Title: Osibakoro – A Quest for Life’s True
Meaning – memoirs of Jim Nesin Omatseye. The man himself.
Biographer: Ityo Timothy Terkula
Reviewer: Edozie Udeze
Year of Publication: 2024
An adage says: A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first few steps. That, in summation, describes and brings to the fore the life journey of Professor Jim Nesin Omatseye, the man himself, this esteemed and renowned, Professor of Philosophy who came, saw, conquered and touched lives across many citadels of learning in America, Nigeria and elsewhere. He is a pioneer, pace-setter and innovator. Three very remarkable events took place in Omatseye’s life that prompted him to get on with education as a teenager. This is what is usually referred to as the turning point in a man’s life.
Moved by those three ugly but instructive lessons or episodes, young Jim Omatseye decided to go to college instead of remaining at the level of modern school certificate holder which he had already acquired. Now, on his way to the old and indomitable Urhobo College, in Warri, Omatseye braced all odds, travelled through all manner of travails, difficulties, hurdles and escapades to acquire more education which eventually took him to the United States of America. Almost alone in the wild, wild world in the States, he relied basically on some relatives, the church, his infinite trust in God, and all, to pull through. But that is not even the only issue. Young Omatseye was dogged, focused, resilient, intelligent, and courageous. His implicit trust in God and himself gave him the undaunting impetus to excel, to make it all the way to the university and more.
This book is aptly titled: Osibakoro – A Quest for Life’s True Meaning. Memoirs of Jim Nesin Omatseye, The Man Himself. It is a biography, even though the man himself tells the story by himself. The story runs like prose written in prose style, chronicling every detail of his life’s odyssey within and outside the academia. Omatseye only gave the biographer the privilege of editing the contents. Otherwise the book runs like an autobiography – the man tells the story himself, living out no details, probing into his family lineage, relationship with family members and the nuances of his early life in the Delta.
Just like My Odyssey by the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe who also traversed same life’s pattern in the US like Professor Omatseye, we see similarities in the life’s struggles in these great philosophers. This style of story-telling enables readers to go smoothly through the book, and see how self-determination could take a man to the highest height in life, in his career and more. From Warri, to the CBN in Lagos and other work places before proceeding to the Kentucky to study philosophy in the university, Omatseye demonstrated his dream to overcome ignorance and move on ahead to the highest level either in the Foreign Service or in the Academia. The academia took the upper hand. He ended up as the Dean of Education at the University of Benin. Not only that, he had political appointments at some certain periods and also attempted to be DVC, and even VC of the university as it were.
As a Professor of Philosophy of Education, Omatseye, a pioneer in different areas of education, trained, trimmed, tamed and even indoctrinated students across generations. His teaching and research methods shows him as a teacher par excellence. His focus traverses Educational Foundations, History of Education, Philosophy, Sociology and more. Wherever he found himself, he dug deeper into these areas to instruct his students to excel, to be the best they can.
It is the story of an enviable life and achievements by someone who founded, almost single-handedly, an academic association named Philosophy of Education Association of Nigeria. It is a pioneering effort of one man who never looked back. And so for over 40 years, Omatseye stood like a colossus in all the institutions of higher learning where he touched lives of many. In all this, he tells the story as a comparative study and analysis of the social, academic and religious life in America and Nigeria. The book is not just deep into the political nuances of Nigeria and America, it states clearly in more vivid and descriptive form, the way the two societies value or discredit education. Each society has its own foibles, its own likes and dislikes – the issue of attitude to education by individuals, governments and so on, forming the main trust of these comparisons. In it all, you see American societies in their hue and glossary. You also see Nigeria in its ugly and glitter.
The book is drawn into parts. Part one – In The Beginning – go get it, son, shows that truly faith rises and falls with circumstances. It is the story of how he began at Alkali City, life as a young Christian enthusiast and the movement to Urhobo College. He gave details of the sojourn of the Omatseyes into the hinterland in Delta and how family ties and love or otherwise helped to cement love, cohesion and togetherness. Here he says “Historians and the courts at every stage, have declared the Itsekiri as the rightful owners of Warri. But their neighbours have never relented in their challenge… (page 29). With this statement and the issue of tribal politics in Nigeria, he ends this section and moves on to meet his wife in Lagos. Her name is Kate, an Efik lady from Cross River State.
