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by Adeola Balogun

The zeal with which Adeniyi Ayinla does his job as the head teacher of the prison school at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Apapa, Lagos, is amazing. He does it in a way that one can not but think that he earns a salary for taking care of the school and teaching the inmates that attend it. As a prisoner, Ayinla had taken his O' level SSCE exams in the school and had passed all the subjects he entered for in 2007. Thereafter, he proceeded to the National Open University (NOUN) where he is undergoing a diploma programme in Financial Management. Simultaneously, he is pursuing a degree in Theology at the Missions University, USA through correspondence.

Educational pursuit is usually an exercise reserved for free men and women who set their eyes on certain life accomplishments. But that is not the case with Ayinla who until December 2008, when his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, was awaiting the hangman's noose. As a matter of fact, he was on death row for ten years, five months before his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Ayinla had been sentenced to death in 1998 after he was found to have been involved in a robbery operation that took place in Mushin, Lagos sometime in 1997.

Speaking with our correspondent, who had accompanied a non-governmental organisation on a visit to the prison, Ayinla, who seemed to have grown deep in the Christian faith, waxed philosophical and spiced every sentence with quotes from the bible as he chatted with our correspondent. He said he had never lost the hope of regaining his freedom one day, and that hope had fired his desire for education, which he said would guarantee his independence and ability to reintegrate himself into the society as soon as he is set free. Fortunately for him, his sense of purpose has attracted help and support from the various religious organisations that throng the prison on a daily basis.

He told our correspondent that he was getting himself educated so that he would not constitute a liability on anyone whenever he walks out of the prison gates. He said, "I have never lost hope of getting a reprieve one day. My hope of survival became strong because I was lucky to become one of those that were moved out of the condemned cell in Abeokuta prison in 2005 as a result of congestion in the prison. In Abeokuta, the condition was so hard because we were clamped in a dingy cell as people on the death row. But when we arrived here, we became freer. We could even walk about, and this, to me, is the green light that I might one day breathe the air of freedom.

"I did not waste time to make good use of the temporary relief. I dusted my books. Before I was arrested in 1997, I already had my O' level certificate, which was not 100 per cent okay. So, in 2006, a year after we arrived here, I took the SSCE and because of my very long years in confinement, I only made three papers, including Mathematics, Economics and Commerce. In 2007, I sat for it again. This time around, I had seven papers while my English was withheld. I was not satisfied because I wanted to have everything at one sitting. I applied for SSCE again, but miraculously, the English which had been withheld was released. Thank God for the study centre of NOUN here. I wanted to start a degree course in Economics, but because the course is not available here, I opted for a diploma. But by the special grace of God, I will still pursue it."

According to the transcript of his 2007 SSCE result with examination number 5250826006, Ayinla had the following result: Commerce A1, Financial Account A1, Economics B3, Government B2, Islamic Studies B3, Literature in English B3, Mathematics B3, Agric Science F9 and English Language C4. Ayinla said he was proud to be a NOUN student pursuing a diploma in Financial Management with matriculation number NOU070292850.

Seeing the way he bubbled with life, one could not but ask how he managed to look so cheerful in a prison environment. To this, he said, "The prison is not supposed to kill your spirit. Rather, it is supposed to reform you. If I had been aware of the consequence of my behaviour, I would never have gone into crime. You see, all those cautions by the elders do not make any meaning to a young man who does not understand the meaning of freedom. In my own case, I got influenced by friends and the company that I kept. I was implicated in the robbery case even though I was not directly involved. But I knew about it and I have since regretted my action. How many young men do you want to tell to stop following friends on the streets? It is not easy. But I am wiser now."

Explaining the positive change in his life, Ayinla said he had been lucky to have people around him, particularly his family and visitors to the prison.

He said, "My mother died exactly three weeks after I was sentenced to death in 1998. I regret that incident a lot, and I don't know how I can forget that for the rest of my life. My fiancée has been so wonderful. While I was in Abeokuta, we lost contact. But when I arrived Lagos, she got to know about it and has been very supportive. She has really surprised me. I don't know how many ladies can be so faithful. I must confess that her case has been giving me so much concern because I don't want to lose such a dedicated lady. And the only way to achieve that is to get my freedom which I fervently pray and fast for.

"Nigerians are wonderful people. I can not quantify the love and support I have enjoyed from those who have come across me in prison. The case of one Captain Salami shocked me. He was the person that paid my first school fees at NOUN, which was N48,000. He met me during one of his visitations to the prison and after finding out about me, he paid the money. There are so many of them that I can not begin to tell you now. So, if you see me keeping hope alive, the reason is that so many people have shown their belief in me that I would one day become a personality in the society.

"I pray that Nigerian authorities, especially the government of Ogun State would have mercy on me and commute my life imprisonment to total freedom."

The Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Prison Service, Mr Ope Fatinikun, was delighted at the progress Ayinla had made in his educational pursuit in spite of his situation. He told our correspondent on the phone that the NPS encourages inmates to get themselves busy and prepare for possible re-integration into the society whenever they walk out free.

"We discovered that about 80 per cent of the inmates, when they come in, they don't have education, and we guess that is why they went into crime. So we ask them to tell us their areas of interest; whether they want to go to school or train in vocational skills. We have adult education centres in the prisons where inmates can go to primary school and secondary school. In fact, we have WAEC and JAMB centres in Ikoyi and Apapa maximum prisons. We have NOUN centres in both Ikoyi and Apapa where inmates can go further in their education. We train those who prefer to go for vocational skills of their choice," he said.