HE made his mark as a chartered engineer.  He worked for reputable companies like the Nigerian Tobacco Company (NTC); BP (British Petroleum) West Africa,

Short but strenuous
My father, Chief Festus Fashua Fakilade (F.F.F.) was in the vanguard of Christianity and education in Ilara Mokin, Ondo Province, Western Region, now in Ondo State. FFF, as he was popularly called, was a farmer and he could read and write because he was one of the first set of people that were enrolled in school in that area. Their own school began by 12 noon and ended by 3p.m. My mother, Madam Emilia Fakilede (nee Jaiyeoba) on the other hand, was a full time housewife and they started taking me to the farm at the age of four. What I remember most about our farm is that it was not far from home, but the path was very rocky and hilly so, going to farm was very strenuous.

You could not fight in school  
I went to St. Michael’s Primary School, the first in the whole of Ilara and its environ. The school was established by the Anglicans and it was very interesting; it was not far from home and father was so important within the Anglican hierarchy. The discipline in the school was so great and you dared not fight. I used to ambush those who offended me; I fought a lot and there was a time we played football and one of our teachers who played with us slapped me because I pulled his shirt when he dribbled me. I retaliated and when father heard, he gave me the beating of my life, because beating your teacher is not a good thing to do. Because father knew I could run fast and would bolt away while being beaten, he usually made sure I was caged in a corner, but I always managed to escape.  In school then, we were usually beaten for not being able to answer questions.

The food strike of 1950
After secondary education, I went to the Technical College, Yaba and the college was just starting then, in 1949. The college was for Nigeria and Southern Cameroon and it was a beautiful experience. It was my first time of leaving home to live in a boarding house and after two weeks, I started missing my mother because the system of eating there was different from what I experienced at home, where I could eat pounded yam, amala and yam at any time. In the college, the feeding system was regimental because there was a roaster which was strictly followed. On Mondays, we ate akara and ogi (bean cake and pap) for breakfast; two slices of yam with stew and two pieces of meat for lunch and for dinner, eko agidi with vegetable and three pieces of meat. Bread and beans, with tea, were for breakfast on Tuesday; I enjoyed the meal and it has been my breakfast till today. The standard of feeding in the college was very high and the weekend was special; we had what was called, ‘constitutional food arrangement’ at weekends because we were given two pieces of liver, with bread, for breakfast; afternoon, yam and stew, with three pieces of meat and another three pieces of meat in the evening. That was for Saturday; on Sunday, we had half a chicken each, with rice and stew. We did not eat that much in our various homes but, in 1950, we went on strike because the contractor handling the food reduced our meat to one per student. We felt we were cheated but, some students were rusticated because of that strike.

Cricket to the rescue
The college, behind Abule Oja, Military Hospital area, Yaba, Lagos, was a famous school; students came from the East, North, West, the Cameroon and so on and during the food strike, I was one of the ring leaders. So, I was one of those rusticated, but I could not go home and I stayed with a friend in Lagos. During that time, the college was to participate in a cricket competition and I was a very good cricket player. So, I was recalled from rustication to represent the college and luckily for me, I made my century (playing 100 rounds without being sent out or caught) during that competition. I won for the college and we were given an award; the principal, Mr T. Nuttal was so happy that he gave me his cap and that was how I was recalled from rustication.

Snakes as companions
At the Technical College, Yaba, we were the first set and we were about 300 in all. Life on campus was a survival of the fittest because there were bullies who harassed others and being a new site, we saw a lot of snakes. No weakling could survive on that campus and the principal must not hear of any bullying or any act of indiscipline.

Stand for your right
After technical education, I worked before I travelled to England in 1962. I was at the College of Further Education, High Wycombe Buck, England (1962 - 1963) and Technik Hoch Schule, West Germany (1963 – 1966). I was already in England before the result of the Federal Government scholarship test that I did came out and that was how I transferred to West Germany as a Federal Government scholar and got a German Diploma in Technical Engineering. When I was travelling to England, I chose to go by air and that took two days. We stopped over at Cairo and the immigration officials collected the passports of Nigerians, before allowing them to go to the hotel, because they believed Nigerians could abscond. However, I refused to be subjected to such treatment and did not give them my passport; other Nigerians also refused to submit their passports and we were kept in the plane for 30 or 40 minutes, but we were later allowed to go. That was how I stopped the harassment of Nigerians at Cairo airport on that day.

The coloured handshake
I got to England during winter and the cold was unbelievable; my friends bailed me out by buying me winter outfits. One experience I will never forget was when the Queen came to our school and four of us, Nigerians were among the students lined up to welcome her. She shook our hands and a black lady gave her a bouquet of flowers. To our chagrin, that evening, the media reports were full of criticisms on why the Queen should shake blacks and was given a bouquet by a black lady. That was the extent of discrimination going on in England then so, in school, whenever they wrote graffiti on the walls targeting us, we replied. For instance, anytime the white students wrote ‘keep England clean,’ our own graffiti was, ‘keep it clean by using Daz.’ Daz was a detergent popularly used over there. I came back to Nigeria in 1967 to serve my fatherland, because if you considered what the government spent on us, one could not do otherwise.

Lessons from parents  
My parents were good people; good examples of how to build a good home. Father had other wives; my mother was the first wife, but she never disobeyed my father and despite the polygamous nature of our family, there was unity.

The German reality
In Germany, they taught me how to do something by doing it. They believed in your practical skill, in what you could do. If you were at work with Germans, while doing a technical task, they would pretend that they were stuck and would invite you to help them out. If you were able to carry out the task successfully, you were honoured. They did not believe that there was anything that was impossible and they believed that little things mattered; that scraps, knots and bolts made the aeroplane; that nothing was useless.
Favourite Bible story

The birth of Jesus Christ. It gives me joy and this period (November/December) is my happiest because of the anticipation of Christmas. Some said it should be the Easter period because Christ died for us then but, my own take is that Jesus could have refused to come, but He came and that was why He was able to save us.

Philosophy
I am myself and I don’t believe in amassing wealth; I have told my children that there is nothing to inherit from me, except the good family name. I have no philosophy because I did not create myself and I cannot determine what happens. If you are kind to people and you announce that you are a philanthropist, then, you are not, but only being egoistic. I like to be independent, just like any Iloro man; I don’t beg for anything from people and I prefer to die rather than beg.