My father is a good cook-John Shagaya Jnr.
John Nanzip Shagaya Jnr is the youngest son of Senator John Nanzip Shagaya. The young Shagaya who is a lawyer and film producer in the making, speaks about the passions and softer side of his father, Brigadier-General Shagaya (rtd).
Daily Trust: Apart from your name, what else do you have in common with your father? I’ve been told I walk like him and talk like him. We are also almost the same complexion, there is just a marginal difference. Apart from that, I see myself as when I am trying to achieve something that is not in line with a specific notion, I’m not satisfied and generally, the older I get, the more I look at my dad and the more I realise the person he is.
DT: How close are you to your father?
We are absolutely close. It’s hard to determine how to measure closeness with one’s father but I can give you an instance. Many times when I’m watching the news or a movie on TV with my dad and something happens or he responds to something that somebody said or did, sort of a sarcastic response, his response is the exact response I would make. So I would look at him and rotate in my chair and wonder who I am.
DT: Being the youngest child, were you pampered by your dad?
I was pampered by my mum and sisters but my dad didn’t pamper me. He has always maintained a very strict outlook on life. I wouldn’t say he is strict towards his children even though one would expect a military man so well accomplished to be strict with his children but I don’t see it that way. I just see him as a man who expects certain decorum from people who work with him, especially his family.
DT: What particularly exciting things would you recall about your dad?
There was one particular incident that stuck with me, I was a child and we were living in Lagos then. You know the usual thing, when daddy comes back there is usually a forewarning, ‘daddy is back, daddy is back’ and so everybody will just behave. But on this particular day, I was running round the house and he walked in and at the last possible second, I saw him and I seemed to say, ‘oh no’ but he just grabbed me and lifted me. He took off his beret and put it on my head, and I remember the beret being so big that it covered all my face. Shortly after that, he put dropped me and took the beret off my head and said; “mai katon kai” (big head) that was what he used to call me then because I had a big head.
DT: What would you say is an aspect of his personality that people don’t know?
He has an incredible sense of humour, he can be hilarious. I mean, when I say hilarious he would say something and would maintain a straight face but people would be rolling on the floor.
DT: Doesn’t he know he is being funny?
I’m not sure he knows, I have never had this conversation with him but I’m pretty sure he knows he is being funny. There is no way you can get a reaction like that out of people and not know, so I’m pretty sure he knows. I have never mentioned this to my dad but he strikes me as someone who is moved by art. The fact that the house is surrounded by paintings, sculptors suggest that he is one who derives inner peace from beauty and creativity and I can see a lot of that in all of us.
DT: Apart from golf, what are his other hobbies?
From time to time he talks about this very fondly but I’m not sure he would admit that this is something he is passionate about and that is storytelling and film making. Sometimes when we are watching a movie I would say something and he would say you are exactly right, they could have done it this way or that way. So we criticise movies and commercials together and you can only be passionate about something if you talk about it the way he does.
DT: What kind of books does he read? about He would read just everything. His library consists of everything from religious books to cookery books, health books to fiction and so many others. He is a big fan of John Grisham, he has the entire collection of the left behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, he has books that detail stories of the unexplained, books on ghost stories and the stuff. He would read just about anything if it’s reasonable.
DT: Does he cook and if he does, how often?
Yea, he is actually a good cook and he talks about his hay days but he doesn’t cook now. However, from time to time he would go into the kitchen to boil eggs or make himself omelette or something else.
DT: What kind of a father is he?
He is an attentive dad, he pays close attention to us. Even now that he is becoming more advanced in years you would expect that he would relax or get tired but that is not the case, he is very present and very aware of what is going on in our lives. He is caring and concerned and constantly advising and counseling even when you don’t ask for it. He would call you and draw your attention to something that is happening around you that you didn’t notice. DT: Is he a controlling dad?
I wouldn’t define him as controlling but I would say because of his close attention to details and his ability to point things out, one could mistake him as controlling. DT: What is his favourite food?
He would tolerate just about anything. Aside very specific few things that he would not touch, like dog meat, he eats just about everything.
DT: Why not dog meat?
As a young Tarok man, dog meat is ok, but as he grows in age, I guess he has his own reasons but he stays away from dog meat. I also haven’t seen him eat snails.
DT: As he gets older, what are the kinds of changes you see in him?
Aside the fact that he is getting funnier? DT: How does he relax?
He does relax. I don’t know what the experience is for others who have lived with retired military men but I find myself sometimes having to remind him to calm down, relax and because he is constantly moving, probably not as much as he used to. Another change I have seen in daddy is that he seems to handle stress better. Of course this year has been a tough year for all of us because we lost our mum but prior to that, I started to notice that once he would handle a stressful situation by seizing control of the situation and guiding it, now he is more relaxed and open to letting things play out.