Alhaji Adetola Sote is a former president of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers. He tells Ademola Olonilua about his life experience
How would you describe your tenure as the president of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers?
I think I should start from the very beginning. In the past, there were no practising estate surveyors whether in the government or private sector. Most of the land officers then were either trained on the job or they were lawyers. In the colonial days, they found out that the lawyers and administrators were not doing the job properly, so they decided to train people in the field and these people were known as land surveyors. In the past, people did not know that there were different aspects of surveying like land surveying, quantity surveying, estate surveying, building surveying, town planning, etc. The colonial masters set up the estate management course geared toward taking the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors exam. Before, whenever government acquired a property, there was nobody to advise either it or the owners of the land. The government just paid some money to the land owners as compensation. The first person to set up an estate surveying firm was Gleave. In 1957, Mr. Fox joined him and we had Gleave, Fox and Co. When the estate management department was established in 1957, mostly for government departments, the criteria they gave for admittance was that people must have credit in mathematics and English and they must be in either grade one or grade two. I was admitted there because I was already working as a sub-inspector of land in the old Western Region of Nigeria. Because I had not served for up to three years in the ministry, they said that they would not send me to the college. Luckily for me, I was admitted the following year, September, 1958.
The first Nigerian to be a qualified chartered surveyor was late John Wood Ekpeyong. He was our first president when we started. Initially, we wanted something similar to the RICS which comprised of many fields like- land surveying, quantity surveying, estate surveying, building surveying, town planning- what we call the land or property industry. In 1965, we formed our own group which was known as the Nigerian Institution of Land Surveyors and Valuers. After passing my intermediate exam in 1962, I went to the UK and in 1964, I was qualified as a chartered surveyor. I came back and started in the old Western Region. I was posted to Ikeja to manage the premises of the old Lagos colony, Abeokuta and Ijebu provinces. After a while, I resigned and joined the Lagos Executive Development Board. When we formed our association in 1965, we got it to be recognised by the government in 1969. In 1975, the decree to set up an estate surveyors management and registration board was enacted. I became the chairman of the Lagos State branch in 1979. In 1981, we had some problems within the institution and people felt that since I had done very well in Lagos State, I should be president. I told them that it was better I became the first vice-president than run against the president then. In 1982, I became the president and I left office in 1984. By virtue of my position as a former president, I became the chairman of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board in 1996. We had a principle that only past presidents could become the chairman of the board. The board is the regulatory body of our profession.
In your time parents cajoled their children to opt for professions like medicine, law and even engineering. Why did you choose to become a surveyor?
Unfortunately, my father died when I was young and because we were so many- my father had 10 children- I started schooling in 1943 although I could have started earlier. According to the rules then, if you put your hand on your head and your finger could not touch the opposite ear, it means you were not ready for school. My father first took my sister and I to school in 1941 but we were rejected so he took us to a lesson. In 1942, we were taken back to school but we were rejected again. So, my father took me to an Arabic school. To add to the problem, the teachers were fond of beating us for no reason at all. I went back home and told my father that I could not go back to the Arabic class because they were beating us for no reason. He took me to two different Arabic schools but it was the same experience there too, so I gave up on Arabic classes. By January 1943, I started school and because I had been reading at home, I was taken to class 1B. From there I moved to Class 2B where we were taught to read and write Yoruba before I got to Standard 1 where we were taught how to read and write in English.
When I was young, I was known for making all sorts of gadgets from scraps. I would make cars, from beer cocks and other things. I was also very good at mathematics. Unfortunately I was admitted to a new secondary school in 1951 and they did not offer any science subject. Probably if I was admitted to primary school in 1941, I would have attended an old school for my secondary education and they would have offered science subjects. By the time I was leaving secondary school in 1955, we did not have to write job applications because with our school certificates, we were given jobs in either the ministry or elsewhere. The labour officer would interview you and give you an aptitude test. With your performance, they would know where to place you. The labour officer asked me if I would love to work in the department of lands and survey and I told him I had no problem with the job as far as I would not be going into the bush because I was a sickly person. He said he knew where to put me and that is how I found myself in this profession since January 3, 1956. I became the sub-inspector of land before travelling to UK to further my studies in estate management in 1958.
What led to your father’s death?
I don’t know what led to his death exactly because my father was a trader. He lived in Ijebu-ode and he came to Lagos to buy some things and the next thing we heard was that he was dead. When I grew older, I began to realise that it was likely my father died from asthma. They just brought his corpse home. My father had been a sickly person and because of his health, he converted to Christianity because he was born a Muslim. After his death, I moved from my father’s place to my mother’s before I later went to live with my grandmother. My mother took up the responsibility of sending me to school. Even when I was in Class 4, I had to sell agidi for my grandmother on my street not minding that my friends would see me just to boost whatever my mother got from the sales of rice and beans. I had to hawk to feed myself because my mother was already struggling to provide money for my education. When I moved to my paternal grandmother from Ago-Iwoye, I had to hawk chewing sticks and I would trek many kilometers before I got to the market. After I finished selling the chewing stick, I would jump on a lorry to get back home to meet her. Those were some of the things I went through and I would say those things helped to mould me to become who I am in life today. It made me to be able to withstand many hardships in life even with my sickly nature.
