By Ogbonna Amadi, Entertainment Editor and Lolade Sowoolu

At 83, an age most mothers walk with sticks or rely on their children or grand children to move around,  matriarch of the Murray-Bruce clan, Mama Margaret Murray-Bruce, walks around unaided.

In fact, Mama still has the strength to resume at her 2nd floor office on TOS Benson Avenue. She does this with relish.In her words, “it’s God who gives me the strength to do what I do every day.”

In fact, Mama does more than that. In what has become more of a ritual, she dutifully waits upon her children, (Monday-Friday) at lunch time. As long as the children are in Lagos, they converge at her home to eat from Mama’s pot.

This is one tradition that has helped cement the bond that holds together the Bruces. The lunch time date also provides a platform for Mama to settle any rift or squabble between the siblings. And once Mama takes a decision, nobody disputes.

Conducted with the kind assistance of one of her daughters, Mrs Joy Jonah, who often interjected to fill in with some information, this is the story of the making of the Bruces’ Empire as told by the only one who knows the secrets, Mrs Margaret Murray- Bruce .

Enjoy.

How do you get on? Where do you draw your strength?

It’s from God. I’m not a lazy person.

A lazy person can’t raise 12 successful kids. How did you do it?.

I persevered. It was rough but with patience, you overcome. I didn’t have so many things back then and I didn’t mind. My main concern was to have my children  fed very well and look healthy. That’s all. It was not about me but them and their fathers.

You never picked up any paid job?

Never. I was always at home. So, that whenever they returned from school, I would be there to welcome them.
You had domestic staff…

Yes. In the beginning, maybe, one or two of them.

But you did not allow anyone to enter your kitchen…

I did the cooking myself.

How did you meet Papa?

Please, don’t drag me into that now.

You don’t want to go down memory lane?

Not all.

What kind of a husband was he?

Very nice, very caring, very considerate, helpful and very disciplined. He would always say to us, ‘hard work does not kill anybody’.

Did it cross your mind while you were a house-wife to pick up a job?

None, I never thought about that because my children were not of age.
I remember as a child, (Daughter cuts in….) Mama used to sew. And from sewing, she was able to help all of us.  Mama made clothes for her daughters to save money instead of paying  tailors. There was a time, Mama and Papa went to England.

Mama did a course where she learnt to sew and cook. So, she was trained in the UK. We happened to be helping out.  Aunty Philomena and myself used to help her with the buttons. All our clothes were made by Mama. We never had anything ready-made in our house. She (Mama) was the seamstress, the designer in-the-house. We had the prettiest clothes ever made by any designer.

What was your greatest moment with him (Papa)?

Well, I missed him a lot but there’s nothing I can do about that. I just pray that one day, we will all be together to part no more.

How did you cope after Papa’s demise?

Well, they (the children) were all grown up. I wasn’t scared. I knew I had grown up children around me that would look after me. And I did things myself at the same time.

(Jonas Caught in) Mama ran her home by herself, nobody did that for her. And we involved her more in a bid to help her look forward to the next day. We told her that Papa had a job to do for us, and that she had to continue that job, which is to be there for us always.

What is Mama’s job in the Domino group?

I go to the supermarket to check on things and supervise the staff.. I’ve done that this morning before coming here. I do that every other morning when I’m not very busy at home.

Are you on salary?

I’m never in want. Let’s put it that way. I’m okay. I don’t need a salary.

Have you ever fired any of your staff ?

I could suggest that any staff who’s found wanting should be fired. We don’t have a place for lazy people.

What was it like in the beginning when the kids were small and you didn’t have so much to fend for them?

I had a lot of patience. I reprimand them whenever they go wrong and I let it go. I correct  them whenever they do things that were not right. But I tried to be with them all the time to make sure they possess good behaviour. That’s how it’s been till today.

