Oró ñlá lẹẹ dá Héé- héè Oró ñlá lẹ dá Ẹyin tẹẹ kó ọmọ ẹiyẹ Tẹẹẹ jẹ o d’àgbà o Oró ñlá lẹ dá
Many wept , some gnashed their teeth while others rolled on the ground when the news was broken . Those who found it hard to believe called to be sure. This weekend again this ugly drama will repeat itself : curses and curses will be rained on the masterminds and executioners of this evil deed. Many would like to glance at the corpse to be sure that she is truly gone!
Yes! She is gone, gone and gone forever but thank God for the modern technology, Internet will not forget her even though we would sometimes temporarily forget her.
What will it be going through the killers’ minds when they watch how she would be lowered six feet below the ground level?. What will they be saying when they suddenly discover that they made a big and fatal mistake by killing her?. Now it’s either they will be regretting or those who sent them (if any) will boldly say they regretted for not knowing the Nigerian press will carry the news because of the obscurity of the scene of the crime.
Babalawo Of the Nation ( BoN) broke down in tears
But like Abel’s blood that cried from the ground, Monsurat’s blood cried to high heavens!.
If you have ever had contact with her please endeavor to give her a one-minute silence and pray for her departed soul. She was just unfortunate to have had her life cut -short when she was about reaping the fruit of her labour.
I heard you complaining of her . Whaaaaat? . Are you a Saint? .
It was Diogenes that Cynic Philosopher who was going round the town in the afternoon holding a lantern looking for an honest man. He died without seeing any. Remember what Jesus said “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her” (John :7).
Let us stop running our mouth. His younger brother, Wale who lives in the USA spoke with me on phone and said ” Yes, my sister was strict but is it everyday that the legendary warlord Ajaka perpetrated evil?”.
Tonight ,there would be a candlelight procession where friends and relatives will give the above soulful rendition in tears. This would be followed tomorrow in tears
God be with you till we meet again ….God be with you till we meet again ..
As the beautiful casket is being lowered and the grave covered.
A opadeletiodo t’ese Angeli ti tee, to mo gaara bi Krista leba …..
Let the assailants watch the video clips of how we wept. Let them watch how she was being lowered six feet below the ground level and let them flash back to when they planned and hatched their evil plan. Now it is regret of ‘had we known?’
Let those who sent sent them flee the country . Let them go into hiding and let them not sombre but should remember Peter Tosh’s song ‘ You can run but you can’t hide on that day. If you run to the sea, sea will be boiling ,if you run to the rock ,rock will be melting on that day….’
Let us give her a befitting burial. Come let us console the family. Whether you like it or not she has become a celebrity and has become a goddess.
Since she has three names from three religions: Christianity, Islam and Tradition bearing Debbie ( Deborah) Monsurat,and Iyabo. Let the Muslims , Christians and African Traditional Practitioners pray for her and also invoke her spirit to fish out her killers.
HER SECRETS
Her grandfather was from Ijebu-Ode and the late Professor Yunusa Oyeneye ,former Vice Chancellor of Adebisi Onabanjo University ( former Ogun State University) was her uncle. Her grandfather was Amusa Pakulopa Oyeneye ,a successful business man who came from Ijebu-Ode to settle down in Owo . He was a wealthy man and had properties in Owo. He died during the Holy pilgrimage to perform Hajj in Mecca in the 60s at the age of 65.
Monsurat was jovial and had a good sense of humor . She had a good dress sense . She was very creative and hardworking. She could adjust to any situation. She was versatile.
The arrested Personal Assistant confessing in her house during a search
She was called Monsurat because of her Moslem grandfather…..she converted to Christianity and bore the Christian name, Deborah .( Debbie) .She was called Iyabo and Yoruba knows the reason . She did not let ‘Amusa’ reflect on her certificate as she preferred ‘Oyeneye'(a traditional name). She because of the love and her proficiency in English and social interactions went to study Secretarial Administration and bagged Higher National Diploma ( HND).
Monsurat’s behavior and manners cum actions showed how the Biblical Deborah was during the time of Israel in the Bible. Her role was powerful .She was a fearless Judge in Israel. She was bold and courageous and could face anybody. She was a Charismatic Military leader performing both the Judicial functions; and was the only female Judge and Prophet .Monsurat did not employ Yoruba man as his Personal Assistant ditto her driver .
