Date: 2012-03-18

It is unbelievable nowadays to come across somebody aging about one hundred and sixty years or thereabouts, and who still recollect what happened while growing up. Alhaja Alimotu Abdulmalik is one of such old people who still live in our midst, having witnessed many historical happenings in her immediate environment as well as the world over. Halimotu was born in Ilorin decades ago to the family of Alhaji Kokewukobeere in Oja Gbooro area of Ilorin, Kwara State. She has become a sort of tourist attraction to people, a historian and an archive to many who are interested in knowing the past that might be difficult for one to get elsewhere.

According to people around her, she claims to be around one hundred and sixty years, as a result of past historical events many heard from her. But by her own calculation, she feels she is about one hundred and fifty years old, when she considers the number of Emirs who have reigned in her life time.

"I was born at a time when there was no means of recording date of births, or because people were not literate enough to do that. But with the number of Emirs who came to power, and reigned in my presence in Ilorin, I believe my age should be one hundred and fifty or more than that. I remember one of my contemporaries, Sheu Ahmad Folorunsho Faagba who died at one hundred and forty two years, four years back. He was my classmate in Islamic school while I was growing up, and I am older than him by about five years" Alhaja Halimotu narrated

Apart from the premier Emir of Ilorin, Sheik Alimi, eleven other emirs have reigned in Ilorin, and Alhaja Abdulmalik witnessed their coming to power and the reign of the sixth emir of Ilorin, Sheu Sulaiman who came to power in the year 1896 and reigned till 1915. "I was a grown up child when the emir came to power, although, I cannot ascertain how old I was that year. But I was a grown up woman when he became Emir of Ilorin. I also took care of Zulu Gambari and Baba Abdulkadir, the 9th and 10th emirs of Ilorin", adding that many of them who witnessed the reigns of those Emirs had long gone.

Apart from witnessing the reigns of many Emirs in Ilorin, she also narrated her experiences during the ‘Hitler wars', the first and second world wars. "Growing up was one experience I can never forget, I spent many years in the midst of soldiers selling cloth to them at Sobi Barracks. Majority of the soldiers usually come to me for prayers, whenever they are going to war front, and they always showered me with different gifts when they returned.

Mama is an amazing, surprising, and interesting person. She is amazing in the sense that she is humorous and always ensures that people around her are happy. It is never a dull moment wherever she is around and she is a very interesting person to be with.

Surprisingly and despite her age, her memory is still as sharp as that of a young woman, as she still recollects events of many decades that those born during the period may not even remember. For instance, she was interrupted several times during our interview by passerby, but she always kept going back to the exact point where she stopped before the interruption.

Her family, according to her, contributed to the development of what is today known as Ilorin. Hear her "In the history of Ilorin today, my maternal grandfather did something that can never be forgotten. They found only five houses in the whole of Ilorin when they came, and they were the first to bring Holy Qu'ran to Ilorin before the coming of Sheik Alimi who was the first emir of the town. She disclosed that the founding father of Ilorin was one Ojo who was a herbalist and hunter before other people joined him, including her grandfather who brought the first Quran they used in praying before the coming of Sheik Alimi who met six buildings in the town. "The history of Ilorin is a complicated one, especially for those who don't know the root of the town. But the little I can say about it is what I just did," she said.

Asked if longevity runs in her family as to whether any of her parents or grandparents attained old age like her, she says "Longevity is of the Almighty God. Be gives to whoever he pleases. Living long is a destiny which was written long before we were created. But for anyone to attain that age, such a person must imbibe good character, have respect for people, submit fully to the will of God, be a diligent servant of God, do good deeds and give arms to the needy. If one can observe all the above, God will definitely fulfill whatever it is written for you."

She further added "One of the prayer beads I inherited from my father was used for sufism (praising to God and reciting of asalat for Holy Prophet Muhammad) for 140 years. He lived well over 140 years. But my mother didn't live long because she died at a time I needed her most in life."

To people around her, she is a blessing, as many used her age alone to request for something from God. One of such instances was during her pilgrimage to Mecca in 1977, when she was already well over one hundred years where she received special attention and care from the Saudi authority.

"During my pilgrimage to Mecca, I learnt it didn't rain for sometime there, but when they saw me and my age, I was asked to pray for rain, which I did and it rained. Forty people were assigned to take care of me, after which they asked me to stay back there, but I declined.

