Mrs. Theresa Adeola was calm and smiling self when ‘The Nation’ encountered her in Abuja recently. Although she did not look it, she said she became 90 years old on Wednesday (February 2, 2022). She spoke with ERIC IKHILAE about her early years, her teaching career, and her love for God and humanity, among other issues.
THE birth of a child ignites a certain feeling of joy and fulfillment in the heart of the parents of the newborn. The feelings become more intense when it is the first child.
Such was the case in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Cyril and Elizabeth Arogunmasa (now late) at the birth of their first child, Theresa, in lwaro-Oka community in the then Western Region (now Ondo State) in 1932.
For Theresa (now Mrs. Theresa Adeola) growing up was beautiful, particularly being born into the home of a caring mother and an educated and loving father.
Her father was educated in Kafachan (now in Kaduna State) after which he worked as an eloquent interpreter with British Reverend Fathers of the Catholic Church in both his home community and the northern part of the country.
Nature however saddled her with the care of her siblings early in life when her mother died while she was only 11 years old.
“My mother died after giving birth to a set of quadruplets. So, the duty of caring for them fell on me as the first child,” she said
Early education
The task of caring for her younger ones delayed her early enrolment in school. With her father’s support, she was enrolled at St. Peters Primary School Iwaro-Oka around mid-1940.
She said: “I got inspired to go to school when I saw the choreographic display of the pupils of St Peters Primary School Iwaro Oka, who were beautifully dressed on Empire Day.
“Empire Day, in our days, was the celebration of the British Empire and the Commonwealth. It is like today’s Independence Day.
“I was particularly impressed with the display and match past by the pupils. So, the next day, I dressed up and went to school.”
She added that with the support of her father, she was eventually registered as a student of the school, which made her happy, because to send a girl child to school was considered as a waste in those days.
While in school, she was a brilliant girl and well behaved. She distinguished herself in academics by coming first. She was that girl that the school relied on to handle some onerous tasks, which explains why she became the Head Girl while in Standard Five.
Mrs. Adeola explained that her days in primary school were quite interesting. She recalled with nostalgia some of her schoolmates and teachers.
“One of our teachers then is Mr. Edward Ologunagba, who I learnt is still alive and kicking. Some of my classmates include Leo Dare (now Emeritus Professor), Reverend Father Patrick Arowele and Mr. Oguntolu,” she said.
After her primary education, she wrote an entrance examination to the famous St. Andrew’s College, Oyo in Oyo State. Although she passed, she could not attend the school owing to paucity of funds. She, however, did not allow the disappointing development to tame her quest for education as she attended the Teachers’ Training College in Epinmi-Akoko, Ondo State, where she acquired her Grade 2 certificate.
Starting a family/teaching career
Adeola explained that a series of events trailed her meeting with the man she eventually married and her decision to marry him. Although she could not recall the exact year, she said she was either in Standard Three or Four when a boy accosted her on the way to school one morning and threatened to beat her without any provocation.
“While the boy was at it, a senior male student came and intervened and threatened to beat the boy should he lay his hands on me. That was how I knew Augustine Adeola.
“Subsequently, I would go to him and greet him and thank him for what he did for me the other day, and he would tell me to stop thanking him; that he did nothing unusual for me.”
She recalled she later found that Augustine rescued her from the boy who was always bullying her because he wanted her, as he later asked her to marry him; a request she promptly turned down.
“I told him no; that I was only concerned with my education at that time,” she said.
She recalled that because of her performance in the academics and her good conduct, she was made the Head Girl at Standard five. Incidentally, Augustine also became the Head Boy in the same school.
On account of their new portfolios, they started interacting. But at a point, some people who were displeased with their friendship manipulated their photographs, cropped their images from two different pictures and brought them together to appear as if they both posed for a shot.
“I did not know what their intention was. They took the manipulated picture to my father who, on seeing it, said he was convinced that his daughter could not be involved in such act.
“We had white teachers then. One of the teachers, who was a Reverend Father and the school Principal, was not happy when he saw the picture.
“He called out Augustine on the assembly ground the next day and caned him openly before other pupils.
“The Reverend Father, a white man, subjected him to public disgrace by giving him 12 lashes before the other students on the assembly ground for what he did not do.
“I did not witness that incident because I was absent at school on that day. But I was told about it.
“Still not done, the Reverend Father failed Augustine and made him to repeat his class in Standard 6. We then became classmates.
