World Without End [+] Endless Footprints

By Akintola Williams

These publications within one book cover contain the stories of two unique individuals whose combined strengths brought them the admiration of people, not only within Nigeria, but from far and beyond. These are wonderful stories that are spiced with wit and important principles that can be adopted, in what is called the Iconic Principles, which come up at the end of each chapter. These stories will continue to instruct even generations yet unborn.

Akintola Williams CFR, CBE, FCA:
A man regarded with awe not only by most members of the accountancy profession but also other professionals, business moguls, government officers in Nigeria and the international community. He, in many respects has also been a source of inspiration to many youths, some of whom have decided to become chartered accountants because of their admiration of him. A multi-faceted man, who has led the way in accountancy, music (MUSON), the Nigerian Stock Exchange and a myriad of philanthropic endeavours, he stands tall as the epitome of integrity and a consumate role-model for the hard work ethic.

Oye Williams:
Known to many as Mama MUSON, Oye Williams stood as a pillar of support in the home, in the work place and in the community. With passion, she drove the ideals for the benefit of the citizens within her community. Many decades ago, she had deleted the word, ‘impossible’ from her dictionary and made great strides, whether it be with the Keep Lagos Clean Campaign, VIIRA, the Lions Club, MUSON or her church, Olowogbowo Methodist Church. She is greatly remembered for her strength of character and tireless activity for the benefit of others.

Kola Olutimehin BSc FCCA:
An accomplished inspirational speaker, corporate trainer, writer and serial author who narrates inspiring stories about compelling people in a way that invokes a sense of responsibility, purpose and accomplishment in the lives of other people. A lateral thinker and a fellow of the Association of Chartered Accountants in the United Kingdom, he operates as a transformational coach and also provides business consultancy services to various clients around the globe. He is married to Lola and they have two lovely daughters, Réré and Moroti.

• Language: English
• Publisher: MakeWay Publishing
• Release date: Mar 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781907925405

Book preview

DEDICATION

These books are dedicated to the eternal sweet memory of my beloved wife, Oye; and to a generation of Nigerians who share a passion for advancing the pace of development in our country – a generation which will ensure that integrity, justice, fairness, peace and prosperity for all prevail throughout our land.

FOREWORD

World Without End – an autobiography of Akintola Williams esquire, and Endless Footprints – the biography of his lovely wife, Mabel Efuntiloye Williams of blessed memory, are a unique work, which as the author himself declared in his preface are two life stories within one book cover and which to the best of his knowledge has never been done before. But, there is always a first time and we are grateful for the privilege of making a ‘first’ in this instance.

World Without End is incisive and nostalgic. The first thing that any reviewer will confirm is that the book is eminently readable. It covers the author’s life in detail, some of which featured in a previous biography – Akintola Williams – A Life of Integrity and Distinction by The Pilot Press West Africa Limited, publishers of that ‘fiery’ newspaper of the colonial era in Nigeria – The West African Pilot. That book was launched in the year, 2000 to mark the author’s eightieth birthday and I was also privileged to have been asked to write its foreword. I consider the book as now updated by this new work which also creates difficulty in reconciling with the common notion of historians that you ‘write a book to forget a subject.’ This new book will not allow us to forget its dual theme!

If you are not sufficiently fortunate to write your own autobiography, no one, absolutely no one can do it better than your better-half, if you have one. This is what the author has done for the world in Endless Footprints which details the life of his loving wife, ‘Oye’, from childhood, through her working life to service to society, in particular, Lagos State and Nigeria, and her unstinting humanity through the work she undertook with various charities which included The Methodist Movement and the Lions Club to name but a few. Her contribution to the cultural life of Lagos and Nigeria is evidenced in particular by the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON), where she was ‘Mama MUSON’.

The books take us through life in old Lagos, nostalgia for the older people and pain for the generation of Nigerians born in the last half of the century, who were not fortunate enough to be part of that era. The younger generation will be ‘tickled pink’ to know that in the early thirties there was the go-cart, pulled by hired workers instead of motor vehicles, for local transportation in Lagos.

Many instances of order, correct behaviour, integrity and discipline are highlighted in the books, all or most of which are gradually disappearing worldwide. It is a record of dogged determination to excel and the books record successes in all the couple’s fields of endeavour.

