Nigeria’s first public health nurse tutor, Mrs. Anuoluwapo Adegoroye
Nigeria’s first public health nurse tutor, 83-year-old Mrs. Anuoluwapo Adegoroye, tells TOBI AWORINDE about her years in nursing and passion for travelling
When and where were you born?
I was born on October 18, 1930 in
Ijebu-Mushin, Ogun State. My father was Mr. Theophilus Ishmael Fojuri
Osifodunrin. My mother’s name was Bernice Odubowale Osifodunrin (nee
Kuti) of Ososa, near Ijebu-Ode. My father was a teacher. He used to be
very good at keeping records.
Are you from Ijebu-Mushin?
No. My hometown is Ijebu-Ode.
How was your growing up like?
For me, it was great fun. I was the last
of my mother’s children, though I wasn’t her last born. My mother had
about six children, but the influenza epidemic of the 1920s took the
others. Only my elder brother and I survived it. This made my brother
very protective of me. My father had other wives, so, I had younger
ones. My parents, especially my father, reated me like a princess. He
would not let anybody touch me. He ensured that I was never maltreated.
What do you remember of those days?
Everything about my childhood was pleasant, to the best of my knowledge. Everybody loved me.
That means your father wasn’t strict with you.
Not at all. I was treated like the baby of the family.
How did your mother trat erring children?
She was not a spoiler. If you failed to
perform your duties, you weere in for it. If I did anything wrong, she
would not spare me, even though she might turn around later to pet me.
But at that point, I would get the punishment I deserved.
How did you spend your holidays?
There was always work to do. We didn’t
really have much time to play. I can’t remember any games we played at
all. All the things that I had avoided while that school was in session,
I was made to do during the holidays. That is not to say I did not
enjoy the holidays. Working was also fun. I also enjoyed reading. So, I
read a lot during my holidays. I was never a dullard. I was always
either coming first or second in class when our results were called out
at the end of the session. I imbibed the reading culture. Though I was
always busy studying, that didn’t stop me from carrying the load of any
of our mothers in the house.
What did you want to be?
I wanted to be a teacher.
How then did you become a nurse?
It might have been because my dad was a
teacher as well. But I realised that, with my passion for nursing, I
could be a teacher even in a nursing environment. That was why I ended
up being a nurse educator. Even after studying nursing, I couldn’t help
it; I had to impart all the training I had acquired in the coming
generation of nurses. Also, I felt I was good enough to be a nurse. I
was always encouraged by my teachers and people in the profession.
What schools did you attend?
I started my primary education at St.
Saviour’s School, and then completed it at CMS Girls School, both in
Ijebu-Ode. My secondary school was Queens’ College, Lagos. I finished
from there in 1948. After secondary school, I worked briefly as a Nurse
Probationer at the General Hospital, Lagos. Some time after, I was
encouraged by my school mother in Queens College, late Mrs. Florence
Odufalu; my uncle, late Mr. Samson Odugbesan; and my late brother,
Samuel Osifodunrin, to apply for a government scholarship to study
General Nursing and Midwifery in the United Kingdom. And I was awarded
the scholarship. This was in 1950. Later, the scholarship was extended
for a year to enable me study Public Health Nursing at the University of
Southampton in the UK.
Was there any other man before your husband?
I met a young man called Abraham, who I
didn’t marry because my parents didn’t approve of him. He went on to
become a very prominent figure. I don’t want to give too much away. He
did try to marry me but my mother would not consent to it. He’s passed
away now. He was very clever. He was my brother’s classmate.
How did you meet your husband?
I met Prince Adeniji Adegoroye while I
was studying at the University of Southampton. He was studying there as
well. We got married on the July 28, 1956. He has passed on to glory
now. He died in 1999.
How did your journey as a nurse begin?
Soon after I came back to Nigeria from
the UK with my husband, I started work as a nursing sister at the
General Hospital, Lagos. After that, I worked as the Public Health
Sister in charge of the rural clinics in Victoria Division of the
Southern Cameroons. Later, I got the World Health Organisation
fellowship to undergo the Public Health Nurse Tutors Course at the Royal
College of Nursing in London. I returned to Nigeria in 1960 to become
the first Nigerian Public Health Nurse Tutor.
What were some of the experiences you had as a nurse in the United Kingdom?
It was a beautiful experience. Even
though I was small in stature, everyone loved me. I was also very hard
working, so, I was often left with other people’s work that they could
not finish. And you can be sure I did not complain. I did all the
leftover jobs, and I did not mind at all. It was not as if they were
lazy, but because I was faster at doing many things. I was smaller and
faster at everything. Also, I was the one who got sent on errands a lot,
but never in a way that I would feel victimised; never in a punitive
way. If you send Anu, it is because she can run faster than you. I never
ran from a job that I had to do. They all loved me. They were very
appreciative of my efforts—not that I ever asked them, ‘What will you
give me?’ I was nice to them, and I felt happy that I was nice to them.
