American Boy
A Life Inspired by American Ideals
by
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At the peak of my dabbling in pen-palism, I had ten pen pals. From them, I got interesting things, and I sent Nigerian craft things to them in return. This we called “swapping.” I got items like magazines, comic books, chewing gum, pens, pencils, billfolds, t-shirts, trousers, belts, baseball caps, an occasional jacket—small items I would sometimes show or share with my friends in school. I got a lot of informational materials about the United States mostly through magazines such as Reader’s Digest. A variety of information about science also helped win me over to the United States. The way World War II ended by the awesome use of atomic bombs was a wonder to me. It was for me an awesome display of power, and I believed that the world had become the American world, and I must be a part of it….
Every spectacular place I heard of in America, I longed to visit. The discipline I had acquired about being well-informed was extended to gathering facts about the United States. I became a reservoir of information about the country in the estimation of my peers, and this gave me a sense of worth. They started to call me “American boy.” I did not contest it, assuming I was entitled to it in light of my intoxication with things American and the American people. The only remaining thing was for me to go there.
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About the Book
This is an exhilarating autobiography of a dreamer, adventurer, historian, and a pioneer. In a captivating narrative that holds the reader’s attention throughout, Professor Soremekun weaves emotional, heartfelt, and sometimes humorous stories of his life in the context of his beloved family, his unshakeable faith, and major historical world events – all of which greatly influenced him. The theme that drives and sustains him is truly the American spirit, in which he steeped himself at a young age. That and an innate drive early on in life earned him the nickname “American Boy” by his Nigerian peers. The culmination of his dreams was his journey, by sea, to the United States for school in 1956 and a half-century teaching career that periodically took him back to Africa (Nigeria and Zambia) and to traverse other continents and countries around the globe. After retiring in 2012 from Citrus College in California, Professor Soremekun returned to his native Nigeria where he currently lives out his dream of training a new generation inspired by the same ideals.
About the Author
Professor Fola Soremekun was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria on October 10, 1934. He came to the United States, aboard a freighter, in 1956 to attend college and ultimately earned his PhD in history from Northwestern University, got married, and started a family. In 2012, he retired with over fifty years of experience teaching at colleges and universities across America, Africa, and other parts of the world. The author of numerous scholarly works and books, he and his wife, Elizabeth, also a professor, founded Highlands Education International (HEI) and HEI school in Gembu, Nigeria, where they currently live. He has three daughters and five grandchildren. www.highlandseducation.org.