But a lesson must be learnt here; Don’t do evil. The killers would be shocked that all the Nigerian media carry her news and story. They thought she would just be killed like others and let it go. But for this one ,No!.
Her own case became a hot soup and spilled on them. Her case became a hot water that spilled on them. Because the place.where the ugly incident happened,Oda Road is in an obscured area nobody will know not knowing that it would become a Celebrity / high profile case.
But how old are these young boys that were arrested? .I learnt they are between 17 and 18 years. How would they have the temerity , knowledge and evil mind of creativity to kill and burn her and planned to sell dummy to us all that her kitchen gas cylinder exploded? ,ñbà, Na lie, iró Nla , úró gbuuu!
Let the Police fish out the suspects . Let them be smoked out from their hiding. Let justice prevail .We need justice .
The above are some of the farewell songs to be rendered next week during service of songs and when the beautiful casket is being lowered into the grave .No matter his age some will shed tears!
By this time next week the ancient town of Owo will receive visitors from all over the world . From Church members, politicians, Religious leaders, academic, traditional rulers and what have you.
Well -wishers from St. Louis, Missouri, Atlanta, Texas Maryland ,New York,New Jersey New ,America will show their faces . Those from Europe Australia,West Indies and India will not be exempted as they would paint the town red to honour the octogenarian.
ÀJÀBÚÈ DAY
On May 22 , the traditional rites of passage starts as the family members and well- wishers will start the traditional dance of Àjàbúè round the town announcing the glorious passage of the Prince. He was a Religious leader, community leader, political juggernaut and a Griot and great Historian who had stories of politics and the Community on his fingertip .
On that Wednesday males who are the Omoolóòkú ( Children of the deceased) will dance with the Owo traditional sword (Agada) and the female children would ‘armed’ themselves with yààsin (fly whisk) as they will all decorate their necks,wrists and ankles with ìlèkè ( coral beads) exhibiting their culture . Infact it’s a time to display the town’s tradition and culture of it’s burial ceremony. Lághálogho ( metal gong ) and special drums specifically meant for a highly powered son of the soil who was also a Prince in Owo will be competing with one another when the traditional musicians would exhibit their skills to outwit one another!
Cows will be slaughtered, musicians would be on stage and entertainment would flow yànfù yànfù .Assorted food and drinks would be served and gift items / souvenirs would be distributed. Yes! visitors will be entertained lavishly .
Reason: Bàbá is going home . Bàbá will be joining his ancestors. Bàbá will be given his final rite of passage and as a prince from a very important and popular royal house cows would be donated to various groups from family, Chiefs, age group, etc. in fact celebrating a person of this high calibre gives you the inkling that the deceased was rich, educated and blessed.
Prince Olagbegi was a respecter of Tradition, he was a Chief
While the Christian would sing ” .. God will be with you till we meet again. A o pade l’etí óódo, t’ese Áñgéélì ti tèè éé…
Prince Olagbegi was humility personified
Wàláítàlàì nobody will cry . Nobody will grind their teeth. Nobody will stamp his foot on the ground while placing his hands on his head. Why? because Bàbá was old. Bàbá was fulfilled. Bàbá finished his race with honour and dignity and has gone home to rest! We will all bid him fare thee well .
Then as a chapter is closed another chapter is open.
Solomon Olagbegi goes home @ 87
…survived by wives
…..16 Children
…..40 Grandchildren
…… 1 Grandchild
Prince Solomon Olusegun Mowasola Olagbegi was born October 2, 1936 to the late Prince Iyiolase Olagbegi and late Mrs Ajibike Iyiolase-Olagbegi in Benin City.
He was a grandson of Olagbegi 1.
He attended Government Primary School, Owo from 1945 to 1952 and then proceeded to Imade College, Owo from 1953 to 1957 where he was the Senior Prefect.
He then proceeded to Federal Emergency Science School in Lagos from 1961 to 1962 and then University of Ibadan, Ibadan from 1963 to 1970.
He also had Higher Education at Paddington College, London 1973 to 1974 and Bristol Polytechnic, Bristol, United Kingdom, 1985 to 1986.
Working experience included
Teaching
Premier Grammar School, Abeokuta and Egbado College, Ilaro from 1959 to 1968.
Laboratory Technologist
Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ibadan from 1972 to 1976.
Chemistry Department, University of Ilorin, Ilorin as Academic Chief Technologist from 1976 until he retired from public service on February 1, 1997 for mandatory age related reason.
