I Rejected Going to Local Schools

                   I Rejected Going to Local Schools

It’s not difficult to figure out what he would turn out to be as he took the clock off the wall. He sat down in the quiet of the room, carefully considering the time-piece. After one hard look at the wall clock, he dismantled it. Kids will always be kids –tearing toys and dismembering other objects in the house. But, he was different. One by one, re-assembled the clock. Times of London once described him as the bridge builder and nation builder. His father was a famous village teacher that his transfer to another area would usually lead to a protest. At 75, Engr. Edet James Amana vividly recollects that childhood episode of his life. But, don’t think old age has caught up with him yet. For a man filled with vim and verve, life seems to have just begun. Confident, forthright and cheerful, Amana studied hard and also found time to mingle with the ladies – he seems to exude equal passion for science and romance. He is a village boy who became a quintessential figure. A first-class graduate at Imperial College, London, he had the world at his feet. In this interview with Funke Olaode,  Amana talks about the harmonious home he grew up in, the privileged childhood he enjoyed, his dreams and his marriages.

 

Growing up in an educational setting
 

I was born on December 11, 1938 in Oyubia, the ancient little-known village in Oron division of Akwa Ibom State. The environment of my birth and the early childhood were one in which education and religion took primary position. My father, Chief James Bidiak Amana, his elder brother, Andrew Amana and younger brother Nkereuwem were pastors and teachers. My mother learnt to read and write at home and was a class leader in the church.   Thus, at the time of my birth, Oyubia had earned a reputation of being an important centre of missionary activities in Oron.
 

As a major centre in missionary activities, Oyubia also emerged as an important theatre of education. It was a privilege growing up in what I could term a primitive setting surrounded by educated people. Also, growing up in the polygamous setting was fun in my time because all the intrigues associated with polygamy were totally absent.  My mother had six children and all of us are still alive.  I have another four siblings from my father’s second wife. It was a monogamous home until when my mother’s children were grown up and my mother decided to marry a second wife for my father. It was the tradition of our people at that time. As a matter of fact, my mother died at a very early age and I saw my step-mother as my mother. We all grew up in a harmonious large family of 10 children.

Parental influence
 

The parental influence on us (children) was enormous. As a teacher, my father was a very organised person, religious and committed to the society. He was loved wherever he worked. In those days, it was a fad to move teachers on frequent transfer but whenever they wanted to transfer him, I was told that the community would lead a protest to the mission not to move him.

I wore shoes as a kid
 

It was fun growing up in Oron in those days. And even though there was no electricity, we were never in darkness. We had the kerosene lamp and the local lamp with palm oil.  We didn’t see it as a big deal because we didn’t know that such amenities existed. And like the saying that you don’t miss what you don’t have.  It was the situation we met on ground and we took it like that as we moved on with our lives as kids. Nevertheless, we had shoes as you could order shoes from Lenard’s Stores in Britain and you would get it by post. Because my father was a teacher he was regarded as a missionary and we enjoyed that advantage.  I remember my father on stockings and bowler hat imitating the fashion the missionaries brought to town and we were all part of it.

Memorable event
 

I had a lot of memorable events but the one that remains in my memory till today  is  my first  day at  school between  the age four and five around 1942/43. It was amazing because I saw big houses and tanks for draining water from the roof for the first time. What do you expect from a village boy who was only exposed to going to the stream with his mother drawing water and carrying it on his head? But at the school –and for the first time –I saw a big tank with a tap! I was dazed and this fired my imagination on how one could be of help to humanity. I was also very inquisitive and playful as a kid. I remember the day I went to the stream to fetch water with a friend. On our way back, we played game on the road. After much play, I returned with the water but without my shirt –I left it behind at the stream. That was the kind of childhood I had.

Coming to Lagos for the first time in 1958
 

With parents who could read and write placed my foot on academic pedestal early. I began my early education at Methodist Primary School in Oron and finished in a record time. I skipped many of the classes and by 1952 I was out of primary School. In my pursuit of academic excellence, I refused to go to local schools because they were too close to home. I chose a distant school, which was two days’ journey from my home in those days. We would go on Mammy Wagon Lorry. I attended Uzuakoli Methodist College in the present Abia State as a boarder where I finished in 1957. I was science oriented. I enjoyed a preferential treatment from my science teacher who often gave me the key to the laboratory to perform some experiments on my own. From there, I went to Kings College for my advanced level.
 

It was fun coming to Lagos by train. We used a government warrant to book my train. I had a bed from Aba to Lagos. There was catering on the train like what you had abroad.  It was my first time in Lagos in 1958. It was a different environment completely. Again, I saw the hand of God in my life, coming from a village setting.
 

Kings College opened a new vista for me; because in those days pupils were selected based on merit. And, from all over the country only 30 students were chosen. By the grace of God I made it. I was blown away by what I saw in Lagos. Kings College was a collection of the best brains from all over the country. I got there and made new friends.