How would you describe your childhood?
I was a very sickly child growing up. Shortly after the birth of my younger brother, I fell very sick and my mother had to put him on her back so she could tend to me. I remember telling my mother to remove my younger brother from her back and place me there instead but she refused. Later in life, I was always going to see the doctor and it got to a point that I told a doctor friend of mine that I might not clock 50 years old because it was either I had fever, malaria or I was short of blood but here I am today, I am 80 years old. A few years back, a friend advised me to go for medical test to ascertain what was wrong with me. I told him doctors in Nigeria had been treating me but they had not been able to place a finger on what was wrong with me. He then advised that I travel out for a comprehensive test and recommended a hospital. After I did several tests for about 30 minutes, a doctor came to attend to me and said that there was really nothing wrong with me but it looked as if my liver had begun to expand. I was scared. He told me that it was because I was taking too much iron; he said it could be corrected even without drugs and advised that I desist from taking iron.
He asked if I exercised at all and I told him that when I was younger, I was good at football, table tennis, and other sports but I stopped because of my health and age. My friend that introduced me to the hospital was a lawn tennis player and after the doctor advised that I take up a sport as a hobby, I decided to opt for lawn tennis. That was how I began to play lawn tennis. I believe that what is worth doing is worth doing well, so I joined the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club. I took it very seriously because I believed my life depended on it. The following year, I won the title of the most improved player of the year. Since then, I have been very serious about it.
At 80, do you still play lawn tennis?
Yes, I still do.
You grew up in a polygamous home. Did you experience sibling rivalry?
Unfortunately, our father died young, so we scattered. We were a close knit family. My father’s brother lived close to us and we maintained a very close relationship to the extent that it was hard to believe that he was not our father. We were either in my father’s house or in my uncle’s house. My father and his brother adopted that lifestyle.
Did you follow in your father’s footstep by converting to Christianity when you were sickly?
My father did not just convert to Christianity, he also took us to church with him. I was named Solomon by him. By the time my father died, I was able to compare both religions and I chose the one that suited me. I did not go to church because of my sickness like my father did. To me, religion is a matter of conscience either you are a Muslim or a Christian. Some of my children are Christians likewise my siblings. My elder brother is a pastor in an Anglican church. The most important thing is for someone to believe in God and do not wish anyone evil. Like I always say, if Nigerians follow the tenets of their religion, this country would have been paradise on earth. With my knowledge of geography and economics, Nigeria should not be where it is today and that is what corruption has caused.
How did you feel when you clocked 50?
I was happy that I lived long enough but I did not throw an elaborate party. It was when I clocked 70 years old that my children threw a party for me. I decided not to celebrate my 80th birthday because I have lost a lot of people that were close to me. Most of my childhood friends are dead.
Can you share some high and low points of your life?
A major low point of my life was when my mother died. I was sad because she did not live to enjoy the fruit of her labour. She died in a motor accident in 1967. I always thank God because whatever position I find myself, I believe I was destined to be there. There was a time I travelled to the UK and my grandson who had started working came to take me out for dinner and also gave me some money. I felt so elated, not because of the amount he gave me but the joy of eating the fruit of my labour. I trained his mother and she in turn trained him, now he is giving me money. Another time when I was sad in life was when I lost about four of my very close friends. Only one was older than me; the others were younger.
Can you share some fond memories you had in the university?
In the old Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, University of Nigeria Nsukka, I had fun. We belonged to some social clubs where we had fun. We travelled to other parts of the country to enjoy ourselves. I schooled in Enugu and I had fun even though I was not Igbo. I went to night clubs. In those days, we would not leave home for an all night party till about 11pm. Then, we would get back home around 6am. I believe one should try as much as possible to understand oneself to know one’s limit. I used orthodox medicine but now I tilt towards using herbal remedies for my illness. You cannot cheat nature and an animal in the bush will never eat any leaf that will poison it. All these herbal drugs do not have side effects unlike orthodox medicines. So I believe so much in using herbal drugs.
Tell us about your family?
I have two wives and eight children; six out of them are my biological children while I adopted the other two. I have children from five women but that is in the past. It is history.
How have you been able to sustain your youthful looks at 80?
Everybody has been asking me what I do to look youthful and I tell them that since I met my younger wife, I have been a user of herbal remedies. I also read a lot of books on healthy living. I learn a lot from herbalists and nutritionists. For instance, I learnt that when you wake up in the morning, drink two cups of warm water. You can also use water as a laxative. I can take up to six glasses of water in an hour. I take a lot of fruits. Depending on the season, I can blend as many as ten fruits together and garnish it with garlic, cinnamon, ginseng, etc. At lunch, I could have salad or some snacks. I only take solid food in the night. From what I have read and practised, I don’t mix carbohydrate with protein and it seems to be working for me. In the night, I eat whatever my family is eating except if it is eba. I have stopped taking garri since 1956 because I learnt that if you take too much of it, you could have eye problems. On my own, not based on any medical advice, I decided to stop taking it since December 1956. Anytime I eat solid food, I make sure I take it with vegetables.
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