The Iconic Principles that permeate the books constitute wholesome advice to present and future generations.

The books provide information which had hitherto been unknown to many. Examples are the full names of the author, whose meanings were explained therein. Many people believe that the author’s adoption of European attire was influenced by the recognised mode of dressing in the colonial era in Nigeria under British rule. World Without End sheds some light on this, affirming that the author’s father generally called Uncle Kekere, hardly wore Nigerian attire in his lifetime – like father like son!

There are only very few couples in our time in Nigeria at least, that have led such inter-twined lives with a strong belief in family values. Throughout their lives together, the ‘duo’ gave much and quietly contained the strains and stresses that family interaction engendered.

The author is purposeful and decisive; his amiable spouse subtle and persuasive! Any attempt to determine who the stronger character is can only end in what Pieter Geyl referred to in his famed Debates with Historians as an argument without end.

These are books of great originality. They reveal a humane, beautiful and moving story of two extraordinary people, who have touched many lives and contributed immensely to Nigeria’s development without fanfare.

We should give a standing ovation to Akintola Williams esquire, Doyen of the Accountancy profession in Nigeria, unassuming entrepreneur and inspirer, for the work he has put into these books. We must share them with our children and their children.

Heartiest congratulations to the author, from his adopted son, for this classic!

Bode Emanuel

Mobil Block, Muson Centre,

Lagos, Nigeria.

May 2011.

PREFACE

To the best of my knowledge, this has not been done before – two life stories within one book cover. As I pondered on how to commemorate Oye’s life, my publisher and co-writer came up with a suggestion that turned my thoughts into reality, and this is the result.

These books, World Without End and Endless Footprints are intended, not only to tell our stories, but also hopefully to inspire others’ lives, particularly young people’s for they are the future of our country. It is my life-story and that of my darling Oye, who sadly died, on Wednesday July 8, 2009 at the age of eighty-eight years. The first book under this cover is my autobiography and the second is a biography of Oye written by me.

For a long time during a blissful marriage of more than sixty-one years, our lives were inter-twined. We were fortunate to share passions, which helped to enrich the life we shared and those of others we were privileged and blessed to encounter during the course of our lives.

Though it is absolutely impossible to provide a detailed account of our lives, my hope is that this work will inspire the reader to pass on the message that we are ordinary people who simply did our best.

Kola Olutimehin, who encouraged me and committed my time and efforts to this work, has joined me as co-author of this book. He has written lessons that may be learnt from our lives in what he has termed, the Iconic Principles, which come up at the end of each chapter.

I hope World Without End and Endless Footprints challenge you to be and give of your best.

Akintola Williams

Lagos, 2011

CO-AUTHOR’S NOTE

These are an unusual and enriching inspirational autobiography and biography within one book cover. They tell the story of ordinary people whose activities have raised them above the crowd and qualify them to be called great! The books capture some of their achievements which have enriched humanity, and followed the course of God’s Master Plan, even though they were not ordained preachers of the Gospel. This is a work of legacy that goes well beyond the subjects’ time and will continue to instruct and inspire generations yet unborn.

The first book, World Without End, is the autobiography of Akintola Williams whilst Endless Footprints, the biography of Oye Williams, is the second book. The stories are written in simple, easy to understand language and the reader will not only enjoy them, but also learn from them.

At the end of each chapter, you will find my Iconic Principles, which extract from the relevant chapter, principles that may be applied in anyone’s life in order to achieve worthy results. Principles are timeless, and when rigorously applied, yield the desired effect.

In these Iconic Principles within Akintola Williams’s autobiography, he is referred to as The Doyen, the term of address used by those who have been associated with him over many years. In the same vein, Oye Williams is referred to as Mama MUSON, which also, is the name that she came to be known by in the last two decades of her life.

My reasons for working on this book and what I have imbibed

One of the dictionary definitions of education is the result produced by instruction, training, or study.

