I've Been Cooking for More Than 45 Years
I’ve Been Cooking for More Than 45 Years
The Journey to Ghana and Back….
Iwas born in Kano. My father was a gold and diamond dealer. At the age of four, he sent me to Ghana where one of his younger brothers was residing. His brother was also his agent and eyes in Ghana. I was sent there so that they will always remember to get something for him back home in Nigeria. During that period, I happened to be one of the luckiest. It was during the regime of late Dr. Kwame Nkruma, the then Ghanaian President. In Ghana education was free. I attended Akwatiya Roman Catholic Middle School around the mining area even as I was a Muslim by birth. I mixed up with Mission boys who attended same school until when I left primary school; I had no one to sponsor me to secondary school. I was with the Hausa Community and became their secretary and interpreter. Since I could read and write, they relied so much on me as I was always invited to their meetings and business transactions. Luckily, I got a cleaner’s job at St. Dominos Hospital in Akwatiya. I was also going to the diamond mines to earn a living. I became sick and returned to Akwatiya due to the rigours of crude mining activities. I met a Good Samaritan who adopted me as his child and helped me get scholarship by the Cocoa Marketing Board.
Sojourn in Accra Polytechnic…
I grew up with them and was lucky to attend Aggrey Memorial School between 1960 and 1965. I had to leave for Accra, the capital, and one of my female friends assisted me to gain admission into Accra Polytechnic. The admission did not work out initially so I left for the border town between Ghana and Togo where I spent one year. I, however, returned the following year when I decided to study Catering and Hotel Management on a part-time basis because it was the only available space in the school. I was in the school from 1966 to 1969. Thereafter, Ghana Airways advertised for the position of stewards. I was, however, confused because the adverts came while I was yet to complete my studies. I needed to start taking care of myself. One of my friends, by name Owusu, however, convinced me that we should apply and we agreed to put in our papers as partime students. We were successful and started training. The chef from Argentina, Samantha, saw us and insisted we should not go for stewardship but chefs because he saw that we were dedicated and very good on the job. He reminded us that there was no future then in stewardship but either the counter or kitchen. We accepted and were redeployed to the kitchen immediately. As a student, they started me as a kitchen cleaner. I did not bother because all I wanted then was to get something for my future. The Argentinian over-tasked me and made me stay on duty from morning till night. I was thinking he was punishing me but today I am enjoying that hard work. Opportunities came and airlines like Lufthansa took us to Germany to understudy their staff in their Frankfurt kitchen. BOA, now British Airways, also did same. I was always among the people sent on such rare training programmes. I never knew Samantha from anywhere but in Ghana.
From cleaning, I entered Layout, and moved to Ladder. I now thought there was no need for further studies after all my training in aviation. I had a teacher called Agnes Banama. She was an exstudent who asked me to manage the staff canteen. The Italian senior manager, Pat Nuerher, liked me so much and saw that I worked with less supervision and complaints hence he availed me of several opportunities in the office.
‘Aliens Must Leave’…
When the Ghanaian government decided to drive away all aliens in their country, almost everybody had left but me. I was so lonely that I was beginning to lose interest in the job that I also decided to pack my bags and baggage and return to Nigeria. After so much pressure, my boss decided to give me a reference note to Nigeria Airways, Ikeja. Before then I had met Ebun Faturoti who was asking me to come and work for him in Ondo. I realised that before I could trace my parents it will take me a very long time. I was in Ondo working with Faturoti when FESTAC 77 came and I applied. I did not tell anybody where I was going. I left the hotel in Ondo and went to Kaduna; arriving in the night. I was offered accommodation in Durbar Hotels and next day I was asked to go to the kitchen. There were so many chefs from Germany, France and Japan. They just came. I had only the certificate from Ghana plus the numerous training in Germany and the United Kingdom but I was able to prove myself in the kitchen. I was lucky and was offered the position of Assistant Head Cook. Nobody knew my tribe or that I hailed from Kano State. I proved myself that it became irrelevant. In Ghana Airways, we were cooking for thousands because we catered for all the Airlines; Ethiopia Airways, BOA now British Airways, Swiss Air, Lufthansa, Alitalia. They were all taking food from the Ghana Airways kitchen. You can imagine how busy we were in Ghana.
Airways, Crowd Feeding was Not New to Me
I had accommodation problems after I left the hotel but was lucky to meet Senator Tanko Ayuba whose wife offered me their boys’ quarters. It was during the period Durbar Hotel, came for training and their then personnel manager, one Kura, was told to take me as an indigene of Kano to handle the training.
