Vegetables and fruits can make one live long – 80-year-old retired engineer

MAY 26, 2013 BY ETIM EKPIMAH. A former employee of Shell Petroleum Development Company, Effiong Amasi, who is now a community leader in Urue Offong/Orugo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, attributes his longevity to a healthy diet in this interview with ETIM EKPIMAH How was it like going to school in your days? People were born with natural intelligence in those days. They only needed little monitoring to excel in academics. Science existed in our daily life then, so, we only needed little guidance to succeed in that field. My parents wanted the best for me so they took me to school as soon as I came of age and I became an engineer later. What motivated your decision to become an engineer? I did not plan to become an engineer when I went to school, circumstances led me to the profession. My school principal played a great role in my success as an engineer I left Methodist Boys High School, Oron, as a brilliant pupil. I was in standard four when I gained admission into secondary school. I lost my father when I was in form four. But the principal of my school, who was a white man, encouraged me to write the London Matriculation Examination immediately after my father’s death because he believed in my academic ability. I did well in the examination and I was informed by the principal that I had been admitted to read marine engineering in Liverpool, England. He showed so much interest in my academic career; he was like a hero to me. Five other pupils were also admitted for the same course but at the end, I was the best. When I finished from the college, I secured a job in the institution, which opened the door to other opportunities for me. I saw things from a different perspective and decided to study aeronautical engineering also. When I returned to Nigeria, I worked briefly in a company, where I was in charge of engines and instrumentation. But I had the urge to return to England for more education. I later enrolled at the Leicester College of Advanced Technology, England. When I came back to Nigeria, I got a job at the Nigeria Tobacco Company in Ibadan. But something happened at the Marine Department in Apapa Wharf, Lagos. A lecturer that I met at the Yaba Higher Technical College, the highest institution then in Nigeria, and an expatriate at the institution, traced me to NTC in Ibadan. They told me that they had a problem in Lagos and that I should help them solve the problem. I was one of the best in gas turbine and boiler in Nigeria then and my knowledge from two respected institutions in England put me ahead of many of my counterparts. My service was in great demand in Nigeria. I agreed to go to Lagos with them to fix the problem and they were happy I did. I also worked in Port Harcourt, Zaria, most of the northern region, and later Ghana. How was your stay in England? I had a pleasant stay in England. I went there as an unmarried young man and the parents of a white lady wanted me to marry their daughter. I refused by telling them that I came to England to study. My education came first and I did not want anything that would distract me. I was certain that I could marry any woman of my choice when I finished my study. But we remained friends. I was sent abroad by white men who wanted a bright future for me. They trained me and I did not want to disappoint them. That was why they had confidence in me. Where did you meet your wife and how about your family? I met my wife, Arik, in Nigeria. I have many children. My first child is Okon who has a doctorate degree. He works with a bank in Abuja. My last daughter, Arit, is married to a white man in the United Kingdom. She also has a doctorate degree. She is the Dean, Faculty of Human Resources and Management, University of Glasgow, England. I also have a second wife called Eno. But she left me for Prof. Edet Esang, the former Minister for Works and Housing. Few years after they got married, the husband died. I have another wife called Nkoyo, she has three children for me, Daniel, Emmanuel and Joseph Amasi. When we got married, I was getting old so the parents thought that I might not be able to father a child again. But I proved them wrong with the three kids. What was the fashion in vogue then? Tradition demanded that young girls be kept in fattening rooms, where they would be prepared for womanhood. Girls were also sent to fattening rooms in preparation for marriage. In the room, they would be taught how to live as women and beautify their bodies. That was why women of those days made better wives. People don’t have time to keep girls in the fattening rooms now to make them more beautiful. People are too busy nowadays so we have thrown away the tradition. The types of clothes worn then are no longer in vogue today. Today, our girls go naked on the streets. They now dress to show parts of the body that should be kept away from every eye. How would you describe your active days as an engineer? I had a rare skill as an engineer and I still possess the skill. When I was still in service, I worked in four engineering departments; marine, aeronautics, automotive, and allied mechanics. It boosted my value as an engineer and this was because I developed myself over a long time. I had an eventful career because of the broad knowledge I acquired in England. For how long did you practice? If you are talking of the companies where I worked, then the list is unending. But the last company to secure my services was Shell Petroleum Development Company in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as a mechanical specialist. I retired from the company 16 years ago. Were you ever offered a top job by the Nigerian government? I did not have to look for government job or appointment because I was too busy. I was a field man and I enjoyed the freedom to work. Moreover, I was employed by the best companies in Nigeria and was working with the best machines around at the time. I had many companies waiting for me to take up their job offers, so a government job was not attractive to me. I was comfortable with what I was doing. Did you aspire to establish an engineering company? The financial demand of starting an engineering company was huge and I could not shoulder it. I actually established Asimaco Technical Company, but I had to abandon the project for full employment because the system in the country then was not favourable for private company owners to flourish. We had no oil at the time. There was nothing available to give you the needed revenue to sustain such company. What I did was to accept the offers to resuscitate some companies that were experiencing hard times. One of such companies was Veno and Plywood Company in Calabar. At 80, you still look sharp and agile. What is responsible for this? We ate fresh and natural food when we were young and I controlled my diet, up till today. Vegetables and fruits are some of the best diets that can make a man live long. Unfortunately today, people do not observe good diet. They eat without caution. Our people no longer want to prepare food like draw soup and plantain leaf with cassava flour which is rich in nutrients that are needed by the body. In the past, draw soup was prepared with crayfish, prawns, periwinkles, fish, oysters, snails, fish, brown beans and vegetables. It was a wonderful meal for us. It gave us power and enriched the body. In the wildlife, apes, which still eat this natural food, have the power to fight even lions. There were warriors in those days, who could take on lions. This was because of the natural food they ate. But today, people are living on the fast lane. They eat fast food prepared with ingredients that could harm the body system. Life was slow in the past, but meaningful and peaceful. I could climb an orange tree, stay there and take as many oranges as I wanted before coming down. Where are the orange trees today? It’s been replaced with juice flavour which gives the wrong impression that what we drink is actual orange. But isn’t the quality of life today an improvement on the past? You may call the people of those days primitive, but their body system was fantastic. The clay pot and the calabash they were using to cook and drink water were cleaner than the plates and glass cups people are using today. They had no chemical substances in them. What was your favourite sport? There are sports activities today which are good exercises for the body but in those days, we trekked long distances to school, farms and back to our homes. We played our own form of football and tennis, using orange as the ball. People who lived in the past had no good roads so walking kept them healthy. They had their own sport too. It kept them in good shape. People prefer to drive around in their cars today than walk. How then will people live long again? People who live in hard condition have natural immunity. They are hardly afflicted with diseases. Men who married many wives in those days had the natural power to live with them because they consumed natural diet. They also lived long. The children of those days depended on their mothers’ breast milk which guaranteed outstanding intelligence. But today, we give the children dairy milk and you can see the kind of persons they grow up to become.