My sole ambition was to be an engineer
 

My sole ambition was to be an engineer, someone who would add value in the area of designing, construction and all that. Since I was a kid I was good at drawing, painting, and making things –which later became a passion.  I nurtured that dream which later became a reality when I won a scholarship to read engineering at Imperial College London. Ironically, my father was a school teacher and my mother was a housewife. Really, it was a natural instinct (the inclination to be an engineer). I remember I once dismantled my father’s wall clock and re-arranged it back. For me, being an engineer had always been there. In a way, I fulfilled that promise by being focused.
 

I excelled in my academics and that made me realise my ambition of becoming an engineer.  As a Kings College boy, one had a lot of opportunities. I did very well in my studies and won many prizes including Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.  It made headline news in 1959. When I was interviewed for a scholarship to study abroad, for me it was a walkover. I remember at the interview they asked me if I applied to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. It was government policy that every science students going for engineering had to go to ABU. I said I didn’t apply because the course I wanted to study which was Structural Engineering was not available at ABU.  They said, ‘What if the government decided to send me to Zaria?’ I said I would go gladly. Eventually I was the only one sent abroad to study engineering that year while everyone else had to go to ABU.
 

I spent one year at a technical college in Scotland; then went to Imperial College, London graduating in 1963. Thereafter, I went to do a master degree in Structural Engineering which was completed in 1966. My coming home coincided with the Nigerian civil war. I remember my encounter with the Biafran soldiers which almost took my life. God was with me that I survived that era and I will forever be grateful to my maker.

Quitting Shell-BP to become my own boss
 

After my sojourn abroad, I joined Shell-BP in January 1969. I was doing well in Shell-BP but I knew my stay would be short-lived because my job schedule didn’t match my set goals. My aim was to design the best buildings, highways and so on. And my work at Shell-BP was to provide support for the oil exploration, which to me was basic civil engineering. I knew from the onset that I wasn’t going to stay long in Shell. They wanted to change me to production and even planned to send me out for further training but my mind was made up. Amana Consortium started as Amana Consulting Engineers in 1972 and I have been on my own in the last 42 years. I have been able to succeed on my own by the special grace of God because I am not thinking about myself. And when I am working on a project I would put the people that are involved into consideration, the vision of my company, which is to be of benefit to humankind. Above all, the driving force and passion is to add value to the life of others. When you do that you are bound to succeed.

Overcoming academic challenges in London
 

What I could call challenges were what happened in Imperial College London. Over there, I encountered some people who were of the opinion that Africans didn’t have the capacity to do things like engineering. For me, it was a challenge to prove them wrong. And we did prove them wrong because after spending two years at the Imperial College I graduated topping the class with a first-class grade. It was a challenge that spurred us to action and to excel. The challenge has remained for me to excel; to do things properly and right. This has kept me going in all the things I have done in life.

 

Best moment
 

My best moment in life was when my immediate younger brother, Dr. Ufom Amana was born. His birth was special to me because of the gap between us. Prior to his birth I lost my immediate brother who was my best friend and playmate. As small as I was, I was praying to God to have another brother and when Ufom finally came he filled that loneliness –vacuum –in my life. And talking about low moment… I don’t think I have a moment that I get depressed because I tend to take things as they come knowing that what happens to us sometimes is the will of God.

Getting up close and personal
 

I started getting attracted to the opposite sex when I got to Britain. You know going on dates with friends and all that.  Mind you, it was part of fun because what was on my mind was how to excel in my studies which I did in record time. I got married in 1973 to Doris (now late) whom I met two days after I came back from Britain in 1969. I actually went to visit a family friend when I saw this charming young lady. Immediately I entered the sitting room she excused herself and walked away.  I was curious and asked her to come back so I could extend my hand of fellowship. That was our first encounter and I became acquainted with her after sometime.
 

Later on, a relationship kicked off and we eventually married in 1973.  That marriage was blessed with six children who are doing extremely well in their endeavours as Information Technology experts. The marriage lasted till 2004 when I lost her to the cold hands of death. I remarried; two years ago, I got married to a loving lady called Hilda.

The journey so far
 

Can any man fulfill life’s aspirations? My answer is no. But my life’s aspiration is to add value to God’s work which is something that I’m passionate about and it is continuous. Every moment of my life is to add value to people materially, spiritually, physically, emotionally and technically.

Turning 75
 

I feel great turning 75 and celebrating God’s faithfulness in my life having delivered me from the jaw of death in 1969. Initially, I used to think people who are 75 are very old. Now, I am reversing my thinking because at 75 I still have a lot of kicks and desire to do things. I can see a lot clearer to the future than I was able to do at a younger age. It has been a life of fulfilment, abundant grace and blessing. And talking about regret, I can’t say I have any.  If I have at all, I wished I had spent a lot of time as a young man embracing the Word of God. There is so much treasure in the Bible that many young men don’t spend enough time to study. And that is why my whole life revolves around studying and meditating on the Word of God.  I will do this until I draw my last breath.