The nicer I was to them, the happier I felt. And I didn’t have to do
anything in particular to force them to love me. I was not arrogant. How
could you be black and arrogant? (laughs)
What did you enjoy most about nursing?
Everything about it was interesting. I
can’t single out anything if it came down to picking what I enjoyed the
most. Remember I told you I was a brilliant student, and I loved to
learn. Nothing was too much of a challenge for me.
What were the highlights of your career?
As a Public Health Nurse Tutor, I worked
at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital/Nurses Training School from
1960 to 1964. In 1967, I was awarded another World Health Organisation
fellowship at the University of Toronto, Canada where I studied the
integration of public health nursing into the curricula for nurses at
the university level, as well as for hospitals with schools and colleges
of nursing. In 1973, I was given a Ford Foundation fellowship to
observe Family Planning Activities in North Carolina in the United
States, Jamaica, Mexico and Costa Rica. I was also the Head of the
Community Nurses Training School, Lagos. Afterwards, I was the Head of
the Community Midwives Training School, Lagos, and later, the Head of
the School of Public Health Nursing, Lagos, till I retired voluntarily
on the June 1, 1978. I served for 30 years, first in the Federal
Ministry of Health, and later on, in the Lagos State Ministry of Health.
Between 1979 and 1984, I was appointed a Nurse Consultant with WHO. I
was based at the WHO Regional Training Centre for Health Services
Personnel, Yaba, Lagos. In 1980, I was appointed a Nurse Consultant to
the Gambian Ministry of Health. There, I reviewed and systemised the
training programme for Gambian volunteer village primary health care
workers. In 1985, I established ANAD Health Management Consultancy
Services. It was derived from the first two letters of my first and last
names—Anu Adegoroye. In 1987, I was a recipient of the Meritorious
Service Award of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and
Midwives, Lagos Branch, and the recipient of the Florence Nightingale
Award in 2001.
What were you able to achieve with the consultancy fim you established?
ANAD was mainly set up as a platform to
actively make my skills and knowledge, which I had been fortunate to
acquire in the field of public health nursing, available to the Federal
Ministry of Health, various state ministries of health, and
international organisations such as the United Nations International
Children’s Fund, and the Combating Childhood Communicable Diseases
Project, which was based in the US. So, we had the WHO, UNICEF, the CCCD
Project, and others, who worked with us to achieve our goals, by making
resources and opportunities available to us. However, the
administration of Gen. Sani Abacha made many of these organisations
reduce funding, which inevitably affected our productivity, and our work
stopped. We trained a lot of community health workers and traditional
birth attendants on modern practices. I and my friend, a fellow nurse
educator, ran the consultancy. We improved community health practices.
In what ways did you help in improving nursing education?
I authored a book, ‘Community Health
Care,’ published by Macmillan Publishers, UK in 1984. It was a resource
that was used widely in nursing schools all over the country. I have
also authored several health plays, like ‘Live and Let Live,’ a play on
the prevention of tuberculosis; and ‘Obe L’awo,’ a play on nutrition education.
How do you spend your time these days?
I was a devout Anglican, right from
childhood. I used to attend the All Saints Church, Yaba. But now, I am a
member of the Agape Community Baptist Church, Surulere, where I gave my
life to Christ. I used to be a Bible study teacher, although I can no
longer teach. I am now fully retired. These days, I spend most of my
time reading the Bible and relaxing with my family. I also enjoy
watching Africa Magic Yoruba, One Gospel, and TBN.
How did you spend your vacations before your retirement?
I travelled a lot. I enjoyed travelling.
My children can tell you themselves. Whether it was for work or for
pleasure, it was always fun. I have been to quite a number of countries:
China, Austria, Singapore, Swaziland, Switzerland, Italy, Hong Kong,
Australia, Austria, Ghana, Germany, Thailand, Senegal, and even to
Israel. In all, I have been to 32 countries.
What do you love most about motherhood?
What don’t I love about it? I had my son
when I was 32, my first daughter when I was 33, and my second daughter
when I was 42. They are all lawyers, and I love them so much. They might
say I was a strict mum, but they know I love them all unconditionally. I
enjoy their company: my children and grandchildren. I remember when one
of them got married, I cried. I also consider my brother’s children my
own, all four of them. And their grandchildren I take as my
great-grandchildren. I don’t remember teaching any of my children to go
and do anything, because they have already learnt it with me. They learn
so easily and they are no bother to me at all. I love them so dearly.
What is your favourite meal?
My favourite meal is bean porridge. But I like cooking Ikokore, a native dish of my people in Ijebu.
Family members refer to you as maama. How did the name come about?
The name started with my first
grandchild. His mother, my first daughter, didn’t want me to be called
the regular grandma. So they started calling me Mama. But when one of my
younger grandchildren was born, she started calling me Maama, slurring
the first syllable, so everyone adopted that style. So, I decided to add
an extra ‘a’ to the Mama to indicate the slur.
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