In many parts of the world today, it is noteworthy that the acquisition of knowledge, which is termed as education no longer produces results. This may be due to the fact that young adults come out of various educational institutions unable to apply the knowledge they have acquired. Two of the reasons for this include:

i. A lack of practical application during the period of study; and

ii. A lack of a purposeful vision towards a destination to which the intended acquisition of knowledge will be directed. This leads to numerous complaints that there are no jobs to go into on completion of the period of study; the supply of human resource has greatly exceeded demand, to borrow a term from Economics.

In order to prove one’s education, it is essential that the student understands how to adequately project into the demands of the future. This will aid a successful application of the knowledge that has been gained.

In the case of Nigeria, since approximately the last one to three decades leading to Nigeria’s independence in 1960 (that is, the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s); and up to about the earlier part of the 1980s, white-collar vacancies were freely available in the country. This meant that opportunities existed for Nigerian locals who were required to fill these vacancies. As a result, it was important that people acquired the relevant education in order to occupy these vacancies. Others sought and obtained appropriate education which enabled them to create their own organisations.

All these attributes were required to serve the nation in order to adequately respond to its development as an independent entity. History testifies to the fact that those who prepared themselves in such manner have been financially and socially rewarded in addition to being well-respected within the community.

This success achieved by our parents’ generation caused that generation to believe strongly in the importance of education as they had experienced and witnessed its benefits to the conscientious hard worker. And rightly so, because education is essential. However, different times call for different visions for the future.

The challenge for today’s young adult is to ensure that he or she is not just acquiring knowledge for its own sake. Knowledge should be deliberately acquired towards a specific pursuit and direction. This is education in its true sense, and is derived from the Latin word, educare, ‘to lead; to bring forward.’

As a result of all these pre-requisites which were essential for the nation’s development, I had the young and future generations in mind when I began to write the Iconic Principles for these books. My hope is that young people are able to glean some inspiration from the passion that exudes from the lives of The Doyen and Mama MUSON in the pages of this book.

In the course of working on these books with the Doyen, I never ceased to be amazed by the sheer energy of this amazing man. During a typical two hour meeting, he is likely to get up, on an average of about four times, to pick up a document, make a photocopy, call the attention of his secretary, send his driver on an errand, etcetera, and would hardly let me do anything for him!

Sometimes, I have gossiped about this remarkable man to friends, who say they wonder how he does it. My answer has always been that it only seems hard to others because they had not cultivated the culture which he has. The Doyen created and maintained good habits, and cannot suddenly change those habits because other people find them difficult. He can only go by what he knows to be, and has continually demonstrated it.

This is the reason why, although these books are expected to entertain a wide audience, they are also intended to showcase role models for, in particular, the younger generation from junior secondary school upwards. This is the stage where principles, if quickly adopted will bring forth fruit, such as we see in the life of the Doyen. Though the Doyen may merely have stumbled on these principles, these books are intended to purposely promote future achievers.

My recommended further reading is my book, Dream and Achieve, with the subtitle, Discover and express your passion in your lifetime, as well as The Nigerian Dream, with the subtitle of Seedlings of national transformation.

One of the things that I have imbibed from the Doyen is a disciplined early rising in order to begin work – this I set out for myself to do.

I hope you not only enjoy reading these books but that you will learn some principles which you will incorporate into your own life and work.

Buy copies of these books for family and friends and encourage others to purchase their own copies so that our world can become a richer place. The wisdom contained in the following pages is truly life-enhancing.

KOLA OLUTIMEHIN

Lagos, 2011

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In conformity with the Yoruba culture in which any act of kindness or mercy, however small, is received with praises and prayers for the well-being of the donor, and in accordance with publishing etiquette, I am acknowledging with immense gratitude the help of the many people who have made the writing of these books possible. It is not often that one has an opportunity to acknowledge and give thanks for mercies, however small they may be, received in the production of a book such as the present volumes. Whenever possible, however, one must not lose the opportunity to do so.