Intelligence is one attribute Alhaja Alimotu is blessed with, having memorized the complete Quran at a tender age, and she still recites it fluently. Apart from this, she is also multilingual as she speaks majority of the languages spoken in Nigeria. On how she learnt the languages, she explained "I was into buying and selling of textile materials, and this made me travel to all the regions of this country, and we usually spent months wherever we traveled that made me learn some of the languages I speak. It is easy and possible for me, because I memorized the Qur'an, and once you are able to do that nothing will be difficult for you to learn."

She speaks English, Hausa, Ibo, Fulfulde, NUPE, Igbira, Igbala, Tiv, Kanuri, different dialects in Yoruba, Arabic, Benin, Kaje, Idoma, and a host of other dialects in the country.

Blessed with eleven children, 119 grand and great grand children, she is now left with only one child, an eighty three year old woman, as she lost her first and last surviving children in 2011 at age 113 and over 60, respectively. To be afflicted with such losses at her age and experience she has this to say "I give thanks to Almighty in whatever position I found myself. Almighty God is the giver and taker of life. It is their destiny to leave me behind, and I don't have authority to question his Might because whatever he decreed must come to pass, and nothing can change that. He decreed that I should live till this age in life which I cannot question, as well as whatever He decides on me"

Her life style is based on making people around  her happy, devoted to serving God, doing good is her watchword, eating a balanced diet is also important to her. "I eat all kinds of food, take more fruits and I worry little. But the truth is that doing all what I mentioned does not make one live longer, if you are not destined to stay long," she said.

Speaking on the gains of longevity she said, "There are lots of gain in it and one of them is what you are getting from me. There are some things you don't know about Ilorin that I made you know now. People help old people, use our names to pray to God because they believe we are closer to him than ever, as somebody like cannot do any other thing than eat, sleep, advise people, preach to people, direct them onto the right part, settle issues in the family and pray to God."

Regrettably, Alhaja Abdulmalik frowns at what is happening in the society today, ranging from government, immorality among the younger generation, and corruption, saying the contact and acceptance of western culture contributed negatively to what the country is experiencing today.

Her words, "Western education is all about lies and nothing more. They are teaching us lies and bad ways of life. Please get me right I am not outrightly condemning it, but it will be useless at the end of the world. The only thing that will remain is God's commandments to us, while farmers will be the leaders in the world later. Go back to teachings of the Holy Quran and farming if you want to be relevant in life."

To be close to her, observing the five daily prayers is a must as nothing in this world can stop her from observing her prayers, even in times of grief. She also made people believe that talking too much drains ones blood, and advised people to mind the time they engage in talking. "Talking usually drains blood and that is why they pay judges heavily in order to replenish whatever they lose while talking.

Alhaja Asmau Apeke Adeshina is another over one hundred old woman who lives in Offa area of Kwara State. In her own case, the year railway construction began in Offa was used to determine her age.

According to one of her sons Chief Tolani Adeshina, "we learnt railway construction started in 1901 in Offa and it was commissioned in 1907, and my mother was one of the ladies who usually sold food and kola nuts to labourers then, and she was around 13 years. One of her elder brothers who worked as a labourer during the construction, was about 18 years.

She has the history of Offa in her palms, but as old age set in she tends to forget some things. But even at that she still remembers some facts that can be useful for people of Offa and its environs, having spent the whole of her life in the town.

"Our record indicated that she is now one hundred and twenty five years old or there abouts, Chief Adeshina said." Married to Alfa Buraimoh Akanji Adeshina, a warrior and valiant fetish priest, she is blessed with 8 children and left with 6, of which the first surviving child is about 80 years , while the last born celebrated his 62nd birthday recently. She has 70 grand children and about 200 great grand children.

Despite her age, even though she has lost her agility and walks with the help of a walking stick, her sight and every part of her body are still intact, as she could identify things and people around.

Alhaja was born to the family of Oyagbesan Tolani and Ibironke Oyawoye Tolani in Esho Pataki compound. Her parents were said to be   traditionalists, Oya worshippers precisely, but she embraced Islam after marriage and performed her pilgrim in 1968 to seal her pillars of Islam.

