Man of The Moment

PENDULUM: Good morning, this is Pendulum Magazine and we as crew members are here to ask you some questions as the man of the moment of this magazine. So sir, can you give us a brief account of yourself?

Dr Azeez: Thank you. I am Dr Adeshina Lukman Azeez. I was born in a very small village at Kajola Local Government, Oyo State, into a monogamous family. Educationally, I attended Ansarudeen primary school and from there, I moved to modern school because then, before you could go to secondary school you had to go to modern school and instead of spending three years in the modern school, I spent only a year just to prepare myself for secondary education; after which I proceeded to secondary school in a town called Iganna. It’s a nine to ten kilometres away from my village in Oyo state. I finished my secondary school in 1983 and moved to the college of education. I call my type of education a complete metamorphosis because I went through all the stages of educational levels; probably because I didn’t have a good counsellor. My father who was just literate not educated was my counsellor and he got most of the counselling he gave me from the elite he worked with, learnt from them, so he was the one who forced me to the college of education and probably because most of the people at that time pursued a teaching career. I went to College of Education, a campus tagged Lanlate before it was merged with Ilesha in 1984 till 1987. So after, I began working as a teacher for two years and it was then that I realised studying more because I felt I wasn’t fulfilled. I decided to change my orientation completely which stimulated me to go for Mass Communication at the University of Lagos in 1993. Served at Bauchi Radio Cooperation, Bauchi in 1998. And then, instead of looking for a job, I decided to further my education still in line with the counselling I got from my lecturers at the campus. Many of them took me as their son such that they took it as a duty to actually direct me. One of my professors then advised that I should not bother to look for a job now that I had finished my service but still proceed in this academic pursuit to get my masters and instead of doing Mass communication, I should settle for another course. While I was still at the university, I bagged close to eight awards and prices and up till now, I don’t think anyone has got that since I left.

PENDULUM: You must be a genius!

Dr Azeez: I am not a genius, I am an average person and a genius is a person who knows everything and I cannot claim to know everything so, because of my academic potentials, my mentors felt that they should guide and direct me. As I said, the Professor told me to go for another discipline and according to him that would widen my horizon and prepare me very well for future challenges. But I didn’t want to heed to his advice as I wanted to go for my masters’ in Mass communication. But the professor was a strict person such that whenever he made any threat he carried it out. He realised that I wasn’t pleased with the idea so he called me to ask if I had taken the form. He said, ‘what did you fill?’ I said ‘Mass communication sir’. So he concluded that I did not want to listen to him and if that was what I was interested in then, that I could go along but that I won’t graduate for 10 years; so that was his threat which happened to be a turning point for me and I had to go and change it to International law and diplomacy which had always been a good and professional course in the University of Lagos and still is.

PENDULUM: When he said you won’t graduate for 10 years, were you scared or something?

Dr Azeez: As I said, his advice was genuine because it afforded me an opportunity to pursue another discipline outside what I studied in my first degree. This lecturer of mine is a scholar; I knew that he won’t advise me wrongly. But I want to tell you that it was a piece of very good, genuine and helpful advice because it reflected in my academic performance in Law. After I was through with the programme, this same man called me again to do my masters in Mass Communication and he gave me money to purchase the form so I can say he really meant well for me. I got Admission at the University of Leads in the UK in 2003 which was a rough time for me. In fact, it was the most challenging aspect of my life. It got to the extent that the University had to advise me to suspend my study for some time in order to work and get money for my fees and expenses. But, with the help of an uncle who helped me to clear the outstanding debt and also paid for the following year, I had a respite. Because of the hardship, I ran, out of the country three times. The man had to raise money for me to clear the outstanding fees and that really motivated me because I thought if someone could do this for me then I needed to work very hard. I started working so hard that I did all kinds of menial jobs like cleaning, security, and to make things easier the University allowed me to pay at instalments. In other words, I needed to ensure that at least I had 500 pounds in my account every month because if I should fail to remit the money, the bank would also charge me. So that was how I did my PhD. Alhamdulillah by 2008, I finished after so much of struggles and came back home, got this job as a lecturer and later appointed as the Head of Department of Mass Communication at the University of Ilorin. And now I’m married with two kids.

PENDULUM: Can you tell us who your role model was in your secondary school days?

Dr Azeez: I did not have any and my father was just my guardian then he wasn’t educated but due to the fact that he was a contractor, he mixed up with the rich educated elite, talked to them and also gained from them. So there was no one to be called a role model. I grew up in the village. It was when I got to the University of Lagos that I started having role models in my department. All my lecturers were my role models. Dr Adediboyo was one of my mentors and I have patterned my life to reflect his philosophy, and that’s why I don’t collect gifts from students.

PENDULUM: But why? Don’t you think it’s could be a sign of appreciation?

Dr Azeez: Gifts! If you are not careful as a lecturer it could be used against you. Also, because it’s a conflict of interest when you collect gifts from students. They see it like they are doing you a favour and indirectly, they will be asking for favours from you too, the philosophy is that if I rub your back, you rub mine. This is one of the qualities of my mentor too. I tell my students that if any one of them is led to give me gifts, then it has to be from N10,000,000.00 and above but for anything less, I will not take. You can’t bring to me a dozen of Milk, Bournvita, T-shirt and the like, I won’t take and because of this, I’ve offended many of them because many of them meant well. Many a times, some of them will come with their parents but because of my principle, I will apologise telling them, try to make them understand that I can’t do that. So far, I’ve always been thankful to God for that.

