He was one of the teachers that every student had to notice in high
school. This wasn't because of any peculiar features of 'fineness' or
stature. He was of medium built, slightly shorter than average height,
and much older than most of the other teachers. He also had two of his
children in the school, Rotimi who was a few years ahead of me and Ronke
who was my classmate.
Although his real name was 'Mr Adeniyi,'
however, he was popularly known as 'Baba Woodwork'. He was the only
woodwork teacher in the school, and every student had to take the
subject in year three, therefore no student could escape his tutelage.
Baba Woodwork had his own little empire, one of three large rectangular
rooms in a secluded building far removed from our usual settings.
Nestling among green shrubs and seasonal maize farm, the building was
divided into three sections - a wood workshop, a metal workshop and the
technical drawing studio. Together, these three were the technology
subjects of that era.
At the wood workshop, 'Baba Woodwork' held
sway with a mixture of steely discipline and plenty wit. He was
unorthodox and it was apparent he enjoyed the topic he taught. We
learned about the 'cross section of a log'. This was a 'sure-banker'
question in every examination. We had been told by our immediate
'seniors' who were told by their own 'seniors,' and we made sure to
inform the class below us of this hot topic. Everyone passed his subject
too. I got a 90 and I am sure most people in my class got
similar scores.
From him, we also learned the different types
of trees. Obeche, Iroko, Mahogany are some of the ones I can remember.
He also taught us how to use saws, shavers, chisels, grips, drills,
braces and plumbs to shape wood and make basic furniture.
Although
I remember those days with great fondness, I was not particularly good
with making things, so I dropped the subject at the earliest opportunity
to do so. Still, no one could ever forget or get away from the clutches
of Baba Woodwork.
Apart from his teaching peculiarities, Baba
Woodwork was a member of the white garment 'Aladura' sect. On the rare
occasions that he conducted morning assembly, he would depart from the
normal Anglican Songs of Praise hymns. Instead, he would go for the fast
tempo Yoruba Aladura songs. A favourite of his that I would never
forget is:
Ore mi kilo se o t'o fi d'aladura
Jesu l'ope mi sibe
B'iwo na ba fe ko mabo
The English translation is:
Why my friend did you join the Aladura sect?
Jesus beckoned me to come
You too can join if interested
He
would lead the chorus and also improvised. We, the pupils heartily
created the accompanying music with loud synchronised
hand-clapping. Those occasions were a huge but enjoyable departures from
the stiffness of singing 'He who would valiant be' which, I must say,
remains one of my favourite hymns.
Baba Woodwork was also the
teacher in charge of commissioning and distributing the school uniform.
His responsibilities included the selection and engagement of the team
of tailors that designed, measured each student and sew the uniform. He
used that office to great effect too. He banned side pockets from our
school shots and trousers. His reason was
that students disrespectfully put their hands in the side pockets whilst
addressing teachers. So we only got a back pocket.
My enduring memory of Baba Woodwork was his
waspish rejection of the moniker 'Baba woodwork'. Given that he is a
Yoruba man, it appeared he chose to believe the literal translation of
the appelation as 'father of woodworks', rather than as a honorific
courtesy to his age and work. So at one point, he began to react to
anyone who referred to him as Baba Woodwork with this withering but
witty refrain:
"Emi ni mo bi Ronke, emi ni mo bi Rotimi, baba yin
la b'igi", meaning I am Ronke and Rotimi's dad, your dad is the father
of wood.
For his commitment to work and his witty unorthodox
approach to teaching, Baba Woodwork, sorry, Mr Adeniyi was one of the
greatest teachers of my early life. PostcardfromLagos