Tracing My Parents…
My travel to Durbar Hotel, in Kano helped me to trace my parents. I was made the General Supervisor to Kano State Hotels. I worked with them but disliked the tribal sentiments exhibited there. Many believed I was not Hausa till they got to know the abode of my parents. The night club manager wanted to ride over everybody and I disliked that because he was always shouting. I was the first person to cook for foreigners when Bagauda Rock Castle was opened, General Obasanjo and other dignitaries were there as I was always on the move. While there, a friend came and told me his friend wanted to open a night club in Maiduguri and promised that the pay would be higher and condition of service better. Again, I moved. As somebody looking for better conditions, I was always ready to move whenever I did not get the much desired job satisfaction. He was somebody I had already met in the Sabon Gari area of Kano and he
is originally from Edo State. The name of the night club then was Top Calypso. It was located near the Press Club in Maiduguri. When we got there, however, what we met on ground was not what we bargained for. I decided to leave because I could not stand his attitude. Thereafter, I met one of my co-staff at Ghana Airways, a pilot. He was flying the then governor of Borno State. He asked me to report to the police but I did not want to go through that way. I packed my load and moved to Kaduna where again I met another friend who was my classmate in Ghana Polytechnic, Accra. He was then a senior lecturer in Kaduna State Polytechnic. We met at Durbar Hotel and he took me to his residence in e Barnawa where he quartered me. I had an accident on my way and nobody but one of my friends Mallam Ibrahim knew where I was. In those days, there was no GSM or other mobile phones and the landlines were not even enough. I was in pains and agonised so much. My longstanding friend, Chef Benaut, a French citizen who was so close to me in Durbar hotel, was now in charge of Hamdala Hotel Roof Top in Kaduna. He heard about my predicament and he was kind to refer me to Peugeot Automobile which was then looking for a good chef. There was also another opening in Chiyoda, the Japanese construction company. Since he is French by birth, I advised him to go for the Peugeot job while I move for the Chiyoda opening. When I got to Chiyoda, they had 500 guests to feed in Section 3. The general manager put me in the kitchens. The next day my appointment letter was made available. I was given the option of staying in the site camp or town. I was the only black head chef. All others were Chinese, Japanese or even Indians. I was in contact with Benaut and Singh, an Indian who became the Roof Top manager. They told me about another opening in Edo State. I did not want to go over there right away. I wanted them to get there and report back after their assessment. He came back and started discussing another opportunity in Lagos.
Moving Here and There…
As chefs, we are always on the move and making contacts with our colleagues. Whassan, a furniture company was diversifying into catering and hospitality. I resigned to meet them in Lagos. I did not know much about Lagos but only on stopovers. We met at the Akintola House in Ikoyi. The company was then taking care of the federal secretariat. They had the contract with over 60-man staff. We had three wings: lunch, breakfast and general outlet. I was the chef and kitchen superintendent. It was Chief Bernard Longe who was then the head of service. He passed a circular that for increased productivity, no staff of the ministries, departments and parastatals should go outside to buy food. We were running the place till Singh decided to go back to India. I equally decided to quit when the company started cheating me. Before I quit, we had opened up and had the Shell Petroleum Limited. I was also the chef but when they brought any Indian I would train him and yet they would place him above me. I bluntly told him it was not the right thing, I told him: ‘I came with you, I have been here with you and they are given apartments but I was never considered.’ Interestingly, I built my own house in Lagos but I insisted that if they could not offer me a decent apartment I should be given some money to rent mine. They agreed on that. I wanted to travel to Mecca to observe the pilgrimage and requested for sponsorship as in paying for my tickets but they were cheating the black workers. I will not delve much into that. We also opened a restaurant called La Brassier along 1004 Flats, Victoria Island, Lagos. I was the manager but most of the boys were aware of their labour rights. We had the Indian restaurants and the continental kitchen under Benaut and I was running the outdoor catering Unit. The boys approached me that they wanted to form a strong industrial union. Indeed, I saw it was the truth but I refused based on the fact that I was a management staff and was not going to be deeply involved, but will always lend my support. It was thereafter that I resigned out of frustration when I realised some people wanted to betray me. I did not know what to do. The little money I got as pay off I used it as start-up. I was cooking and luckily an opportunity came up as usual; this time at the roof top of the Nigerian Stock Exchange building. I was put in charge of the place till my father died in 1999. I decided to move to Kano. The bank had crisis and I decided to move to Gabon to put myself together. I was married with children. In Gabon, there was no possibility of making the money I looked for. I returned to Ghana where I had a house and family but did not stay long when I returned and one of the boys I picked from the streets and trained in Whassan sent me an invitation for offers in Warri and Port-Harcourt. There was a club called Barracuda Night Club where I demonstrated what I could do. Everybody who came around was excited with my culinary skills. They actually got the contract to manage the place after my display. I had a day off duty only and shuttled between Lagos and Port-Harcourt. A white guy owned the club and I was given free hand to do things professionally. When he was going on vacation he handed over the running of the place to me with an imprest. He had a Nigerian ‘wife’ who worked with us without any problem. I had to run down to Kano when I got the news of my mother’s demise. I sent my Hausa wife back to assist because the Yoruba wife was not conversant with our customs. I informed the white man’s wife about the money in my care because I did not want to travel with it. But she was not the least pleased in the first place that I was given money to run the place in her husband’s absence. When I returned one evening from Kano State after the burial rites, I went to the kitchen but was ordered out based on the woman’s instructions. I never argued but went to bed only to open my door the next morning to notice some fetish droppings by my door but that did not matter to me. They were even doing occult incantations to scare me. For three days I could not bear it any longer. I was advised to wait until when my boss would return. I was afraid and decided to avoid sleeping there for fear of being roped into any case. When he eventually returned, for three days they blocked me from seeing him. The then police DPO, one Karma, who was my friend advised after I disclosed all that has transpired, to stay by the gate and stand in front of the vehicle so that my salary and money for other suppliers could be paid. When he eventually met me I requested that we check the records since he entrusted some amount of money in my care before leaving. He did not agree initially but when he eventually did we crosschecked and I was finally paid about N2, 000 only, which was big money at that time anyway. I never wanted to return to Lagos and stayed in Port-Harcourt in search of another job.
