Prof. Fola Soremekun is truly an inspiration to all the African students, and faculty at Citrus Community College in Southern California.
I met him in 1996 while I was an adjunct instructor at Citrus Community College.
Funmi
Professor builds school in homeland
By Tom Marshall, Clarion Correspondent
He was born during the time of the Great Depression, not in one of our urban areas, but in what was considered by some in that era to be the world's darkest continent.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was implementing his New Deal, however, this boy knew nothing of American public policy. His parents were Nigerian-born Methodist missionaries, and his father taught school.
Life was simple, yet hard, for Fola Soremekun growing up. He had a thirst for knowledge, though education beyond the secondary level was virtually impossible in his West African homeland.
Fresh from the pomp and circumstance of its independence from Great Britain, Nigeria had neither a place nor a plan for a bright young man with dreams.
As a boy, Soremekun had found a pen pal and corresponded regularly with a family in Alaska who encouraged him to seek every avenue to avoid being caught in a dead-end life situation in his homeland.
His Alaskan friends sent him small stipends, which he used to help pay for his daily needs.
At the age of 17, he completed his high school education. After exhausting all possibilities to attend college anywhere in Africa, and with the help of his North American benefactors, he found ship's passage to the United States.
Arriving in Norfolk, Va, he embarked on the second leg of his journey and traveled by train to Kansas City. All preliminary arrangements had been made for him by his Alaskan friends.
He was met at the train by a representative of Tabor College, which would be his home for two years.
Back in Nigeria, post-secondary education was reserved for the sons of the wealthy, and Soremekun was anything but. His parents were anxious and concerned for his safety, both physical and spiritual.
Not yet a man, he was traveling halfway around the world merely on hope.
Fortune and the good Lord smiled on the teenager, who arrived in the Mid-west with little more than the clothes he was wearing, though his Alaskan friends did what they could to assist him during this initial and trying period.
Soremekun was admitted to Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas, a two-year institution where he earned an A.A. before transferring to Illinois Wesleyan University, where he completed his undergraduate studies and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in history.
Though this accomplishment might have appeared to be the outcome of a charmed life for the young Nigerian, it was anything but. He sustained himself by working at menial jobs on and off-campus—washing dishes, gardening, anything that became available. Life was not a "stroll in the park."
Next, Soremekun was admitted to graduate school at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., just outside Chicago, with a fellowship grant from the university. He advanced through a master's program and began his doctoral studies, culminating in his graduation in 1967, having earned a Ph.D. in
history and African studies.
Life continued to go well for the young scholar. He found a job teaching at Western Michigan University, where he met and married his wife, Elizabeth, then a student at the school. The two remained there for less than two years, before he was recruited by a new liberal arts college at the University of Gambia.
Soremekun experienced the joy of being a part of institution for seven years, while Elizabeth taught at the International School. She had not neglected her education; rather, she, too, had persevered until she earned her Doctor of Education degree from Indiana University Bloomington. It was a
happy time for the couple, who had started their family and in time would have three daughters.
Though life was good for the family and especially Soremekun, he began to feel the need to be challenged in his work. During his years abroad, Nigeria had begun to grow in its independence from England and the world in general had changed. World War II had made the planet a smaller, but less
cordial place in many ways. Fortunately, Nigeria was rich in natural resources and had at its border a major seaport, although the country took a long while to properly exploit these riches, especially its oil deposits. Modern air transportation had made long journeys shorter and less arduous, and
college level teachers' salaries had finally pushed upward into the 20th century.
In 1980, during a holiday visit to Nigeria, the Soremekuns read an article in a Nigerian newspaper describing an area in the eastern part of the country, which sounded like a public relations writer's dream—a place of beauty high above the surrounding countryside, at an altitude of 5,000 ft., and with an absolutely perfect climate.
It appeared too good to be real, and the Soremekuns, immediately captivated, made the 13-hour trip by car. The writer's description of the place had not done it justice, they said.
