BARR. KAMAR-DEEN LANRE ADEBAYO: Blind, yes... but I see just as well
by VINCENT KALU
The Guardian UK, October 11, 2014
http://sunnewsonline.com/new/barr-kamar-deen-lanre-adebayo-blind-yes-see-just-well/
Kamar-deen Olanrewaju Adebayo is a blind journalist and later became a
lawyer. As journalist, working in The Guardian, his reviews on visual art
works, stage plays, films and home videos, baffled people and made them
asked, ‘why is he seeing what other reviewers couldn’t see?’
In an interview with VINCENT KALU, Barrister Adebayo, who made second class
Upper Division and the best graduating student of the Department of English,
told of his challenges, and noted that he was made to live without depending
on anybody.
VINCENT KALU: How has life been?
Kamar-deen Olanrewaju Adebayo: I have to tell you about my background, so
that you know where I’m coming from.
I was born nearly 50 years ago in Lagos. By Nigeria classification, I’m an
indigene of Ogun State, because my father hails from there, even though he
was born in Lagos. My mother has lineages in Iseyin, Oyo State, but sides of
her had long settled in Lagos, especially on the Island, they had properties
there though taken over by the government. My grandfather also had property
in Lagos.
So, if I claim to be a Lagosian, by all standards, it is a genuine claim,
even though my parents have lineages outside Lagos. I’m using this to make a
statement on this state of origin issue by stressing that where you were
born and where you reside in greater part of your life, and where perhaps
your parents have settled for a long time should actually be your state of
origin and nothing else. When you look at it, there is much less about us
outside Lagos than in Lagos both from the paternal and maternal sides; there
is more about us in Lagos than outside Lagos, but because of the
classification, one claims Ogun State, which I hardly visit, except for
official reasons.
I attended Pacelli School for the Blind in Surulere, Lagos having been born
with degree of sight problem, which was rather hereditary from my maternal
side.
From Pacelli to Kings College and from there to University of Ibadan, where
I graduated in English in 1988, with Second class upper, and also, the best
graduating student in the department that year. I did my National Youths
Service Corps with The Guardian newspapers and assigned specifically to the
Arts and Culture desk, where almost as a weekly columnist, I combined, among
other reportorial duties in arts and culture and reviewing visual arts,
stage plays, films and home videos.
You wonder how I did all that. From The Guardian, I moved to Daily Times
under Dr Yemi Ogungbiyi as the managing director then. I was there for about
13 years, also working on the arts and culture desk and rising to the
position of senior staff writer. In between that, I did some part-time jobs
for Radio Nigeria programme, production and presentation. I was also doing
something for Minaj Television in the area of programme and production
presentation too. Both radio and TV programmes had to do with persons with
disability.
While at Daily Times, I went to read Law in University of Lagos and
graduated in 1999 and went to the Law School and was called to the Bar in
2001. I did some private practice for about two--three years before joining
the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, first with Citizens Mediation Centre
and later the Office of Public Defender, which was a contractual arrangement
and with effect from December 2005, I was converted to a full-time staffer.
VINCENT KALU: How were you able to cope with schooling, secondary and
tertiary, etc?
Kamar-deen Olanrewaju Adebayo: Visual impairment has ceased to be a serious
challenge. It is just that in this part of the world, we are very slow to
catch up with development. Secondly, we have a culture of every individual
who is physically challenged to be made either completely redundant or
completely dependent on other people. Those are the two problems that even
when for instance you are seen moving around on your own people would think
that you are doing something stupid by moving around on your own. They
asked, why not let somebody move with you, forgetting that if they were my
brothers or sisters, they can never have time to move around with me on a
daily basis and I was made to live my own life without being dependent on
anybody.
Once you are physically challenged, the culture makes you almost totally
redundant or makes you fully dependent on one person or the other. As I
said, we are very slow to catch up with development.
Right from the 18th century, there is a system called Brail reading and
writing that enables the blind to cope with education. Since that time,
development has enhanced the capacity and capability of the blind to cope
with life generally to the extent that in western countries that if you want
to pour water or any liquid in a cup, there is a little device that you put
in the cup, which will tell you when the cup is full and also buildings are
also designed taking cognizance of the blind.
Even the roads and streets are also designed to make it conducive not only
to the visually impaired but also to the physically challenged. For
instance, in UK, even a visually impaired is driving when he is approaching
a junction--a kind of minor road entering into the main road, the surface of
that road would become rough, before then it would have been smooth. At the
point of the junction, it would become rough that you the visually impaired
will know that this rough surface is leading to a junction so that you stop,
but here in this country we are yet to get to that level.
Over there you have blind judges, lawyers and bankers. We are gradually
trying to get to that level. Some of us would get to that level. We have
senior blind colleague, but I’m not sure he got to the level of practice
that I have got to before he died.
