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About Professor Bede N. Okigbo Professor Bede N. Okigbo
Prof. Chinua Achebe
Prof. Bede Okigbo
Professor Okigbo was born on Professor Bede Okigbo is one of “The Okgbo trio” that
include the intellectual giants – the late legendary economist, Dr Pius Okigbo, and According to the eminent Kenyan scientist Thomas R.
Odhiambo, “Professor Okigbo’s significant intellectual contribution to African Agricultural Science has been to
harp on the need to build onto the persisting foundation of indigenous African sustainable farming systems, the
new science-led agricultural technologies as a way of assuring a more productive, culture-sensitive, yet sustainable
modern African agriculture.” Professor Ossie Enekwe Professor Ossie Enekwe is a Nigerian poet, fiction writer, and playwright, and a
graduate of the Uduma Kalu Uduma Kalu holds a BA in English from the Alvan Ewuzie Alvan Ewuzie is a media consultant, who
began his journalism career nearly 20 years ago as a freelance writer with the Nigerian Statesman. He subsequently became an editor in the Champion Newspapers organization where he made his mark as a literary critic and writer. He edited the weekend title
and also rose to become its deputy General manager. THE INTERVIEW Enekwe: We would like to begin with your
childhood and educational upbringing. How did these impact your progress as an administrator and as an academic? Okigbo: My father was head of the Okigbo
Family. And my grandfather was the first warrant Chief in Ojoto. My father was the first son, and did not go to
school. He had four wives, and when the first wife died, my mother became the eldest and senior wife. She died
when I was five,and my late uncle, Chief Ben O. Okigbo who was going to live in northern Secondary school began at St. Joseph's
Catholic School, Asaba, and I repeated Standard six when I couldn't go to Christ the King's College, Onitsha because
the college authorities claimed that my cousin who attended CKC broke his bond after graduating from Yaba Higher
College. Interrupting… The early makings of a
globetrotter… (general laughter) A: My travels were not yet done, though.
I went to live with my late uncle Chief J. O.
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I also grew things when I was living
with my uncle so that I may say that from my early beginning, not living with my mother, made me more useful and
hardworking. My mother had eight children, and seven of them were girls. I was the last and only boy. So I was
petted. I think if my mother was alive for a much longer time, I would have been quite happy to stay with her and
my sisters being petted; but I wouldn't have had the practical experience I eventually had. The last of my sisters
died in 1938. Q: How many of your immediate family
members are still alive? A: I am still the only member of my immediate
family still alive, although I have half-brothers and sisters who were not as close to me, of course, as my mother
and sisters. This made me even more self-reliant and capable. But also, I gained a lot experience and observed
many things around me, some of which are reflected in Christopher Okigbo's writings. There was a madman called
Jadum, in particular, who used to give out many interesting proverbs. Enekwe: Jadum, the mad man! Straight
out of the pages of Christopher Okigbo, Achebe… A: Yes, great art is often stimulated
Professor Bede Okigbo
Jadum had many sayings; another was:
when a poor man is eating vegetable cowpeas he does so in a hurry lest someone comes in and shares it with him.
There are many proverbs like these that Jadun recited and we used to joke with them. Apart from that he used to
dance as he recited these sayings. Ewuzie: What was it like attending one
of the most prestigious boarding schools in West Africa -- the legendary Government College, Umuahia? Okigbo: During the Second World War,
there were German prisoners at Government College Umuahia, and the school was closed down. When it was time to
reopen, a class was first sent to King's College Lagos in 1942, because the administration did not want to begin
with fresh men. The second year, 1943, another group of students was sent to King's College, Lagos and it was advertised
in the papers that Government College, Umuahia would be reopened. Many students applied from east and west of the
River Niger. Enekwe: What happened to the students
sent to Kings College, Lagos… Did they return to Umuahia? A: The second group of students sent
to King's College went to Government College Umuahia and formed the class 1A. Those of us who enrolled in July,
1943 became class 1B. So
we had two classes. Then when I got into Umuahia, the first
principal we had was a man named Mr. Simpson. My own set constituted the second set reopening Umuahia Government
College. We had classes of 18 students each. Class 1A started in 1944, Mr. W. Simpson was replaced by Mr. E. C.
Hicks who arrived from Malaga, and which had been occupied by Japan. Mr. Hicks introduced scouting. He said he would not have two small classes of 18 students each,
that these two classes were just a waste of resources, and that he was going to give one exam to determine those
to integrate into one class. He gave an exam in 1944, and weeded the combined classes of 36 students down to 20. A certain Mr. Chinua
Achebe did very well and received a double promotion to class 3, and we then became 21 in a single class. Q: Can you describe the quality of education,
the experiences you were privy to? A: There was strict discipline and students
were punished by making them cut one or two square chairs of grass. Due to the fact that I was interested in gardening,
I was made a House prefect in Nile House, and detailed to assign punishment to people. At Umuahia, a loan was given to students
who wanted to farm and grow yams, vegetables or maize. After a harvest, the students paid back the loan with the
proceeds. So I grew yams and some maize and I made some profit after the loan was removed. It was three guineas
at the time, and two pounds was for school fees. It was then that I started showing an early interest in farming.
