The enigma [Justin Olabode Emmanuel, F.C.A]

It must have been about forty years ago when I found myself seated next to Chief Justin Olabode Emanuel at a dinner at the Good Earth (Chinese) Restaurant at 233 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London SW3 1JE. The heavyweights around the table were Chief Sobo Sowemimo S.A.N., Alhaji Femi Okunnu S.A.N., Dr. Bolaji Ajenifuja, Professor Bolaji Kuti, Alhaji Alade Idris-Animashaun, Professor Theo Ogunbiyi, Chief Akin Disu, and several others. Perhaps it was inevitable that discussions would centre on the widely publicised BBC Panorama program on Nigeria, which was broadcast on the previous day. The trailer cut straight to the marrow:

“It’s amazing that Nigeria first had cable lines in 1886 and telephones in 1893. Electricity followed in 1896, and in 1898 Lagos became the second city in the world (after Munich, Germany) to have electric street lights when most cities were gas-lit. Iju Water Works has been supplying potable water in Lagos since 1910. What went wrong?”

Chief Emanuel provided the answer. With a chuckle he declared:

“King’s College, Lagos!!”

The Old Boys of King’s College around the table—Alhaji Okunnu and Alhaji Idris Animashaun—protested vigorously. However, nothing would dissuade Chief Emanuel from pinning the blame on King’s College. Anyway, the argument went back and forth. Chief Emanuel was adamant. He insisted that the British colonial government had founded King’s College in 1909 to groom Nigeria’s future leaders, but the Old Boys had abdicated their responsibility. According to him, the country was in ruins, and the rescue mission was being dumped on St. Gregory’s College and its old boys. It was all said in jest. Hence, there was no damage inflicted on the conviviality around the table.

Even back then, Chief Emanuel had his tentacles in many businesses. He was already a tycoon and business mogul at the relatively young age of fifty years. He did not suffer fools gladly. In fact, he could be very abrasive.

Here we are forty years later, and we are confronted with our latest scorecard and auditor’s report by “The Economist” magazine. On 11 January 2025, it published a hefty special report entitled “THE AFRICA GAP,” which, according to “Private Eye” magazine, identified a number of ways in which the economic gap between Africa and the rest of the world is getting wider.

“If its fifty-four countries are to seize the opportunity, they have to do something exceptional:

break with their own past and with the dismal statist orthodoxy that now grips much of the world. Africa’s leaders will have to embrace business growth and free markets.”

Back to the memorable dinner in Knightsbridge, London. Chief Emanuel was in his element—teasing and taunting the old boys of King’s College (Alhaji Okunnu, Alhaji Idris Animashaun, and me) for the decay and decadence in Nigeria. As far as he was concerned, the old boys of King’s College (“KCOB’s) had abdicated their responsibility. It was a clear case of dereliction of duty.

The “KCOB’s” were unanimous in defending the reputation of our alma mater. However, the more we protested, the more adamant and vehement Chief Emanuel was. He was having great fun at our expense. It was all good-hearted banter anyway. He just would not stop. He proceeded to highlight the self-evident decay of King’s College—the pristine and elegant colonial structure had become an eyesore. The classrooms, which were meant for only twenty-five students, had exploded beyond quadruple that number. It was the same story with the boarding house and its dormitories. The toilet facilities had collapsed entirely. The laboratories belonged to the Middle Ages.

Chief Sowemimo (ex-C.M.S. Grammar School, Lagos) joined forces with Chief Emanuel. So also did Chief Akin Disu (also ex-C.M.S. Grammar School, Lagos) to regale us with their dismay over the state of affairs in Nigeria and Lagos State in particular. Whichever way, the old boys of King’s College were the culprits!! It was confirmation of the old adage—many a true word is said in jest. The humour was not lost on us, the KCOBs, as we retaliated by pointing out that both King’s College and St. Gregory’s College had become victims of circumstances. The chequered history of Nigeria was well known to all of us. Even if it is true that the British colonial government had deliberately created King’s College, Lagos (founded in 1909) as an elite school in the image of Eton College or Harrow School (public schools) as the incubator for Nigeria’s future leaders, the military coup of January 15, 1966, had blown the mission totally off course. Six months later there was a counter coup that threw the entire nation into turmoil. The nation was on the verge of breaking up. For three days there was no government!! From 1966 to 1975, the leadership of Nigeria fell on the head of General Yakubu

Gowon (ex-Barewa College, Zaria), who was toppled on July 29, 1975, and replaced by another old boy of Barewa College—General Murtala Muhammed, who was assassinated on February 13, 1976, in Lagos. It was a chilly Friday morning. Incidentally, I had visited him at his house at 6 Second Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos, the day before. That is a story for another day. He was replaced by General Olusegun Obasanjo (ex-Baptist Boys High School, Abeokuta). On October 1st, 1979, General Obasanjo handed over power to Alhaji Shehu Shagari (ex-Barewa College, Zaria). The vice president was Dr. Alex Ekwueme (ex-King’s College, Lagos).

In between all that turmoil and turbulence was the Nigerian Civil War, which raged between 1967 and 1970. It cost more than a million lives and millions more in permanent injuries. On the Nigerian side was the head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, while the Biafran side was led by General Emeka Ojukwu (ex-King’s College, Lagos).

Of course, Chief Emanuel was quick to capitalise on a photograph that had been widely circulated. It was taken at the meeting in Kampala where the OAU (Organisation of African Unity) had endeavoured to broker peace between Biafra and Nigeria in 1968.

On the Biafran side was Sir Louis Mbanefo, who was my father’s classmate at King’s College, and on the Nigerian delegation were Chief Anthony Enahoro (ex-King’s College), Minister of Information; Chief Wenike Briggs (ex-King’s College), Minister of Education; Alhaji Femi Okunnu (ex-King’s College), Minister of Works; Chief Allison Ayida (ex-King’s College), Permanent Secretary; and Chief Philip Asiodu (ex-King’s College), Permanent Secretary.