A life member of Gideons International in Nigeria, he was a Technical Adviser to the World Bank Programme in the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID).

He was the Chairman, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, UNIMAID, 1993-1996; Chairman, Association of University Technologists of Nigeria (ASUTON), 1983-1987; Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Science Laboratory Technology; Member, Nigerian Institute of Science and Technology (MNIST) and the Institute of Science Technology (MIST).

The Assistant Registrar/Director of Administration and Finance, Nigerian Institute of Science Laboratory Technology (NIST), Mr. Joseph Lalai Musa, remembers his growing up years with nostalgia:

Early years
We lived on subsistence farming, while I went to a missionary school, which was very expensive. Father could not afford the bills but mother put in extra efforts to give me sound education by selling different things like pots and kulikuli (groundnut cake) for sale on market days.

I learnt hardwork and faith, absolute trust in God, from my parents, they were both Muslims and, because I am an only son, no female child for my mother, she made me do the household chores. There is nothing I cannot do; I learnt how to fetch water, how to kneel and use the grinding stone and so on, while helping my mother in the home. I can cook any food very well, to the extent that anytime the family went to the farm, they normally sent me home, ahead of others, to prepare the meal for the whole family and I was just 12 or 13 years old.

Primary 1-4
I was born in Chibok, Borno State and I went to primary school (1 to 4) in Chibok; we had to go to another village to read Primary 5 to 7, which we called Senior Primary School then. The school was Church of the Brethren Mission (CBM) School, popularly called, Chibok Primary School.

The great trek
The other school I went to for Primary 1 to 7 was also owned by the CBM and it was in Lassa, 60 miles from Chibok. Because of the distance, I had to stay with Deacon Musa Soldier of the CBM with other pupils. However, every Friday, after school hours, by 1 p.m., I trekked 60 miles home to Chibok and trekked back to Lassa on Sunday. I lived like that for two years and, everyday, after school, we worked on the deacon’s farm from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., in lieu of the accommodation he gave us. In 1962, however, the Church of the Brethren Mission changed its name to Ekklesia YanUwa a Nigeria (EYN).

For the good of mum
One striking experience I always remember was when mother took ill while I was studying in Lassa and she came there for treatment. The medical bill was Two Shillings, Six Pence and there was no way we could get the money; I had to work for five days on someone’s farm to raise the money and to the glory of God, my mother got better and her sight was restored.

Continuous assessment
In junior primary school, you did exam to go to the senior primary school and the standard of education was quite high then. They kept us on our toes through the continuous assessment system and we were not afraid because the teachers would have taught us all that would come out in the tests, unlike now that they don’t even finish the syllabus and they expect students to pass. You had to be regular in class to be uptodate in the subjects and pass. Then, we had a lot of respect for our teachers and they also made us believe in hardwork; you must do your homework, or else, you were in soup. Those who finished primary 1 to 4 then and did not further could read and write very well in English Language, like my senior brother, Clark Musa, who, after primary 4, went to the hospital to work and he rose to a high position in the dispensary and could perform very well, just like a nurse, while he also has a very good handwriting. Handwriting was very important then and teachers dealt with you till you improved on it.

Motivation
My mother was an illiterate; she did not know anything about books, but she encouraged me to study hard. After doing the house chores and having evening meal, she would put on the oil lamp and sit me down to do my homework. After doing the homework, my senior brother, Clark, would check it for me before I took it to school. All these encouraged me to study hard.

Full attention
The system of teaching then was very good, they also practised what you call montenssori now; the teacher would show you cards and ask what figure was on it, or that you should count the flowers and say how many they were; then he would put two or three cards together and ask you to multiply; some counted their fingers and toes to get the answer, while some, who were smart, gave the answer outrightly; in all, that system improved our aptitude and made us to be smart. When I passed to secondary school, my headmaster came all the way from Lassa to Chibok (60 miles) to deliver the admission letter and my mother was very happy.

Life was good
At the Borno Provincial Secondary School, we enjoyed being in boarding house; we were given many things free - three pairs of white uniform, white canvass, with white liquid polish, white socks, white knickers; two blankets, two bedsheets, mosquito net; three good square meals - when we ate chicken it was one for four students, if it was beef, we had two pieces each; we never ate rice only, but rice and beans, for more nutrition, with good stew. Life was good and the school gave us mostly white wears to easily detect dirty students. From Form 1 to 5, we were 300 students in total; some classes had 20 to 28 students, while no class had more than 30 students. Teachers were dedicated while students concentrated on their studies and you didn’t need to struggle for chairs or desks.

Only two students sat on wide benches and teachers got you easily for any misdemeanor while you were asked to run round the block two or five times. The school’s name was later changed to Borno Government secondary School, while it is now called Government College, Maiduguri.

Councillor to the rescue
After Form 5, in 1967, my grade was adjudged to be very good; I collected many prizes and came first. Ordinarily, after Form 5, one should work, but the principal, Mr. Wood, called five of us to go for HSC (Higher School Certificate). I wanted to help my parents by working  but the principal insisted and when I said there was no money to continue, Sir Kashim Ibrahim, then Governor of Northern Nigeria, whose son, Abba Ibrahim, was then the emir, was around and he asked the councillor for education in the Borno Emirate Council, Dam boa, to take over the responsibility for my HSC.

ABU was super
I was in the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) from 1972 to 1976, on scholarship, to read Botany and it was another good era. Government funded education very well then and they were responsible for all charges. Before we finished in the university, people from the scholarship board came to recruit us for lucrative jobs, with your accommodation prepared and N36,000 car loan, which could then get you a brand now Peugeot; if you rejected their accommodation, they gave you N48,000 in lieu of that.  

Pranks
I fought a lot while in the primary school at Chibok. School was about one and a half miles from home and while trekking we fought. We carried water to school in Krola soft drink green bottle and there was a girl, Yana Yarkawa (an abiku name), I called my wife. One day, we quarrelled, she hit her bottle on my own and it broke. Her parents insisted my parents must buy another bottle for her and they did. Her mother used to carry cassava to the market to sell, near our compound and she would give me a small piece to eat. I was so used to that and anytime she did not give me, I snatched it and ran. They said I was naughty. As God would have it, this same girl came to Zaria for her NCE while I was there, one thing led to the other and we sent a message home that we wanted to marry.

When her parents realised I was the one, they told my parents that I should come to seek their consent myself. I was afraid they wouldn’t agree but, after a while, they agreed. We have five children, two engineers, one accountant, an architect and a nurse. Unfortunately, however, my wife, who was a director in the Borno Ministry of Education, Yana Musa, died in 2001. She instilled discipline in the children and was very hardworking.

Philosophy
Be kind, work hard; be passionate about whatever you do; whatever you have, know that others had it before you and all you could do is to help others to relieve them of their pain. If you give, you get; if you work hard, you get, that, I learnt from my mother. Then, whatever you want, always have faith in God; I took my case to get free secondary education to our pastor, faithfully, and with God, it was possible.