In this interview, Chairman, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in the UK, Iliyasu Maisanda, spoke with SEGUN KASALI, about his life story.
You went to the UK on scholarship as a teenager…
Yes. I came to England on a scholarship to study mining engineering in Cornwall as a teenager. After my ‘A’ levels at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, there were options either to study in ABU, other Nigerian universities or to apply for a scholarship to study abroad. So, three courses had those options and I chose mining engineering because my mindset was to become an engineer and even at that time, I had applied for mechanical engineering at ABU. So, mining engineering was an option. There was also structural engineering in the United States. But I got a scholarship for mining engineering. I asked a senior colleague for advice on whether to take the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) option of studying mechanical engineering at ABU or to go to the UK and he said “Are you mad? I have been studying here for how many years still I don’t know when I am going to finish.” I later concluded and went to the UK.
You must have been extremely brilliant then.
Of course, the scholarship was not for everybody. There were only 12 candidates interviewed and that was the final interview but only three were chosen and I was one of them.
Do you recall some of the questions asked in the course of the interview?
It was more of a technical interview because I did Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry for my ‘A’ levels. So, it was not so much of a technical question but they wanted someone with a mindset of an engineer in the UK and reasons why you want to be a mining engineer. I love Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. So, I thought mining engineering was a good blend of all those three. So, when they asked me, I gave them an answer that day which they were quite pleased with and therefore I was selected among the three listed in the national newspapers and I was very excited. I went on a plane for the first time in my life.
What was the feeling like?
I was very very nervous because nobody saw me off. They just saw me off to the airport and left me there. I did not know whether to turn left, right or which way. There was no guide until one of the airline staffers saw me with a folder and he saw me looking aloof. And he asked, “Can I help?” I said, “Please, if you can.” So, he asked me to move from one desk to another without explaining what would happen at the desk but it was assumed I would get directions when I got there. The next thing I knew, I was on the bus on the tarmac going towards the plane and it was a night flight. I had never been on a plane, let alone a night flight. So, we arrived at Gatwick in the morning and everywhere was strange and cold. It happened to be the month of October. My parents did not even know I was outside Africa.
You don’t mean it?
I am serious. This was because everything happened so quickly and there was no time to inform them because they were living in Katsina then and I am from Gombe State. I did not have money to go all the way and there were no mobile phones. So, it happened very fast. I had to get my vaccines, passport, basic transport allowance (BTA), and visa. The sponsoring organisation assisted me to get all that pretty early. So, I got on the plane to London.
Did you eventually get in touch with them?
I did when I got my first paid cheque of £172 per month, but I bought my warm clothing first because it was snowing at the time. I took some pictures and sent them home to my parents because there was no way they would know I travelled without the pictures. I later got a reply from them after three months, but they were very delighted.
How challenging was settling down at the university?
What constitutes settling down are accommodation, academics, socials and spiritual life. So, I had to think of all aspects. I stayed with an English landlady. Her job was to receive students and provide more than bed and bread because she did all the cleaning, and breakfast. On the study days, we didn’t have lunch but we had breakfast and dinner, but on weekends, we had the complete three-course meal. We used to call her mom, but she preferred to be called ‘Georgie’. If we gave her laundry, she would wash it because that was her full-time work. In terms of academics, I was very fortunate in the sense that the ‘A’ levels exams that I did had similar study methods. We had lots of tutorials to prepare us. One of the practicals was to compulsorily go, within a month of arriving in the United Kingdom, into a full-functioning underground mine and I had never been underground before. When we asked them why they had to do that, they said this is a weeding ground. So, it is an opportunity for those who are not prepared for it to say they are out.
What did you observe when you got in?
There was no elevator, it was wet, so you had to go on a ladder and you were expected to use the drills to walk on the rock surface. So, you come out wet, and dirty. When I came out, I was asking for my dad and mom because it felt similar to baptism of fire but I had to cope with it. I said to myself if I could leave Africa without my parents’ knowledge, I would survive. For my social life, I joined the university’s hockey team because I used to play the game back in secondary school in Nigeria. I did not know sports participation goes well on your curriculum vitae until much later someone told me you need music, sports and languages to succeed in most of these universities apart from your academic performance.
What was the most challenging moment in the university?
