I grew up in Oke-Ara, which is part of the Ile Ife region, and I had a fantastic upbringing. My father was the village’s Baale. Today, instead of a Baale, that same hamlet has a ruler, whom they call Alara of Oke-Ara. My father had eight spouses and many children, but the way we were reared made it seem like we were all from the same mother, which added to the joy of my upbringing. Fear of God was something our parents ingrained in us. We were taught to always tell the truth, no matter what. My parents instilled in me the value of contentment, and we were constantly encouraged to pursue our dreams. These virtues have always been a part of me.
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My father had a lot of marriages for a purpose, and they were all very beneficial to him. They were all working on the farm with him. Similarly, my bosses all had numerous spouses as a result of their theater company. Our bosses used their wives and children since no parent wanted their child to be an entertainment back then. Polygamy was not practiced back then because people loved women or because they couldn’t control themselves. Because of the nature of their work, they did it.
My story may sound funny to people, so I always try not to share it. I was the most pampered child among my siblings and it is all thanks to my albinism. My father really took care of me but I never really knew the reason till I became an adult. My mother told me that she became sad when she saw me after giving birth to me. It appeared strange to her how I could be fair in complexion while both my parents were dark skinned. Because my father was a cocoa farmer who interacted with foreigners and also the presence of foreigners in the hospital where I was born in Ibadan, people began to speculate that probably my mother had an affair with a foreigner. She said that made her cry a lot. They later sent for my father but to her surprise, when my father saw me, he was very happy and he began to dance joyously. She said that she was shocked that my father was that elated. He left her to buy all the required items. I was told that my christening was a very elaborate one as well. Whenever my father was going out, some of us his kids would go with him but because I was different, it made me feel inferior. But once my father noticed this, he made sure that I was the only one to follow him. My father so much loved me that he never allowed anyone to beat me or maltreat me in anyway. I was later told my father loved me so much because I had the same skin colour as his mother.