“When I thought about all he went through and the injustice he was subjected to, I decided to marry him, because I felt he was unjustly punished.”
They eventually got married in 1954 and the marriage was solemnised at St Patrick’s Church Mission, Oka in 1956. It was the same church where her parents wedded in 1931. The church, built in 1889, exists till date.
They later started a family and were blessed with 10 lovely children eight of which are still living. She, however, lost her husband in 1995 when he was 62 years old.
Adeola’s teaching career spanned about 35 years and she retired in 1986. Reputed as an extraordinaire disciplinarian, she is called a teacher of teachers who did not spare the rod at any given opportunity, be it on her children or on her numerous non-biological children.
Due to the nature of her husband’s job, she was transferred to many towns of Akoko and Ekiti in the old Ondo State. While in each of these towns, Mrs. Adeola left her footprints, as a dependable teacher to whom parents preferred to hand over their wards.
Asked whether she would have loved any other profession besides teaching, Mrs. Adeola said no.
“I loved teaching and I have always been a teacher. I gave all my life to teaching because I loved it. Apart from raising my children and being with my husband, there was nothing else that occupied me other than grooming people in all the places I worked.”
Her religious part
Mrs. Adeola did not only assist in the academic development of many as a teacher, she also led and is still leading many to Christ as a devout Christian. In concert with her husband, they established a Catholic Church in Oyin Akoko, where they also organised correction marriage for couples who were merely cohabiting. The unions were perfected at Our Lady of Good Counsel. And as marriage counselors, God also used them to revive some dead marriages.
After the death of her husband, she relocated briefly to Lekki in Lagos, where she encountered the late Reverend Father Patrick Adegbite, the parish Priest of SS Philips and James. She then served as a church warden and a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Everywhere she goes, Mrs. Adeola demonstrates love to people and to the service of God, because for several years at SS Peters Lekki, she was known by many for her church activities, including being a marriage counsellor and a member the Youth Committee.
She later moved from Lekki to Gbagada (also in Lagos) to live with one of her children. There, she aided, along with others, the establishment Our Lady of Queen of Peace Parish. She was among the nine parishioners that pioneered the parish, where served as a member of Rosary Congress, Christian Women Organisation and church warden, among others. She worships in the church whenever she is Lagos.
While also in the United Kingdom, she worshipped at Our Lady of Good Apostles, Welwyn Garden City, London where she served as a member of Saint Bonaventure among others groups in the church.
Her political part
Mrs. Adeola also has a political part. She engaged in partisan politics at a time in Ondo State. She explained that she was one of those who introduced the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in lwaro at the time it was an aberration to identify with PDP in the state.
She said her motivation was borne out of her determination to help her immediate community. She then became the Woman Leader of the party in the area.
“I was particularly concerned with the fact that there were few women involved in politics. I took it upon myself to plead with and encourage the men to allow their women to attend political meetings.
“We succeeded in encouraging more women to become involved in politics,” she said.
How it feels to be 90
On how she feels being 90 years old in this part of the world where life expectancy is pegged at about 50 years, Adeola said she feels fine and well. She thanked God for sustaining her.
“I feel fine and happy. God has been kind. God has taken me this far. I thank God. I still feel fit,” she said.
Advice to today’s teachers
Drawing from her experience, she admonished those want to teach to ensure that they love the profession and are well prepared for it.
She said: “Anybody who wants to teach should take teaching as a profession and go through teachers’ training, whether at the College of Education or at the university.
“There, you are taught how to teach, how to impart knowledge. Because when you are a professional, you will know how to do it better than somebody who was not trained in that field.
“If we do that, the quality of the students that will be produced, whether at secondary school level or university, would be better.
“The foundation is part of the problem. The government should look into to that. I loved teaching and I was so devoted and committed to it. So my advice is that anybody who wants to go into teaching should do so because they love it, not just because they want a source of income. Otherwise, they will not be committed. Teaching is very demanding.”
She also advised the government, at all levels, to pay closer attention to the training of teachers “so that there will be more qualified teachers to train our children and properly prepare them for the task ahead”.
Mrs. Adeola also admonished the government on the issue of poor remuneration for teachers, noting that the saying that the reward of the teacher is in heaven could no longer apply because a teacher needs to manage his family and manage his career. He/she has social responsibilities and also needs to train his/her children so that they could also be well prepared to manage their future.
“So, the government should ensure that teachers, at any level, are well remunerated to ensure that they put in their best,” she said.
