Afodu and his twin sister, Mrs. Cecilia kehinde Somolu. Chapter Ten chronicles his legacy, while Chapter Eleven is a documentation of three special scholarly presentations by Prof. Rocha-Afodu. This chapter is followed by his bio data, a variety of historical photographs and names of some notable old Boys of Saint Gregory’s College.
A rare gem, a medical icon and one who epitomises intellectual excellence, Prof. Rocha-Afodu is a man of humility and integrity, a man of doggedness and steadfastness, a man of broad-mindedness and kind-heartedness, a man of candid opinion and great respect, a man of noble patriotism and sincere gratitude. From every indication, Prof. Rocha-Afodu made good behaviour his friend. With good behaviour at his tail, he succeeded in opening powerful doors and made his lofty dreams to bear fruits of reality and success.
In terms of the efforts and accomplishments of Prof. Rocha-Afodu, the biographer noted on page one: “Here is a man who at a tender age, knew what he was cut out to do and the heavens gave their consents.” And on page seventeen, Agbugba said, “Due to his outstanding academic performance while as a student, John was invited to teach at St. Gregory’s College together with Engr. Olaniyan who was good in Maths.” His teaching appointment came immediately after he was done as a student of St. Gregory. So, it was a great feat for the man.