Enekwe: It is impressive to speak to
the products of GCU from your time – Achebe, Ike, Okigbo (squared), J.O.J Okezie and many others. These men are/were
all incredibly intellectually versatile. What was it about your education that made this possible? A: (Laughter) At Umuahia, the selection
process was quite strict… There was what we called the Textbook Act. On Tuesdays we were not to be caught outside
the classroom with a textbook. You had to read novels. And sometimes the English Master, Mr. Ogle, may select 5
books per class to be read on Tuesdays. At the end of the year, he would give an exam on those books, and the results of the exams displayed
on the board in the lobby for everyone to see. Everybody used to struggle and work very hard to be at the top. Kalu: It also appears that the discipline
of the Umuahia environment robbed off on these great achievers… A: Yes, discipline played a very serious role. There were strict rules and punishment for anyone who
fought with another student. If one quarreled with somebody, the practice was to set up a boxing ring and the two
students would be given gloves and would enter a boxing ring to fight until they became tired. People used to get
knocked out and sometimes were too tired to fight. Q: What particular memories of your extracurricular
activities do you treasure? A: So many of these experiences helped in our development, especially in sports. We played cricket, soccer, rounders,
and rugby. I used to play rugby. Mr. Mengot or Mr. Charles Low acted as coach. Some students such as my cousin,
Christopher Okigbo, and Chukwuemeka Ike were good at cricket. But Mr. Charles Low also introduced Latin, and there
were students who had never taken Latin before. We studied mainly the sciences and English. Apart from being in
touch with many students from Nigeria and the Cameroun, our lecturers included Nigerians from different ethnic
groups, some from the Cameroun, others Igbo or Yoruba. For example, Mrs. Bisiriyu, at the time, was the English
teacher. There was sometimes a sports master who was in charge of pupils preparing for school certificate when
they would go on picnics. It was a common practice that the week end before the school certificate exam, there was a picnic.
The school authorities did not want anyone to sit in his room all the time. And Mr. Biobokon was rather unfortunate,
because he went with some students to the Imo River on a picnic and two students died. It was a tragic coincidence
that the two students were from Bonny. One was Mr. Erima and the other, Mr.
Green. It was quite unexpected, and because Biobokun was Yoruba, from another region of Nigeria, and the person
in charge, it was a big problem for him. People interpreted the tragedy as carelessness, or simply odd. Apart from
that, there is no doubt that life in Government College Umuahia was an exciting, and worthwhile experience. Enekwe: I would like to explore this
theme a little further. In what ways do you think the early education you have exemplified contributed to the production
of people like Nnamdi Azikiwe? Most people of your generation? Okigbo: Our education was much more rigorous. For example, I remember that I found the early standard six
exams, the earlier ones, taken before us, difficult to even attempt, when we were in secondary school. And also
you were made to learn so many things. For example, we learned poems which I still quote to children, and they
like them. Now, you don't see much employment of that. There is a poem of Rudyard Kipling’s - The Camel’s hump,
that I particularly enjoyed: The Camel's hump is an ugly lump Which well you may see at the Zoo; But uglier yet is the hump we get From having too little to do. Kiddies and grown-ups too-oo-oo, If we haven't enough to do-oo-oo, We get the hump-- Cameelious hump-- The hump that is black and blue! We climb out of bed with a frouzly head And a snarly-yarly voice. We shiver and scowl and we grunt and we growl At our bath and our boots and our toys; And there ought to be a corner for me (And I know there is one for you) When we get the hump-- Cameelious hump-- The hump that is black and blue! The cure for this ill is not to sit still, Or frowst with a book by the fire; But to take a large hoe and a shovel also, And dig till you gently perspire; And then you will find that the sun and the wind. And the Djinn of the Garden too, Have lifted the hump-- The horrible hump-- The hump that is black and blue! I get it as well as you-oo-oo-- If I haven't enough to do-oo-oo-- We all get hump-- Cameelious hump-- Kiddies and grown-ups too! (General laughter) I think we got a more rounded education than students get now. And sometimes you find that people
preparing for exams these days only read past questions and answer books. At Umuahia Government College, ‘the textbook
act’ ensured that we read both novels and textbooks. Although there were not many books written by Africans, we
read those written mainly by white people. We read books by Dickens and Conan Doyle. So you learnt quite a lot,
and we studied the history of British Empire. We didn't do much of Nigerian history, except as the British played
a role in the changes that took place in our country. Even so, I would say we had an all round, quite rigorous
education. Enekwe: Let us shift gears and tackle the “catatonic
state of the agricultural sector.” What role can the Federal, State and local governments play in reviving this
crucial sector? Okigbo: When you study the constitution,
although the federal government is
Moreover, the funding support was inadequate
for the institutes, which did not equitably address agricultural development problems of states growing various
crops. For example, at Ibadan, there are the cocoa research institute, the forestry research Institute, the university
of Ibadan, the institutes of Agricultural, Research and Training of the University of Ife. There is also, I think,
a food processing factory at Moor Plantation, Ibadan. There is also the Nigerian Institute for Horticultural Research
