Journalist, author and media executive, Tony Amadi reflects on the defining experiences, historic encounters and personal milestones that shaped his remarkable career, family life and enduring passion for journalism. Ferdinand Ekechukwu brings the excerpts:
My first exam result 1953
I started school in 1953 at age five when the physical test to find out if my right hand could touch my left ear from across my head. Many failed that test and meant they were not yet due to start school as the case was in those days. But the real excitement occurred when I came first in the class and brought home my black slate with the massive good in white chalk that showed that I passed. My dad was even more excited as he gave me a roasted corn to celebrate.
Passing my entrance to Ibo Union Grammar School Kano
I attended St Michael’s Primary School Gudi in Nasarawa State and took entrance to Ibo Union Grammar School, one of the best secondary schools in Northern Nigeria in the early sixties was the only student to pass the exam. The British principal refused to admit me because I was too small and decided to reset the exam before he will believe that I passed. By the time I wrote the first paragraph of the essay, he stopped me and apologized and admitted me. That moment remains unforgettable in my life.