Clearing the Mess at Presidential
Hotel…
I approached the general manager of Presidential Hotel who used to be my regular guest at Barracuda Club and he took me to the Lebanese chef. The place was in such a big mess. Their refrigerators and fridge freezers were in a big mess. I was given the free hand to clean up the place. There was another chef called Enyindaa, an Ikwerre man, he made me to know Ubima. We worked together till my transfer to room service which was a big task because it entailed working 24 hours. A room can order four different types of food. I was there till I became a union executive. We ran the body successfully but after they sacked some executives and the personnel manager accused me of going out with one of his sisters. He tried to rope me into the crisis that engulfed the hotel but could not. I knew that it was a matter of time before I left.
Killing of My German Partner…
In a bid to fully establish myself, I was lucky to talk to a German who was into dredging but wanted me to collaborate in opening a club called Blues Café. I was combining the job at Presidential Hotel and that of the café. I was equally accommodated at the boys’ quarters. It was okay but I was attacked because I was doing two jobs and so I left the Presidential Hotel to fully concentrate on Blues Cafe. Unfortunately, they assassinated my partner. His wife hailed from Nembe. The suspicion was rife that the assassination may have been an insider job. I was sleeping in the dead of the night when suddenly I was woken up by noise from the main house. It happened the day that the curfew imposed in Rivers State was lifted. The club looked more like an all-white club. The security man ran out shouting that the German had been murdered. They killed him upstairs and dragged the body downstairs with his gun by his side. Luckily, the police did not indict me as I was freed after questioning. They knew how close I was to him. At this stage things became as rough as the club was shut down while those suspected of having a hand in the assassination were clamped in police custody. He was buried in Port-Harcourt. I exhausted all the savings I had. I waited endlessly to reopen the place because we had paid fully for the lease of the property. Sadly, while I began another journey of job search, Benaut called as usual that Protea was opening in Aba Road, Port-Harcourt and needed a chef. He made a strong recommendation. But they were waiting for the expatriate chef from South Africa since the opening date was almost at hand. Eventually when the management arrived they were surprised I prepared a wonderful dish. In catering we do not waste. One cannot afford to be extravagant. But when a lady placed an order for Oha soup in an ungodly hour of the night ‘we could not satisfy her. She insisted on the soup we pleaded but interestingly I was summoned by the proprietor of the place whom I later gathered had quartered the girl in the room. After detailed explanations he was not satisfied and asked that I be relieved of my appointment.
It is Inside Me…
Today I am back to the North. But I cannot stop this job. I love cooking and giving people quality meals. I have traveled far and near and to all the nooks and crannies of this country but I find more job when I am doing this job. I worked in Abuja when I left Port-Harcourt but when the contract of my employers was terminated because the woman refused to buy their insider tricks of shortchanging the government they decided to sabotage us by framing up lies to drive us out. I still cook for some companies doing airline and general catering in Kano.
My Family…
I have children in Ghana and Nigeria. I was married in Ghana to a princess and when I returned to Nigeria I married a Yoruba woman who gave me lovely children. I also have a wife from the North. But today I don’t visit our family house for reasons best known to me. I am happy that I am still strong in cooking and doing the catering business.
In a bid to fully establish myself, I was lucky to talk to a German who was into dredging but wanted me to collaborate in opening a club called Blues Café. I was combining the job at Presidential Hotel and that of the café. I was equally accommodated at the boys’ quarters. It was okay but I was attacked because I was doing two jobs and so I left the Presidential Hotel to fully concentrate on Blues Cafe. Unfortunately, they assassinated my partner.
His wife hailed from Nembe. The suspicion was rife that the assassination may have been an insider job. I was sleeping in the dead of the night when suddenly I was woken up by noise from the main house. It happened the day that the curfew imposed in Rivers State was lifted. The club looked more like an all-white club. The security man ran out shouting that the German had been murdered. They killed him upstairs and dragged the body downstairs with his gun by his side