In part two titled from town to gown, he enumerates in more broader ways how he marched through CBN in spite of the hurdles to get his GCE and eventually ended up in the US. But as soon as he arrived Lagos, he said, “The following day, I headed for my brother, Moses’ house, a one bedroom apartment… My sing song was job, job, job (page 33). Then soon, the inevitable relocation to the Kentucky Welseyan, USA. This was in July of 1970 and so the journey into Owensboro to study Philosophy hereby commenced. His series of encounters with racism, colour discrimination, injustices, insults and so on, never deterred him. But forever, they stood as some of the remarkable lessons that propelled him on endlessly. They helped to reshape his worldview about people, about societies, about nations and about relationships with one another.
On page 55, he narrated one of these striking moments that penetrated his soul, his whole being as a young man in quest of self, in search of education. “Even though my part-time work and speaking engagements were gradually supporting my finances, I was still unable to pay all my bills. I told some friends in town that a better pay was becoming necessary to ease things up a little. Some members of my church promised to help…”. Then the job later came as a big relief. But this is one of those moments he put his life on the line, to acquire education and fulfill his life dream. The story of Omatseye here shows that there is no easy way to life for most people on this surface of the earth. And that was why in subsequent time, he offered “thanksgiving to God who has since never failed me” page 61. Such is the way of a man of faith, well groomed in the things of God and from which he never departs as he grows in the world. Part two is the longest and the most profound of the sections.
It is here that the bulk of the learning and relearning took place and Omatseye embodies the life of a man on a mission never to fail or disappoint in the USA. He said “on the day of my defence, I felt that my work would stand the test of time… At the end of three hours, I was awarded my degree having satisfied the examiners. For me, mission which started approximately eight years then was accomplished with a third degree in PhD”, page 95.
Part three chronicles his life as an academic. It is titled A Lifetime of Academia, making a choice. Oh yes, is there anything like full rest for a man? he asked. The main struggle has just begun for him, for he began hence to look for a job as he stepped into Nigeria. Even though he worked briefly in the US, his resolve to return home took better part of him. In the main, he taught in the US, he also taught in Nigeria. At Uniben, he was meant to draw a new curriculum to teach Philosophy of education. Then he began to encounter tribalism, political witch hunting, wickedness and envy. From July 4, 1979 when he arrived to resume at Uniben until he disengaged 40 years after, Omatseye experienced tribalism, nepotism and academic envy nearly every day from all angles. He described his new experiences at Uniben and what he lived with in the USA. But again, he was on his way to the highest pinnacle in his career and the joy of impacting on his students kept him on.
In those years he rose to become a professor on record time even though events delayed him at certain times. He also tells the story of his exile in the US when Abaccha became head of state in 1995. The intrigues of Professor Grace Alele-Williams as the VC with her cohorts and the damage to ASUU and students are well treated in the book. Alele-Williams was the first female VC in Nigeria and an Itsekiri woman as well.
And so in 2003, he was privileged to deliver his inaugural. Titled The Enigma Called Man: Does Education Make a Difference, Professor Jim Nesin Omatseye capped his academic laurels with the highest achievement he had set out to accomplish. This was as the 67th inaugural of the University of Benin. Soon after, he bowed out in a blaze of glory, back to Warri to face his people, to contribute more to their development and continue to serve the rural people whom he had already established schools and other amenities for. Warri was too quiet for him, nonetheless home is home.
Spiced with family and other social photos, the book says much about Omatseye’s children, wife and close associates. But in all these, he never lost touch with his cradle and his kinsmen. He sees Itsekiri as the source of life, for himself, for his people and for the reason his forebears finally settled in the Delta region of Nigeria. With a few flaws, the book is a chronicle, chronicled by a chronicler, philosopher and historian.
