Co-founder of Jolliters Chemists and accomplished pharmacist, Alhaji Adegoke Ogunyemi, takes Fusion Chronicle Reporter on a captivating journey through his humble beginning in Abeokuta, Ogun State, to building a successful career in pharmacy and the values that shaped his life
I was born on November 15, 1934, to the family of Baba Salami and Mama Sinat Ogunyemi in Abeokuta, Ogun State. I possessed a remarkable flair for academics, especially Mathematics, and went on to make Grade 1/Division 1 in my Senior Cambridge, which was the highest possible grade one could attain in the senior school leaving exam.
In those days, before you could go to school, there was a simple test: you had to put your hand across your head, and if you could touch your opposite ear, you were deemed ready to go to school. At that time, primary education lasted eight years, and secondary education was six years. I was lucky because I spent only seven years in primary school. I didn’t complete Primary 6 before moving on to secondary school; I stopped at Primary 5 and advanced to secondary school.
We had excellent teachers in primary school. They were very strict disciplinarians. If they gave you a task and you didn’t complete it, you would be punished. After leaving primary school in 1947, I attended Abeokuta Grammar School in 1948, where I studied under the renowned Reverend Kuti. I completed my secondary education in 1953.
When you were leaving secondary school back then, you had to take an additional exam called the Civil Service Entrance Exam. This exam had two grades: Grade A and Grade B. If you passed with Grade B, you could only qualify for clerical work in the civil service. However, if you passed with Grade A, you could qualify for both technical and clerical work. Fortunately, I passed with a Grade A.
After secondary school, I began working at the Ministry of Education in Ibadan in January 1954. From that point, I started striving to further my education. I was awarded a Federal Government bursary to study Pharmacy, and I gained admission to the School of Pharmacy in Yaba. I began my studies there in 1956 and qualified as a pharmacist in 1959.
My first position as a pharmacist was at the Ijebu Ode General Hospital. I began my career there in 1959 and was in Ijebu Ode when the present Awujale was crowned in 1960. As fate would have it, I ended up marrying a daughter of Ijebu Ode a few years later.
How do you still talk fluently at 90, what works for you?
(Laughs) It’s God’s grace and let me add that it depends on how you led your life while you were a youth. If you don’t live a reckless life, you will age well, you will still look well. It is only when you live a reckless life before you become 60, you’ll be looking like a man of almost a hundred years. But if you live a very good life, you’re still healthy, you keep your shape, keep your voice; you keep everything.
What are the challenges you faced during your early life?
The challenge was that our parents were not rich. They were struggling to provide for us. Even if you want to buy a textbook, they will struggle to get the money for you to go and buy the textbook.
Looking back, how has the study of Pharmacy evolved since your time as a student?
When I look back, the evolution of Pharmacy education in Nigeria is remarkable. For instance, my set was among the last to graduate from the Yaba School of Pharmacy in 1959 before it was closed. After Yaba was shut down, Pharmacy education was transferred to the Nigerian College in Ibadan, which later became part of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife. At that time, the programme was only available as a diploma course.
Since then, Pharmacy education has grown significantly. What was once a diploma course has now progressed to include degree programmes, postgraduate studies, and even doctoral programmes. Back in my time, only the Nigerian College in Ibadan offered Pharmacy, while Engineering was taught at the Nigerian College in Zaria, and estate management and other professional courses were offered at the Nigerian College in Enugu.
Today, the situation is entirely different. There are now more than 20 universities in Nigeria offering Pharmacy programmes. The expansion is incredible, and the opportunities for students to study Pharmacy across the country have increased dramatically compared to my time. It’s inspiring to see how far Pharmacy education has come.
What motivated you to co-found Jolliters Chemists Limited?
The vision behind Jolliters Chemists Limited was simple; we believed that Nigerians could work together to create something impactful. We wanted to establish a company that would meet the healthcare needs of people while showing that collaboration could lead to success. That was why we set up Jolliters Chemists, with branches in Lagos, Ibadan, Abeokuta, and Ife.
My motivation came from my years of experience in government service and the private sector. I worked in several government hospitals across Nigeria, including in Ijebu Ode, Epe, Badagry, Sagamu, Ilaro, and the Psychiatric Hospital in Aro, Abeokuta. I spent two years at Badagry General Hospital, from 1961 to 1963, before being posted to other hospitals. My final posting was at Ikeja General Hospital before I left government service in December 1964.
After leaving government work, I joined West African Drugs in 1965 as a manager. This role allowed me to travel widely across Nigeria; places like Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Ebute Metta, and Apapa, while gaining a deeper understanding of the pharmaceutical industry. I even witnessed the 1966 riots in the North during my time with West African Drugs.
These experiences instilled in me the confidence that we had the expertise and vision to establish our own pharmaceutical company. In 1964, I joined forces with like-minded individuals who shared my passion, and together we co-founded Jolliters Chemists. Our goal was to harness our collective knowledge and skills to make a meaningful contribution to the healthcare industry, while also taking ownership of our work and expertise.