(Daughter Mrs Jonas caught in again…) And for us, the daughters, Mama used to teach us how to walk like grown-up ladies. She would ask us to put a book on our head and then walk upright. She taught us table manners: how to use a knife and a fork and eat properly. She even taught us how to eat with our mouths closed.

Mama: When I go to the supermarket or come to the office and I see a girl chewing gum, I would  tell her “spit it out. You’re not here to chew. When you’re on break , you can chew as much as you like, not when you’re on duty. Keep your mouth closed”

What do you think of the dress-sense nowadays?

I think I don’t belong to this generation when I see the type of clothes they wear. I like some kind of dresses , while I don’t approve of others. The clothes are just odd and, it’s an eyesore to see men wearing earrings, plaiting their hair and so on. You wonder whether they are real men, boys or girls. I like people the way they were before, not today.

What kind of kids did you have, when they were growing up?

Ben was the most troublesome amongst my children. His dad had a song for him: Ben, Ben, you are troublesome, you are worrisome, you are tiresome, you are everything (laughter)

How do you feel today with the success they have made so far?

Well, I feel happy knowing that with hard work, they have succeeded in whatever they’re doing and I’m happy for all of them. I still pray for them to have strength and courage to keep going and help others. Be an inspiration to other children to also learn to succeed like them.

Why have you kept a relationship with old acquaintances and those who were Papa’s friends?

I’m very happy with them. They’re like my family and every Christmas they give me the biggest Christmas card. I don’t want to stay anywhere else. I’ll miss them. Anybody who was close to Papa is close to Mama and we continue to nurture it.

It’s like doing things in his memory because he was a good man. My greatest friend here is  a boy who is deaf and dumb and another one with just one hand. The MD, Michael Murray Bruce, employed him. He was  a beggar and he (Michael) made sure he stopped being a beggar. Even with his one arm, he works for the company.

You take people you don’t know off the streets?

But they’re one of us. They’re my children.

Do you exercise?

What exercise can I do at this age? (laughter). I can lift my feet and arms up little at a time, though. How much exercise can you do with arthritis? But I can still cook.

What’s this lunch tradition the family has?

My daughters are at home right now; they’re doing the cooking. Sometimes, I do it myself. I enjoy cooking for the family.

And then you, preside over a bunch of parents at lunch. Do they come with the grandchildren?

(Jonas caught-in:) When we’re at home, we become the children. The grandchildren have their section. We’re still Mama’s children.

Mama: I have one (a grandchild) who has invited herself to lunch this afternoon. I got her phone call before I got here. So, I just told my girls to  ‘increase (food) by one’.

They need to give a notice before coming over…?

(Mrs Jonah cuts) We have a particular number that comes everyday to lunch. So, if you have more people who indicate interest to come, you have to tell Mama so she can make provision. That way, she doesn’t cook for too many. But normally, the table has at least four people with her every lunch time- Monday to Friday.

How long have you been living in your house?

That house? 1971.

You’ve never left there to spend weekends with any of the children…?

Oh, I do. I stay with Ben, Michael, Philomena…I only spend the night and come back the following day.
Less than a week?

The house will suffer. Who will run the house? I have to be here to make sure things are well.

Do you have dogs?

Yes, we do.

What was the neighbourhood like in those days?

We had less people around us before. Now, we see more cars and more people because of the e-centre. The street also used to have a taxi park then.  There’re also cases of armed robbery these days; people stealing cars. The noise of generators which we never had in those days. It was more peaceful.

Where did you learn to speak Pidgin so well. Waterside?

I think so (laughter)

What was Guy like?

He has a terrible temper but otherwise, he’s very quiet, very nice and very caring.

And Mrs Jonas…?

She was very quiet as a child but with the type of workers she’s got, she has to be strong with them, otherwise the company will collapse.

There was a time the company went through difficult times and a lot of outlets were shut down. How did you feel?
I didn’t feel anything. I knew we’d come out of it.

But a lot of workers were laid off.