VINCENT KALU: While working in the print media, you were reviewing visual
arts, stage plays, films and home videos. How were you doing that?
Kamar-deen Olanrewaju Adebayo: Talking about print journalism and the arts,
I see myself as informer. The role of a journalist is to inform. Mine is to
gather information and communicate the information to the reader. For an art
exhibition, for instance, on the first day of the exhibition when it is
opening, I would move round with all the other art viewers, listen to all
their comments and speeches, and all that and asked them of their opinions
about the art works. Then on a later day when the art exhibition is less
occupied with people, I would go there and the artist would conduct me round
the art works and explaining to me each work and I would ask him questions.
Maybe, by virtue of my training in English Language, which has a way of
introducing one to the art generally, I developed a perception for the arts.
So, I was able to interpret things even beyond what anybody would tell me. I
was able to form my own independent opinion.
As per the technicalities of the production of the artworks, I will ask
questions from the artist--how come you used this colour, how come this one
is rough, I would feel some of the artworks, how come this is rough, is it
the brush strokes?
I became gradually schooled in visual art production. By the time I would
review the artworks, I would put up all the information I had gathered and
married it with my own perception of the work and interpretation of the
work, I would come out with my review.
If you remember the Maroko incident, where the military governor in Lagos
evicted the residents, there were two artworks that focused on the that, one
by Biodun Olapun and the other, I think by Kolade Osinowo, and I was bale to
compare and contrast the two works. One showed a Combi bus loaded with
household items apparently belonging to the residents, and the driver was
standing hands akimbo, feeling satisfied that he was making a fortune out of
others’ misfortune. It was painted in bright colours. The other was a
midnight scene, which juxtaposed the prevailing darkness in Maroko as a
result of the demolition with the brightness in Queen’s Drive, which is just
separated by a lagoon. The light from the houses on Queen’s Drive reflected
on the lagoon. I was able to capture all these in my contrast of the works,
such that the peak of my work as a reviewer, there was hardly any arts
exhibition in and outside Lagos that I was not invited to cover, even when
they knew that this person is blind.
I remember I wrote a review of a stage drama and the playwright, Mr. Kunle
Adebanjo, told people that he couldn’t believe that this person could not
see and asked, ‘why did he see what others could not see.’ All I did when
ever I’m watching or reviewing a stage play is to ask the person beside,
‘what is that person doing?’ and the person would tell me what he was
seeing, the person telling me what he was seeing may not even understand
what he was seeing as much as I to whom he was telling. That was how I got
the information and perhaps my other colleagues may not notice what I have
noticed and I included it in my review and it baffled the playwright that he
asked, how come that I was the only person who noticed it. However, others
saw it, but didn’t take notice of it as much as I did.
So, that is how I went about my art reviews.
VINCENT KALU: How was your growing up?
Kamar-deen Olanrewaju Adebayo: The challenges have to do with the fact that
people will always reminded you that you have a physical challenge. They
would call you names in that regard--O, the blind man, see your eyes, you
cannot see. They want to look down on you as a result of that. I had to live
over and above those kinds of statements or thoughts. I had to put that
behind and did things that other young people of my age did.
I remember in those days, when we were living at Fadeyi, I would roll tyre
like other children would do to Bada Street, off Agege Motor Road, where one
of my aunts was staying, and I would follow the inner roads from our
residence through Ogunjobi, the railway line and I would get to that my aunt’s
house rolling tyre.
One was trained in school to live over and above limitations. We were made
to do things on our won and not to depend on people; we were made to face
challenges including very tough ones and were punished severely for any
wrongdoing. For instance, even when they knew we couldn’t cut grass with
cutlass, we were made to pull grass with our hands and that was in primary
school. At home, the school always told our parents to make sure we were
doing things on our own. So, they never really pampered one at home, so, one
was really baked hard in those days.
VINCENT KALU: Who were your role models?
Kamar-deen Olanrewaju Adebayo: At primary school, I think my teachers were
my role models. One made me to see life as highly competitive, so even in
the classroom you want to aspire to be better than your mates. Some of our
senior colleagues who had passed through the system and doing very fine are
my role models as well. You have Mr. Taju Alade, he is a very senior person
in Federal Radio Corporation, Ibadan national station. We have quite a
number of colleagues who excelled in various professions, who were visually
impaired. I remember Bashiru was our senior, he was one of those who thought
if these people could make it, we too should be able to make it.
Of course, professionally, my immediate boss then, Omoloju, the Art editor
of The Guardian and another colleague, Anikulapo who rose to the position of
editor, Sunday Guardian before he retired from there.