Writing one’s memoirs and in the same breath the biography of one’s devoted wife, who is no longer living, is facilitated by being able to draw on the fertile brains and memory of so many friends and associates. My thanks must necessarily go first to my co-writer, Kola Olutimehin, and my daughter, Tokunbo, both of whom spent countless hours and days on the production of these books. I cannot do without mentioning Chief C S Sankey, Mola Njoh Litumbe, Ambassador Arthur Mbanefo, and Mr Dayo Ajigbotosho, the interviewer from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

I am also indebted to Mrs Marion Johnson, Mrs Lande Fadipe, Mrs Francesca Emanuel, CON, Father John Sheehan, SJ, Mrs Norma Dove-Edwin, Alhaji A O G Otiti, OFR, OON, Engineer F B Fashola, Princess Adetoun Kazeem, Mrs Sheri Otiti-Runmonkun, The Very Reverend Titus Omoniyi, Mr James Adekunle, Dr (Mrs) Floretta Douglas, Chief (Mrs) Oluremi Tinubu, OON, Prof (Mrs) Grace Alele-Williams, OFR, Lady Nwokolo and twenty-two dedicated staff members of MUSON.

I must make a special mention of Mr Bode Emanuel, the ‘adopted son’ of both my wife and myself, who has been a member of our extended family since 1953. It was he who wrote the foreword to Obinna J Osuji’s book entitled AKINTOLA WILLIAMS (A Life of Integrity and Distinction), first published in 2000. He has also graciously written the foreword to the present book. The depth of gratitude due to him is immeasurable.

These acknowledgements would not be complete without grateful recognition of the help received from the brilliant and resourceful scholar – Professor Adebowale Omole, OFR, a former Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University – who without much ado gave the title to these publications – WORLD WITHOUT END and ENDLESS FOOTPRINTS.

Needless to say this publication may not have seen the light of day but for the loyal, sympathetic and imaginative support of my secretary, Chuye Monye, whose secretarial and e-mailing abilities had to be subjected in the last twenty-six months to typing and reproducing twelve drafts of this over three-hundred-page publication, whilst at the same time ministering to my daily requirements and those of the Body of ICAN Past Presidents, Wesley Cathedral Olowogbowo Building Committee and the African Cancer Centre, to name but a few of his many tasks.

Akintola Williams, CFR, CBE

WORLD WITHOUT END

1 - THE GENESIS OF MY LIFE

It was an enjoyable rugby match my grandsons played and I cheered all the way. Oh, but it was only a dream! I thought I was beside the rugby field cheering away. The match was played on the previous day, and they had narrated it to me in detail.

No sooner had I realised it was merely a dream than my alarm clock clanged, and I mumbled to myself, is it 5:30am already? I reluctantly got out of bed and began my standard morning routine, which includes cycling on my stationary exercise bike for the usual fifteen-minute workout. My exercise regime dates back to my school days when we would usually partake in what we called ‘school drills’. I adopted that habit then and continue to maintain it.

This morning’s exercise particularly pleased me as I seemed to have a new spring in my step. It is always good to feel fit despite my age; nine decades of breathing, talking, feeling and seeing. Is that not wonderful? Not many see ninety after all, and how grateful I am for this. I made my way to the bathroom for a nice and unusually long shower.

After this, I went downstairs for breakfast which my cook, of twenty-seven years, Teko, had ready for me; some fruits and a cup of tea. As I ate, I glanced through the day’s newspapers as is my custom during breakfast.

After I had broken my fast, and as I went past the living room on my way to my office, my eyes caught sight of the pictures displayed around the walls; pictures of my wife, children, my brother, Soji, my colleagues over the years and friends from far and near. I said to myself ‘‘I have had a full life.’’

On getting to my office, I continued reading the details of some of the headlines that I had previously glanced at. I read an article about yet another fraud to the tune of about sixty-five billion US dollars by a man, referred to in the United States of America, as ‘one of the pioneers of modern Wall Street.’ This man in his seventies, Bernard Madoff, who had once served as President of the Board of Directors of the NASDAQ Stock Market in the United States of America, had betrayed the loyalty and trust of his clients through a scam he had created within his own company.

I wondered what the world was coming to – integrity seemed to have been thrown to the winds by those in positions of trust. I let my gaze rest on the pictures that were around my office wall, and I reflected on my own life.

Ancestry

My mind drifted to my father, Thomas Ekundayo Williams, who had died young at the age of forty-seven. We addressed my father as ‘Uncle Kékéré’ (‘Young Uncle’), because he had older siblings, one of whom was Olabode Williams who we