Looking at the king’s
mouth, one would think he never sucked at his mother’s breasts. This
popular African proverb by late renowned writer, Chinua Achebe aptly captures
the story of dental surgeon, Dr. Wale Omole.
The son of subsistence farming father and a petty trader in
a remote village, Wale Omole had little or no hope of getting a formal
education. But he had what most kids of his age lacked, he was hardworking and
adventurous.
The fourth child in a family of seven, Wale planted maize,
which he sold, cut trees for sale and did many other menial jobs to support his
indigent parents’ income.
“I was very hard working as a little boy. I would grow maize
and sell at the market. At other times, I would cut trees and sell for fire
wood. I would even go into the forest to pick snail and sell. I weaved basket
for sale too. The truth was that I did so many things to make ends meet as a
little child.”
But even that was never going to be enough. And so, after
completing his primary education at his native Ipetu-Ile in present day Osun
State, he went to Ibadan to stay with his elder brother and first born of the
family, Mr. Bosun Omole.
In Ibadan, Wale struck a deal with Bosun, who at the time
worked with his school certificate. But both brothers had a serious challenge
to overcome. While Bosun had a dream to proceed to university, he also wanted
his younger brother to enter college.
As a compromise, they reached an agreement that Wale would
work with his primary school certificate to raise fund, while the elder brother
proceed to the University of Ibadan.
“My brother came up with a novel idea. He said I should
work, while he went to the university. I worked in three different places. At
first, I worked as a service boy at Ifelodun Hotel, Mokola, Ibadan. Later, I
worked at another hotel run by a widow. The last place I worked was at a meat
company at Dugbe, Ibadan.”
By 1973, Wale elder brother had completed his course at the
University of Ibadan, and was among the first set of the National Youths
Service Corps (NYSC) in 1974. He also kept his side of the bargain to educate
his younger brother.
His choice was the prestigious Mayflower School, Ikenne,
Ogun State. The school fee was paid from the little allowance his elder brother
earned as a corps member.
But his life would change for the better one bright morning
when he entered the office of the proprietor of the school, Dr. Tai Solarin, to
seek permission to travel to Bida, to collect the school fee from his brother.
“I went to see Dr. Solarin to seek permission to travel and
meet my brother in Bida for my school fees. He asked after my parents, and I told
him who they were. He looked at me, and asked ‘are you not the boy who comes
first in your class?’ I told him it was me, and he said he could not afford to
let me travel that far to collect school fees. He said our roads were terrible,
and that I was too precious to be wasted. There and then, he said he would give
me the Friends of Mayflower scholarship.”
That experience marked the beginning of a relationship that
would see little Wale transformed into a ‘son’ of the Solarins, a relationship
that has lasted till this day.
But if you think the Friends of Mayflower scholarship was a
stroke of luck for him, two more would follow in very quick succession. The
Western State government also gave him another scholarship that would see him
through secondary education. He also got another one given by a philanthropist.
And overnight, he turned from the little known son of a
farmer to a hero at the popular school.
“I was not sure which of the scholarships I was to use. But
Dr. Solarin asked which of the scholarships I wished to use, I told him to
choose for me. And he said I should pick the one from the government. The
reason was that, the school recommended 37 of its students for the scholarship,
but I was the only one that got it. In his recommendation, he wrote: ‘in
Mayflower, we call him the king of kings because of his ability’.
“He told me that he would reserve the school scholarship for
me to use for my higher studies. He also
gave the other scholarship to another indigent student, I remember, it a girl,
by name Tawa. Dr. Solarin was fond of saying: ‘If the devil gives you
scholarship, grab it.’ And so, I used the government scholarship through my
secondary education.”
Soon after, his fame grew beyond the borders of Nigeria when
he, alongside other brilliant students from the school, went on excursion to
England.
“My parents were very proud of their son. You can imagine,
that little boy from Ipetu-Ile, who was two years ago a houseboy, a service boy
in a hotel, but now on his way to England. It was a great experience for me. In
a very short period, I had three scholarships at my disposal and also found
myself in England.”
Wale did not disappoint all those who invested in him, as he
went on to Ibadan Polytechnic for his Basic A/Levels certificate.
“I left Mayflower in 1978. I went to remind him of the
scholarship he said I would use for my higher education. I had about five
admission letters, two of which were foreign. I wanted to pick one of the
foreign schools, but he advised that I chose the Polytechnic, Ibadan.
“While at the polytechnic, I also won another scholarship by
the government of Oyo State. I ran to show Dr. Solarin, and he said he was
ready to spend anything to educate me.”
The influence of the educationist on the life of the young
Wale Omole was improving every day. And it climaxed into his advice that he entered
the University of Lagos medical school to study dental surgery in 1980.
“By this time, I had become very close to the family of Dr.
Solarin. He actually decided most of the steps that I took at the time.”
Shortly after completing his NYSC programme in 1987, the
young medical doctor went back yet again to his ‘father’.
“At the time, I was still searching for a job. But Dr.
Solarin said I should think of setting up a job of my own. He wanted me to set
up dental hospital. But I told him that the amount involved was very huge. But
his response was ‘very huge, for me?’ He said he would go to the bank to get a
loan and that he would put it in his Will that the Estate pays the money if he
fails to offset it before his death.
“I told him that I needed on N25, 000. He asked how I would
spend it, and I explained to him. I spent N5, 000 on accommodation. I also
spent another N17, 500 to buy equipment. I used the rest on feeding and other
expenses. I also lived in the house. We started operations in November of 1987.
“I went to him to inform him that the hospital would be
named after him. I gave him three options, and he opted for T&S Hospital,
which means Tai and Sheila. I promised that I would refund the money. And
within two years, I paid back the money. As a result of this, his wife gave me
a testimonial in which she wrote: ‘You are a miracle worker’. And to encourage
me, he promised to give me N1, 000 every year as a gift. He said the money was
to serve as a reminder that I should get my own accommodation. He did this
until he died.”
From that humble beginning less than three decades ago,
T&S Hospital has grown from a rented three-bedroom apartment in Mushin area
of Lagos to a network of branches, with the headquarters located at the
highbrow Apapa area of the city.
“I give God all the glory for this great achievement. We
have grown from a mere hospital to what you are seeing today because the Lord
had been with us.”
Also, from a school boy in 1973, Dr. Omole has also grown to
become the deputy chairman of the governing board of Mayflower Schools.
Asked if his profession leaves him any room for relaxation,
Dr. Omole looked genuinely surprised. With a little smile etched on both sides
of his mouth, he said: I don’t really understand the meaning of relaxation.
Whenever I planned to rest, I would have been up and doing some stuffs before I
realized that I had planned to rest. So, for me, relaxation mans more work.”
However, despite his tight schedule, the dental surgeon
still have, and indeed sets enough time aside to enjoy his daily dose of Miliki
music by Evangelist Ebenezer Obey.
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