A lot of people were laid off, yes. But they were cases of stealing. They stole the place dry. Some even built houses from their loots but the funny part of it all, is those who built houses from their ill-gotten wealth are dead. Papa God dealt with them. Like the Archbishop said, “don’t do anything to them (cheats). God says, ‘Vengeance is mine’ and God dealt with them”.

What did Papa tell you in the last minutes?

He knew everything was okay. He had got Michael to take over the reins of the company and he knew everything would be okay. He didn’t worry.

What was it like for you at that moment?

Ha! Don’t let’s talk about that. It’s not easy. The first few months were rough but I got over it with prayers. I was never lonely. I kept myself busy. No time to think. I kept travelling too. All the grandchildren were there, taking turns to be with Mama all the time.

Make a comparison between today’s Nigeria and yesteryear Nigeria when  you raised your children?
I say to myself, ‘I don’t belong to this generation anymore’. The past was very nice and peaceful. I enjoyed the past, but not now.

No lights, no water, bad roads, eroding family values, mothers had more time for their children then but today, you’ll find that they (mothers) are very busy. And I’ve been attacked by armed robbers twice in the house.

Funny enough, the second time they came, this was two years ago in my house here, I wasn’t afraid. I don’t know how. They pointed a gun at me in my bedroom at 9 o’clock in the night.

What did you tell them?

When they came to me, they said, ‘where’s the gold? Where’s the money? Mother of Ben Bruce, where is Ben Bruce?’ I didn’t answer them. ‘You want the money. You want the gold? Open my wardrobe. Take what you want. That’s why you’re here’, I told them.

You didn’t pray for them?

Pray for them? Why should I? But a miracle happened. There was a car at the entrance of the house that kept horning.

They (the thieves) got worried. They said to me, ‘are you expecting anybody?’ I said, ‘No’. I should have said, ‘Yes’.

They ran away because the car never stopped horning and it has never happened before. Apparently, the car was going to the next house and was horning for them to open their gate. But I was not scared.  I don’t know why. While they were looting, I was just praying for all my staff who lay down on the floor. They told me to lie down, I said, ‘I’m too old to lie down, sorry’.

Were they young boys?

Young boys with military machine gun.

How many were they?

About five of them. They got all my staff including the guards to lie down in my bedroom. My steward later said to me, ‘Mama, so you were not afraid?’ You know, when they first came in, my first thought was, ‘is this day my last day on earth?’Then something came over me and the fear just went away. They were talking and I was answering them. They took Papa’s double barrel gun with all the cartridges. They even asked me, ‘anymore guns?’ I said, ‘No. The owner of this gun is dead. You can take it if you want. Take whatever you want, if it will make you happy’.

Where did the first robbery take place?

We were living in Mushin then. It was about 8 o’clock. It was Ben who opened the door for them. He was only about 9 to 10 years old. They got in with their guns. They lined us up and took Papa to the bedroom asking, ‘where’s your safe?’.

We don’t keep safe in the house. But if you are good, God is with you. The next door neighbour heard the commotion. Normally, he goes out every night but that night, he did not go out. He was sitting at the corridor with the lights put out.

They (the thieves) didn’t know somebody was there. So he sent his son to call the police. Their driver (the thieves’) outside sensed trouble. I think they make signs that they only understand. They were in the house for 15minutes and rushed out.

We didn’t know what was happening. We only saw them rush out and quickly leave the vicinity. They had just stolen the car they drove in. They abandoned the car and took the same double-barrel gun from the room and abandoned it in the car.

The police recovered it and brought it back. But this time, it’s gone forever. These young boys have taken it.
And that was the end…

I saw one of them (the young thieves) about two weeks later in the neighbourhood. The thief  who pointed a gun at me. He was wearing the same shirt he wore during the robbery. I know God is with me because I haven’t harmed anybody. Why will I be afraid?

What encouragement do you have for people striving to become successful.
You have to be prayerful. Get close to God but you have to be good as well. Have patience. With prayers, you’ll conquer.