BIOGRAPHY OF BOLUWATIFE OLAMIJU OMOTOYOSI MEGHOMA

On June 4th, 2008 at about 5 p. m (17.00 HRS) after awaiting his phone call for over 20hrs the news of my son’s accident came through the transport company he boarded from home to school. These representatives were the most inhumane I have ever met. A thick dark cloud covered my home but God quickly pierced it through with rays of sunlight!!! Hallelujah. May the name of the Lord be praised. Amen.
His passing is a major turning point in my life just as his birth on Monday 20th July 1987 through a caesarean section at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) under the team lead by Dr Emoveyan, a consultant gynaecologist who though left a mark to be remembered on a part of his forehead.

Full of charisma from birth, that by 7 months old in February 1988 he uttered his first word ‘bye bye’ as ‘tie tie’. His exuberance at such a tender age gave one of his aunties the impetus to make him her ring bearer at her wedding at the age of one year and four months on December 10, 1988. He had numerous medical visits to Lagos Metropolitan Hospital and on sighting the Medical director, he would acknowledge him saying “Doctor, doctor, chloroquine paracetamol”. Doctor Orekoya too will reciprocate by calling him “parrot”. He was so fluent and articulate that at the age of 2years he could identify and sing familiar tunes of King Sunny Ade, Shina Peters and Sikiru Ayinde Barrister. He could also identify and play some video cassettes such as Tom and Jerry, Coming to America, Shaka Zulu etc. He was into all these before he started school at the age of 2years 5months.
It was at his interview into the cradle class of Grace Children School at 2years 2months that the proprietress realised that he could speak both English and his mother tongue, Yoruba, fluently.
At the age of 4, he had to change school for personal reasons and was enrolled at Greensprings Montessori School in December 1991 to continue the 2nd term of his Nursery II. He later went further into the Primary section of the school and from there completed primary education in June 1998, in a class that was referred to as the “twelve disciples”.

When he was in primary four, I introduced him to a form of essay writing which I was taught at my old school, the Lagos Anglican Girls Grammar School, Suru Lere by the late principal, Miss Busola Phillips. By the next session, in primary five, he had mastered this format of essay writing. He became troublesome during this particular session that each time I went for the schools Open Day programme, his class teacher Mrs Awa was always full of complaints about how naughty he had been until the third and last Open Day of the session when Mrs Awa started singing a new song. Apparently, she had no serious academic contact with him until that term when she was instructed to take the English class. I almost didn’t want to attend the programme but I had vouched to myself that no matter the circumstance I will stand by my children and take responsibility for whatever situation; after all that is what motherhood is all about especially when you are blessed with boys! Looking back, I am sure I must have read Psalm 23 three times and done the sign of the cross twice before l went in to meet Mrs Awa. No one had an idea of what went through me as I entered “Five Awa,” his class. On sighting me Mrs. Awa beamed with smiles, I looked back if that was meant for another parent but no one was coming behind me. She made me very comfortable and in her exact words “your son is the most intelligent in my class”. She went further “he scores highly in English comprehension! I will purposely put a tricky question and he will unravel it while the rest of the class will miss it. I must say your son is the most intelligent in my class”. That was the side she never knew in his first and second terms as his class teacher.
This takes me back again to his stay in Four Olunowo, the class I where I believe he was robbed of his achiever’s award. This was the time long multiplication was introduced to the class for the first time. The whole class had difficulty solving it except my Bolutife that his teacher had to acknowledge his home teacher when she asked him “who takes you at home” and he answered “my mummy”. She was also thrilled when he wrote an essay on her in form of a poem to earn him 9/10 far above the rest of the class. This same essay writing earned him an excellent remark in his promotional exam from primary five to primary six on the topic “My Best Game”. If I can recollect, he wrote on “Snakes and Ladders”.
Having gone through a high class primary school, I felt he should also have a taste of the public sector. In October 1998, he resumed at Model College Kankon. Barely two months later, I had to change him due to environmental factor. By December of that same year, I took him to Chrisland College Idimu and he was asked to resume in January after passing the assessment test to join the class with Mr Agbabiaka as principal and Mrs Achor as vice principal. He went through other principals like Mrs Olaiwola for four sessions, Mrs Erinle and Mrs T.O Malaka for the rest of the sessions he was there.
Immediately after his sixth form in Chrisland College, he had a remarkable one year tutorial period at Ashdale College. Dr Kayode Ashaye will always be remembered in my family because he brought out the best in him. From there he decided the only way to compliment his Director’s effort (Dr Ashaye) was to study medicine. Off we went (Bolutife and I) on a wild goose chase for admission into Nigerian Universities but all to no avail. All these after writing the University Matriculation Examination (U.M.E) and post U.M.E examination through the Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB). In the same vein, we put in an application at the University of Ghana, Legon and admission came through to study pre-medicine in form of B.Sc Biological science. Two months into the programme, he told me, when I came for his matriculation in October 2006 that he did not want to continue and that it was better for him to withdraw. Fortunately, my friend in the United States, Mrs Shakeerah Anjorin had warned me about this kind of move saying it was better for him to change his course.
His guardian, Mrs Ronke Wilson, and I decided that apart from a change of course, he should also have a change of University. She then made me apply into Central University, Accra, Ghana and Valley View University in Ghana. I opted for Valley View University being a mission and an Adventist School. Hmmm . . . . The rest is now history.