After the second year, you must work in any international mine in the world. I applied everywhere but it was always a rejection until one day the work experience coordinator asked everyone in the classroom if there were students with no placement yet, and there were eight of us or more without placements. He said, “This is going to be difficult for me to choose, but come to my office during the break.” We went to the office and he said ‘Look I can’t choose as there are only two places in Canada. He said, “Here is a piece of paper, put all your names and I will send it to Canada and whoever they choose, that is it.” That was how I got a place. It was an all-expense paid trip to Canada and I was even paid a salary. With that, I was able to save a lot of money to have a holiday in Toronto before going back to England. It was a challenge but by God’s providence, I was able to find the place and file the report successfully. For a fact, I had given up hope that I might not be able to do that.
Why?
The lecturer who gave us the opportunity was the most racist but God said no “I can use anyone.” Even after the opportunity, he told me “You are on your own. You have to get in touch with the company yourself to work out modalities.” At this time, I only had a Nigerian passport and you need a visa, work permit, insurance and all that. So, I told the company about the challenges of getting a visa, but they just said I should leave it to them. And the next thing they did was to send me a return ticket. Within four days, I got my visa, work permit, and national insurance and I was okay to fly. So, all I had to do was to pack my luggage from Cornwall. I boarded the plane on the first Monday of June 1981. There was hardly any black person on the plane and I was sitting next to two other people. The person in the middle was a young child and he started crying. He had never seen a black man, let alone sit next to one. So, the cabin crew came and took him out. I got to Canada eventually.
How did it go?
Just before I finished the three-month programme, I met a very good friend from Toronto and he said to me “I know you think you are in Canada but this (Manitoba) is one of the smallest villages in Canada. I am in Toronto which is the biggest city and I would love to have you around for a week or thereabout to get a taste of both experiences.” So, I told them at the company to deduct $900 from my last pay when I was about to leave because I told them I would love to go for a holiday instead of working for the entire three months. Per our agreement, I was supposed to pay for half of the cost of the return ticket after working for them but I was surprised when they waived it for me. My colleague from Cornwall was not so lucky. They deducted $900 from his take and he did not take it funny.
Did you get to know why yours was waived?
I can only say it was the grace of God because I told them but they never did. My colleague just assumed that the same waiver would apply to him after they told me they were not going to deduct from my pay. They wanted me to work with them after my graduation but I declined because the place is far north of Canada and it gets as cold as -40° during winter.
What would be your unforgettable experience in Canada?
One day, I was in town and wanted to get back to where I lived using the bus, which was free anyway, but there was a woman and her five-year-old girl, who kept staring at me before the arrival of the bus.
Why?
I didn’t know. Mind you, only three of us in that town were black; myself and a couple that migrated from Birmingham in the United Kingdom. So, before she entered the bus with her mum she looked at me and said “Sir, why are you dirty?” It surprised her mum, it was like the earth should open for her to jump in. She wanted to tell her off but I said no and told her that it was an important question. I said to the girl, “I am not dirty, I am a black person. That is the way God made me and I am very grateful to God for making me a black person.” Come and see the relief. All the passengers on the bus almost clapped for me because they never expected such an answer, but deep within, I wanted to know why she asked that.
Did you find out later?
I did. It was the weekend I met this other guy who worked at the mine and I told him what happened. He laughed his head off and said, “Look I don’t go underground, but you do all the time. When you go underground and you come out, what do you first do?” I said, “We would take a shower, don’t we?” He said, “Before you shower, what do you look like black or white?” I said, “We all look very dirty and black and it is only when you shower that you know who is black and who is white.” He said that was the picture that this girl knew. So, the little girl thought I had been walking around with a dirty body. It is one of the things I will never forget.
Why did you return to the UK?
We were obliged to go back to Nigeria since we were under scholarship after graduation. So, I went back to Nigeria within one week of graduation. When we got back, we went to register for NYSC because we were foreign graduates. I did my NYSC at Kaduna Polytechnic. We got automatic appointments when we completed it. Since we were not allowed to start working at the polytechnic immediately, we went to Nigerian Mining Company, Jos and by the grace of God, they even gave us a higher grade of employment. So, after working with the company for a while, I went back to the UK for a Master’s degree and that was how I ended up being an accountant, God has been merciful till I became the chairman of the Institute in the UK.
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