Recalling   growing up in those days, she said, "I used to trek the distance between Offa and Ajese-Ipo thrice daily to sell palm oil and other items as well as to other villages around Offa like, Ile-Ife, Ila Orangun, Igosi, Ikirun, Oshogbo etc. Her life adventure also took her to towns like Bida in Niger state, Ila, Iresi in present day Osun State, as well as some parts of present day Edo state, where she usually bought and sold kola nuts, pepper, palm oil and farm produce.

Narrating her life experiences, she said her first husband died immediately after their marriage, without any issue. "When I lost my first husband, Oya - a deity in Yoruba culture was contacted to choose my next husband and the luck fell on my late husband, Alfa Buraimoh Akanji Adeshina whom I had all my children with, who was a trader then in Nupe land, and far away from Offa," she said.

Commenting on the secret of her longevity which appeared to run in the family, as one of her parents lived well over hundred. She said "My longevity is from God because I don't have any deity I am serving that I can say it preserves me till now, and I don't have a special food. I eat whatever is given to me and I take lots of fruits.

Responding on her mother's behalf Chief Adeshina Tolani, a former commissioner of finance in Kwara State said, "Many studies have shown that longevity is hereditary. Another factor is personal disposition. Those who are calm and contented definitely have advantage of living long, than those who are crass, dissatisfied and always inclined to worry.

Interactions and finding about these special creatures reveals that they have some similarities and differences in their thinking and understanding of life. "Parents in those days chose spouses for their children, without turning it down and those of us who accepted it were happy and achieved  a lot,  but our children nowadays see such as barbaric and something they should do away with which is contributing to breaking of marriages now, which  we didn't usually experience during our time," they both commented

Their views on the society, modernization and civilization are similar, in the sense that both attributed challenges facing the country now to lack of respect, commitment, dedication and total submission to serving their community. "Ladies no longer respect their parents' view on marital issue, they walk naked in the society, and display immorality as the best way of life. Insincerity, corruption, deception and greed are now the order of the day, thereby exposing the general populace to untold hardship.

According to Dr Ogugua Osi-Ogbu, Consultant Physician and Geriatrician, department of medicine, National Hospital Abuja, "it is possible to attain old age and maintain it if one watches his or her attitude to life. To maintain it therefore, old people should engage in routine exercise, daily walks for up to 30-40 minutes a day. Routine visits to the doctor and screening for malignancies for early detection and treatment. Environment affects our stress level, our habits both dietary and otherwise with consequent impact on quality of life and longevity."

She added that medicine for living a long and healthy life is eating right, avoiding toxins-tobacco, excessive alcohol, herbal medicine, abuse of drugs, self medication; routine   checks, early treatment of medical conditions, being positive about life, contributing to an improved life for others, loving and respecting mankind as directed by our Creator.

"Nutrition for the elderly should be balanced, including several portions of fruits and vegetables, except they have conditions that contravene that, like diabetics who cannot indulge in fruits, plenty of water helps to prevent dehydration which could cause confusion in the elderly. Adequate water intake helps also to prevent constipation. Food should be low in fat, high in fibre content e.g. vegetables, whole grains and high in calcium-dairy products and shell fish. Women who are menopausal require calcium supplements to prevent osteoporosis-thinning of bone leading to fractures.

Comparing these special creatures, both believed that their longevity was from the Almighty and their positive attitudes towards life. But one fact remains that both are born by strong spiritualists. Alhaja Abdulmalik's parents were devoted and practicing Muslims who devoted their energy and time to serving God, while Alhaja Adeshina was born by great Oya worshipper; a deity in Yoruba culture.

Both still have most of their body parts intact like teeth, eyes, fingers, toes, but they have lost agility as Alhaja Abdulmalik can no longer walk, while Alhaja Adeshina walks with the help of a walking stick, which many attributed to their long distance trekking in their early lives.

It will surprise people to know that these women were born, brought up and still live in Kwara State. This reporter also learnt that there are other old people living in the state, which makes one to see Kwara as the state that harbours the oldest people in Nigeria.

The doctor's comment made me believe that the secret of these two persons lies in their attitudes to life, and what they eat, because on my visits to Alhaja AbdulMaliq, she offered me banana and insisted I must eat it in her presence, and also prepared her tea without water, using only milk to make it, saying that can serve as solid food and sustain people for months, especially for those on war front. Similar experience repeated itself when I visited Alhaja Adeshina in Offa when she also entertained me with banana which also confirmed to be like meat with biscuit bones.  I felt their longevity secret lies in consumption of banana. So if you are aspiring to live long like then start eating bananas.