My Mother's Birthday...

In celebration of my mother Janet Olufumilayo Ojedokun (Noble) of Usi-Ekiti, Nigeria...I share excerpts from my best seller 'I found my voice'......

"You are not Janet Noble are you?”

The burly Caucasian man who was in charge of the office my mother had gone to seek work said with barely disguised disdain. He had sent my mother an interview letter on the assumption that she was white, and he had no intention of employing an African or any black person. My mother’s maiden surname was Noble and hence the reference from the gentleman but she did not let her frustrations show. She went on to enroll in Pitman’s College training as a secretary and busied herself with a few catering classes to improve her job prospects. ..........

My mother was very enterprising and took the opportunity of the liberalisation of student’s feeding and removal of the government subsidies in the 1980s to transform the buttery into a restaurant/canteen where delicacies of various kinds were cooked and served.........

My mother was especially renowned for the plates of beans and plantains and deliciously sauced selections of fried meats prettied with onions, which she regularly prepared. Many students also visited from far and wide in search of her famed freshly baked meat pies and cookies.......

My mother was an exquisite cook and was famed for being one of the first to master the art of cooking fried rice in Nigeria. Many times we retreated into the comfort her cooking and home baking provided and offered. It was very soothing to her as it was to us. I can still remember her immediate response to my father’s death was to retreat into the kitchen and bake various tasty pastries........

Memories are aroused of my mother, a strong and fearless one, attempting to stand up to soldiers during a traffic incident on our way back from school only to be rescued by the ‘messianic’ actions of my uncle, Professor ’Biodun Adetugbo. In 1973 the Professor of English, then a Senior Lecturer, on that humid mid-week afternoon, at risk to his own life fought the rabid soldiers to a standstill. The incident dragged on rather late into the evening before it could be resolved with my uncle ending up in hospital and we at Lion Building. After it all, we thought we had the next day off school, but my mother still insisted we continue with our routine."