Then, the legal side, when I read the judgments of some very notable Supreme
Court judges within and outside Nigeria, Lord Dennis in UK, who is
universally renowned. Also, the like of the late Justice Oputa who just
died, the late Kayode Esho, Emeka Agu, Ayo Salami, Kabyi White, etc when you
read their judgments, you feel thrilled and want to aspire to the level they
are.
In the broadcast, I used to be thrilled by Usen, I was listening to him why
in secondary school, Benson Idonije. On television, there is John Momoh.
One would inwardly wish to aspire to the level to which these people have
aspired in their various endeavours.
The lectures one passed through in school, including Prof Niyi Osundare,
Prof Adeyemi, Prof Agbede, and others who were role models in various
fields.
When I was in UK, for a professional course in journalism in 2001, the
people who taught were veterans from BBC. They are also role models.
VINCENT KALU: What has been your greatest moment?
Kamar-deen Olanrewaju Adebayo: The day I graduated from University of Ibadan
was indeed a very great moment. The day I was called to the Nigerian Bar was
also another great moment. The day I started working to earn a living, I
remember October 16, 1989, was when I started earning salary. I also
remember June 4, 1984, when I finished from secondary school, and I felt if
I were 10 feet taller than my height then, just because I had finished
secondary school. I don’t know which is the greatest, but they are great
moments. June 4, 1984, when I finished from
VINCENT KALU: What has equally been your lowest moment?
I remember while in school, you know as a child you would always play
pranks. Some of those moments I wished they never happened, especially when
one was caught playing stupid pranks. In fact, at one instance, one was
punished for weeks and you were serving the punishment on a daily basis for
misappropriation, because you were put in charge of a kiosk.
Another funny one I could recall was when I was asked to write an essay, and
our teacher was an Irish Sister of Charity, and I thought she didn’t know
how to read brail, so I just wrote a few lines and was reading offhand what
I ought to have written. To my greatest surprise she took the rubbish I
wrote and read it with her eyes. It was one of those pranks that you were
caught unexpectedly.
I remember a particular day I was rushing for an assignment and I was
passing in front of BOC Gas on Apapa/Oshodi Expressway, there was a ditch
where they deposited wasted gas, and I fell into it headlong, with my
special computer. That was how that computer worth about four thousand
British pounds sterling damaged. It was after that incident that the company
covered it and barricaded the place. That is one of the examples that things
left uncared for on the road pose a serious danger to people like us, who
feel we must move around on our own.
VINCENT KALU: How do you relax?
Kamar-deen Olanrewaju Adebayo: I listen to music, I love to read and chat
with friends.
VINCENT KALU: How did you meet your wife?
I got married in 1995. I met my wife at The Guardian newspapers, while I was
doing my national service. She was managing The Guardian canteen. She was
attracted by the fact that this is a journalist who could not see. We were
only acquaintances as we only met when I went to eat. That was not really
when it started. It started after I left The Guardian for Daily Times and I
was still going back to The Guardian for one or two things. That was in
1989-90.
VINCENT KALU: When you approached her, what was her reaction?
Kamar-deen Olanrewaju Adebayo: According to her, it was a kind of mixed
feeling. She had seen how much of an achiever I had been and could be, she
had seen how self-reliant I could be, yet she couldn’t pretend about this
fact that she was going to marry someone visually impaired.
There was also the religion factor, she is a Christian and I’m a Muslim, but
since God meant both of us for each other, all that didn’t pose any problem.
VINCENT KALU: Religion is a major issue in Nigeria, how do you manage the
home or have you converted her?
Kamar-deen Olanrewaju Adebayo: No, I have not converted her. In Islam, you
are not expected to compel anyone to take your religion, because if you
compel anyone to take your religion, you have no reward for doing so and the
person who was compelled and because he didn’t accept it willingly, does not
have any reward. You only let people see the religion through you and let
anyone decide to accept or reject. The Quran makes it clear that it is only
the Almighty Allah that guides anybody. The Holy Prophet Mohammed who we
follow, his uncle refused to accept Islam and Mohammed couldn’t do anything
about it. One can only talk to people or let people see the religion as
practised by you; you cannot or shouldn’t compel anybody to take your
religion.
VINCENT KALU: Are there times that you ask God, ‘why me’ or you wished you
were normal?
Kamar-deen Olanrewaju Adebayo: Well, yes, especially when you find yourself
facing things, which otherwise you would have loved to do. For instance, I
can’t drive myself, so I’m at the mercy of the driver. Without being hasty
and generalising, drivers are not always the kind of human beings you would
want to relate with. So, imagine that it is mandatory that I should have a
driver; these are one of the things one would regret. At times when you just
cannot do certain things on your own, you have to need somebody to do it
simply because you cannot see, that also makes me feel, ‘O God, I wish I
were not like this.’ But, far and above all that, one always have cause to
be grateful to God.