PENDULUM: Is there any challenge or challenges you have faced as a lecturer?

Dr Azeez: There will always be challenges as a lecturer; it’s not just all about teaching. We have three mandates which are teaching, research and community service. In fact, the aspect of research is more cumbersome. The University should be a launching ground for academic excellence and that is also an aspect where the government should come in – innovations, ideas should emanate from such research. What I am trying to say is that money should also be put into researches too. It’s very challenging to do the three and that is I can say it’s difficult for me especially combining administrative work with all these, it’s quite a challenge. But in terms of going to class to teach, it’s fun but combining teaching with administrative work also doing researches have been stressful and I know, it is the same with lecturers that do that.

PENDULUM: How do you unwind in difficult situations?

Dr Azeez: As I said, I was brought up in a very hard way, and if you are brought up in a hard way, there is no way one won’t be able to cope with difficult situations. With the help of God, I have always been coming out of difficult situations brilliantly. Sometimes I could be stressed, frustrated, sometimes everything may just be boring but I always persevere, hopeful and not despair. Humans will definitely be faced with difficult situations but the ability to persevere and endure makes them different species.

PENDULUM: What can you say about the youths of today?

Dr Azeez:  Majority of them do not have focus. If I wasn’t focused, I wouldn’t have obtained my PhD. I was frustrated at some point and even contemplated suicide when I was in the UK.

PENDULUM: Really?

Dr Azeez: Yes, the challenge then was killing and energy-sapping but being optimistic kept me going. I tell myself, ‘I can do it; I can make it, push on’. You know self-encouragement and because I was running with my vision. I received similar encouragements from my wife through her messages every morning, while still studying in the UK. That kept me going, thanks to her. All my life I have always wanted to have a PhD which was the driving force but it’s quite unfortunate that 60% of our youths of today do not have that spirit not to talk of having visions.

PENDULUM: So can we say that times have changed in our contemporary days?

Dr Azeez: Yes, of course, we are now in the post-modern world. Everything has changed. [Laughs].

PENDULUM: What do you think is responsible for that?

Dr Azeez: Ha! Well, I won’t attribute it to civilisation but will also be tempted to say or attribute it to civilisation because we took it wrongly and also applied it to our lives negatively. You will be very wrong to say people abroad are not focused. It’s an individual thing but globalization also has its place because it has also caused distractions, off-putting us from the way of life we’ve known in our community. But these days communities are broken so that is why I said globalization has its own role too, but not absolutely. If you go back to the ’80s and the ’70s there was transparency, but now there is no more! Corruption is everywhere; everybody wants to have money. Youths of these days too, have focus but it is geared towards riding big cars, to go out with beautiful damsels, having this capitalistic orientation, they want to arrive before their time. They use the word ‘arrive’ and that has rubbed off in many areas of our lives even that of lecturers too – Expensive estates. That is why students will not focus on academics but engage in rituals, ‘yahoo-yahoo’, ladies becoming call girls. Money is now the ultimate, whereas in the olden days it was not.

PENDULUM: How do you see relationship back then and now?

Dr Azeez: That’s a question I cannot answer. Because I didn’t have any serious relationship then until I finished my University degree. But now I don’t understand because these days it’s like our youths are just having infatuations rather than real love. Take for instance on February 14, the whole place was lock jam here in Ilorin and almost all eateries were filled up. In a relationship, you look for what you can give to each other. I have to look out for you and vice versa. My relationship was different, in fact, I met her when she was having a very big problem and of course, she is beautiful but I didn’t look at her beauty rather, I saw the assistance I could give to her in order for her to overcome those challenges. And every morning she prayed, encourages me and that was how I see relationships. In other words, relationships should be viewed and practised differently. It goes beyond taking the lady to a club and kissing and necking, that is not a relationship to me, its selfishness.

PENDULUM: What is your perception of youths today?

Dr Azeez: Everything about them has changed, youths of today have lost value, and we can attribute it to the government too. When you don’t give proper education to them. Education in this sense, I mean serving as models, youths looking up to their elders as a set of people worthy of emulation. Look at china they transmit values from one generation to the next and that is why they are what they are today. Look at the idea of the football match young people go to watch, I am not saying they should not play but the majority of them are so addicted to it that they waste away their time and some can even forgo their lectures for a premiership match. They have changed negatively and lost their values. The only thing we can do for them is to pray because the development of this nation lies on their shoulders.

PENDULUM: What possible solutions can we give to these ills in our society?

Dr Azeez: Well, the only thing is to go back to our values and retrace our steps, also we are having a selfless government and that is why I have always wanted an enlightened dictator who is going to come and change everything. Another is a revolution but it cannot come easily by people going out to carry placards. If the government is doing what is right, our youths will also emulate them. Yoruba will say, ‘esin iwaju ni teyin wo sare.’ The government should also build industries so that when these young people graduate they will always find somewhere to work not finding solace overseas and neglecting their country and also they will not have to be night-walkers disturbing the peace of our community.

PENDULUM: But do you have to depend on the government before you can do a thing for yourself?

Dr Azeez: Well, that’s another value but even if you want to do something, you start from somewhere, you need capital. Dangote today became what he is today because someone gave him money to start with.

PENDULUM: It’s been nice talking with you sir but we need your advice for youths out there.

Dr Azeez: Youths should start having visions, set a goal for themselves, pursue it with their entire mind, change their values, set their priorities right. If it is not yet time to ride a car, don’t ride it. And I pray that it will be well with you. I will also say it’s a pleasure being your man of the moment.

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