(NIHORT) also in Ibadan area. Thus, we have in the Ibadan area about five research institutes. The same thing occurs
in the north -- around Ahmadu Bello University, Samaru, Zaria. So we didn't think that there is equity in ensuring
that agriculture all over the whole of Nigeria is receiving the attention it deserves in all the states that grow
the various commodities. Enekwe: Where do we have the greatest
biodiversity in terms of plants and animals in Nigeria? A: If we consider the indigenous crops
of Nigeria, you find that the area of greatest diversity, that is the area of richness in species and varieties
of these crops stretches from Edo State to the Cross River State. For example, if one travels westwards from the
South-East after Edo state, you don't see much of the African pear (Dacroydes edulis), except where people from
the Eastern part of the country have lived or settled and planted some trees. Similarly, apart from the Ijebu area
after Edo State, the African breadfruit or ‘ukwa’ is not used, grown or eaten in most of the Western States. Therefore,
the centre of diversity of most indigenous crops lies in this area between Edo State and Cross River State. It
was recommended that NIHORT should concentrate on research or on the introduction of crops such as oranges and
mangoes -- fruits that are already of worldwide importance and distribution, at Ibadan. And since more focus should
be on indigenous crops, a sub-station in the East, within the area of their greatest diversity was approved. The
Federal Government allocated some land in an area called Mbaitoli, near Okigwe. The substation was started. Since
I returned to Nigeria, I have visited there, and have been there at least two times. But the substation has not
been given sufficient funds to do much research on the crops it was founded to focus on. Kalu: Professor, it is clear that Nigeria
has been blessed with great natural resources – a diversity of plant and animal species. How should we harness
this bounty? A: I have been on a number of panels
and review committees over the years that have addressed this question. When you talk of research institutes (at
least at the time we reviewed them), we recommended that there should be a poultry research station at Aba, and
maybe also at Agege, Lagos and in the North, especially for Guinea fowl. We made other recommendations, but the
concentration or centralization of research stations was affecting crops such as rice, horticultural crops, the
animal population, and other things such as mechanization. Now the agricultural universities have worked very well
in India as well as in the USA. There should be an agricultural college or university attached or allocated to
each state to deal with the ecological and agricultural problems in the states allocated to them. They are not
doing so now. If you also consider the agricultural
history in Nigeria, you find that in the 1940s, when the British were here as our colonial masters, they used to
have demonstration farms where young and illiterate farmers could visit and see what was being done and the new
technologies in use. Now we no longer have these demonstration farms, and it is necessary that the federal government
and each of the state governments should have responsibilities in agricultural research. As far as I am concerned,
in most of the states agricultural research institutes are not worth their salt in the work that’s being done.
One reason is that they are not well funded. Kalu: The lack of skilled manpower also
appears to be a factor hampering the take off a true “agricultural revolution” A: I agree. You find that the human resources
development and management are not particularly successful. The staff is not well motivated and rewarded for success
in research. One finds that promotion is not on the basis of achievement, but often on the basis of seniority.
When we reviewed these research institutes and the things they claimed to have done, many of these had not yet
been commercialized. You find, that for example, that the Project Development Agency (PRODA) which was founded
in the former East Central State after the Civil War did a lot more work on processing of food crops as compared
to a similar research institute at Oshodi. But PRODA has not been as well funded. PRODA’s success and progress
has not continued for that reason. Oshodi has made some progress, but limited success has been made to commercialize
them. If you take, for example, what is happening
in rice and cassava production, there is high priority and attention being paid to these products when, personally,
I think support for cassava production is well overdue. One of the best reasons for supporting cassava is that
Nigeria is the largest cassava producer in Africa. This is not surprising, because the cassava is a win-win crop;
apart from its genetic improvement, it is adapted to poor, infertile soils such as our sandy soils or the Benin
sands. It is also adapted to aluminium toxicity, and through its ability to absorb usually unavailable soil phosphorus,
yield increases have been enhanced through genetic improvement that has made it possible to obtain high yielding
varieties that are resistant to Cassava mosaic virus and pests such as Cassava bacterial blight coupled with success
in biological control of the green spider mite. A lot of research and development work that facilitated this was
done at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) at Ibadan. Its associated station at Cotonou also has its roots associated with micorrhiza
which facilitates up take of phosphorus fixed in the soil. For these reasons, Cassava production is increasing faster than many crops such as yams and maize,
which require more fertile soils in the humid tropics. Enekwe: Mastering the use of cassava
flour to make bread in my mind is crucial, particularly as cassava is a tropical crop indigenous to West Africa
and wheat flour has to be imported. The attempts so far, have not quite achieved the consistency… A: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
