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a short tenure at the same
     school and recommended it to me. Ezeilo is often described as Nigeria’s leading mathematician,
     alongside Chike Obi. Ezeilo graduated from University of London in 1953, with a first
     class honors in mathematics, an amazing feat by any measure, and particularly extraordinary
     for the time. He would go on to receive his PhD from Queens’ College, University of
     Cambridge, in 1958, and then rise rapidly through the Nigerian academic ranks to become
     vice chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and several other Nigerian institutions
     of higher learning. 3

Meeting Christie and Her Family
    The school building at Merchants of Light was in disrepair and had a very small library.
     I would often encourage my students to read by bringing in a copy of the newspaper
     or by making a few more books from my own library available to them. Like most young
     people, they were enthusiastic and interested pupils. I spent about four months at
     this job. It was known to all that this would be a temporary position, what the Americans
     call “a summer job,” because I had my eyes farther afield.
    A few months later, in 1954, I was notified of a job opening at what was then called
     the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) in Enugu. I was offered a choice by the search
     committee of coming to Enugu to interview or having them come to me. I remember feeling
     quite entitled by this choice and proceeded to enjoy the privilege by asking them
     to come to me, which they did. The team of mainly Britons left to return to Enugu
     after an hour or so of interview questions. About a week or so later I received a
     letter in the mail offering me a job, so I moved to Enugu. I enjoyed my stint at the
     broadcasting house. Promotions came rapidly, and within a very short period of time
     I had become the controller of the Nigerian Broadcasting Service, Eastern Region.
    At the end of the academic year, during the long vacation, the NBS offered summer
     jobs to college students on vacation. They did not pay very well but provided young
     people with exposure to the world of journalism, broadcasting, and news reporting.
    NBS was inundated with a large number of applicants during this particular long vacation—not
     only students from my alma mater, University College, Ibadan, but from those returning
     from studies abroad. A few weeks later one could hear the unmistakable banter of young
     people as they milled about the normally quiet halls of the Nigerian Broadcasting
     Service. As the controller I had very little interaction with the students. I found
     all this excited commotion amusing and got on with my work.
    But soon after I was told by my secretary that a delegation of university students
     wanted to speak with me about a matter of great importance. The students trooped into
     my office led by their leader, Christie Okoli. She was a beautiful young woman and
     very articulate, and when she spoke she caught my attention. I was spellbound. In
     grave tones she announced the complaint of the students: There was one student whose
     salary was higher than all the others, and they wanted “equal pay for equal time.”
     I was kindly disposed toward them and made sure that all of the students received
     the same remuneration for the work that they did.
    My interest in Christie grew rapidly into a desire to get to know her better. I discovered,
     for instance, that she was from the ancient town of Awka, the present-day capital
     of Anambra state. Awka held a soft spot in my heart because it was my mother’s hometown,
     and it was known throughout Igbo land and beyond for its skilled artisans and blacksmiths,
     who fashioned bronze, wood, and metal carvings of a bold and haunting beauty.
    Two years into our friendship, Christie and I were engaged.
    —
    Christie was from a very prominent Awka family. She was the daughter of one of the
     most formidable Igbo men of the early twentieth century, Timothy