They were struck by the incomparable beauty, but there were drawbacks: the plot they had fallen in love with, a parcel of 150 acres, was not accessible by road, and, of course, they did not have the money to buy it.
They remained in Nigeria, and then returned to the United States in 1985. All through the years, the family had traveled as a unit: father, mother, and three daughters.
"While it was more difficult, it was the only way to insure that our daughters would grow up in a loving family and with the proper moral guidance," Soremekun said.
The family finally settled in Sothern California, where they had a few friends, but his luck had turned bad. Trained at some of America's best universities and colleges, and with a broad knowledge of history—of the United States, Europe and Africa—and the ability to teach any or all of these subjects
with equal ease, the professor could not find even one teaching job.
He was forced to accept work as a janitor in a church, which he did, since it provided the family with living quarters in addition to a small salary. Overtime, Elizabeth was able to obtain occasional work organizing women's conferences and meetings, for which she would be given an honorarium for her
services. Somehow the family prevailed in the face of these obstacles, and eventually Soremekun began receiving small teaching assignments, including one at Antioch University in Los Angeles.
In 2000, the Soremekuns were invited to a local gathering honoring a former Nigerian head of state. Soremekun took the opportunity to tell the dignitary of his dream project in Nigeria and of the idea that had been germinating in his mind for the last 20 years: to build a school for Nigerian children in
a part of the country that was sorely in need of additional quality education facilities.
The visitor encouraged Soremekun to take the next step, which was to visit the area and approach the Governing Council of the State of Taraba, in which the land, in the township of Gembu, is located. The dignitary was thoroughly familiar with the specific area and informed the Soremekuns that
since their last visit there, a suitable road had been constructed, erasing the major obstacle to acquiring access.
The Soremekuns made the trip, presented their idea, which appealed to the chairman of the council, and even coached the Americans before they made their formal presentation and business plan. They were successful in their presentation, and the council, which controlled the state- owned land,
entered into a 99-year lease for a nominal annual payment, finally advancing their hopes from dream to reality.
It was another step, albeit an important one, in the long journey. Since then they have built the first stage of the model school, Highlands International School, located on the beautiful Mambilla Plateau, in Gembu, Nigeria.
A wise man said, "Be careful what you wish for." Such was the case with the Soremekuns.
Returning to California, he was offered and accepted a teaching position as a member of the faculty here at Citrus College in Glendora, where he remains to this day.
However, his attempts to attract contributors for his Nigerian dream project were met with little initial success, and however daunting the prospects seemed, work continued, mostly with the modest savings the Soremekuns had accumulated over the years, together with gifts from friends and
colleagues. Despite all odds, the first building was sufficiently completed to open for students in March 2009, first on a trial basis on weekends, and finally in September for full-time students. Teachers had been recruited from several African countries, giving Highlands International School an
international breadth of teaching knowledge.
Michael A. Hurtado, Ed.D., dean of social and behavioral sciences at Citrus who has worked with Soremekun for 18 years spoke only in superlatives.
"As a person, he is very altruistic and spends much of his time, energy and money helping others. He teaches more than the three Rs. He teaches African students life skills, hygiene, doing a lot with very little. He has opened the door for poor African children to have food, shelter, and even water," Hurtado said.
The school operates today with 68 students, from pre-school to grade three. The children are taught in a new building which has 15 rooms, eight of which are usable now.
Operational costs are paid by a small, devoted group headed by Elizabeth and Soremekun. The Soremekuns contribute part of their incomes to help carry on their dream.
Little by little, the circle of supporters grows. Someday, perhaps corporate and charitable organizations will join the effort after seeing Highlands International become a reality.
Gerhard Peters, a political science professor at Citrus, recently invited professor Soremekun to speak to one of his classes, expecting him to lecture for half an hour or less. The class sat spellbound for well over an hour.
"This is certainly more than I had hoped for," Peters remarked. "I consider Fola a friend and I have great admiration for this learned man. I only wish there was more his friends at Citrus could do to support his most worthwhile African project."
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