Prince Olagbegi in his Aladura robe
He was Chairman, Senior staff Association of Universities (Ilorin Branch)1979-1983
Sectorial Chairman All Nigeria Universities of SSAUTHRIAI (1984-1986)
National President, Association of University Technologists of Nigeria (ASUTON) (1992-1993)
He was a member of the Holy Church of Cherubim and Seraphim at Ikirun, Ehinogbe, and Akure District Council.
Chairman, Owo circuit of the Movement Churches,
Co-founder and Leader of the Holy Church of Cherubim and Seraphim, Ilorin (1993 to 1997)
Member, Owo Community Advisory and Economic Development Committee (2010 to 2012).
Chief Iyiolase of Owo Kingdom
He was involved as Chairman, Member, Executive Committee, Member of Board of Directors, of Schools and Associations, including
Fountain International Secondary school,
Imade College Old Student Association,
Government School,Owo PTA,
Imade College Owo Board of Governors,
Owo High School Board of Governors.
Life, Patron, The Boys Brigade, Nigeria, Owo Battalion, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic Chapter.
Life Patron, The Boys Brigade Nigeria, Owo Battalion (Owo/Ose LGA.
He was PDP Chairman, Igboroko ward, Owo (2015-2017)
Travels
The late Olagbegi has been to Great Britain/Israel/Geneva/USA
BURIAL ARRANGEMENTS
According to the family spokesman and one of the children Dr. Olayiwola Olagbegi, on May 22 there will be Ajabue traditional dance round the town. Family and well wishes will take off from the deceased’s residence at 3,Obasekaiye St,Ehin-Ogbe Quarters ,Owo ,Ondo State at 10am to 4pm.
On Thursday,May 23 at 10 am the body leaves Federal Medical Center ( FMC),Owo for lying in-state at his residence. There will be wake keep same day at 4pm at Olateru -Olagbegi Event Center, Fajuyi ,Road,Owo.
There will be funeral service on Friday 24,at 10 am at Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church ,1, Farm Centre ,Ehin- Ogbe Quarters Off Idasen Road,Owo.Interment follows immediately .There will be Thanksgiving immediately after service while reception takes place at Best Western Plus Mydas Hotel ,Klm 1,Owo/ Ikare Road.
On Saturday 25 May there will be Mowasola Olagbegi Memorial Football match ( Maiden Edition) at Ipm at Owo township Stadium.
He is survived by his wives, 16 children, 40 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Prince Olagbegi was a man of the people
Family members will fulfill all righteousness by following the tradition and supplying the compulsory sacrificial fowl ( adìye ìrànà) for Bàbá’s smooth passage and warm reception in the land of the spirit .
Wàláítàlàì nobody will cry . Nobody will grind their teeth because Bàbá was old. Baba was fulfilled. Bàbá finished his race with dignity and has gone home to rest! We will all bid him fare thee well .
This morning I am wearing Black. This morning I am mourning .This morning I am in a sober mood so nobody should talk to me. This morning I am grieving so nobody should call my phone . I am crying not only for myself but I am crying for the entire nation for not appreciating this woman . Come, sebi they gave out Nigeria National Merit Awards and gave Post humous awards?. Why did we forget the couple: the late Tai Solarin and his wife, Sheila? .Are we ingrates or have we forgotten the couple? .What a country! . So we have forgotten her kiakia niyen?. Nigeria we hail thee. So they did not deserve national honours or is it an act of omission or commission ? . Next year they should be awarded , and if they are not honoured , I along with Mayflower students both ex and present will protest. We will march from Ikenne to the National House of Assembly in Abuja .
She was a library. She was a Griot. She was rich in stories infact she was an encyclopedia of stories. She was never tired of me. A phone call will put you through. She would not tell you the time to come . No scheduled time .Unlike those so called arrogant millionaires who would be flaunting their illegal or ill-gotten wealth and pacing up and down in their living rooms to show you how wealthy they are , no!, not for Mama . Mama Sheila as she was fondly called would invite you into her sparsely decorated living room .Her dressing was simple .She was modest in everything .
MY CONTACT WITH HER
I vividly remember the late Abayomi Ogundeji who was the Editor of Sunday Desk in the days of The Comet Newspaper who asked me to go to Ikenne to do a story on the late Tai Solarin’s anniversary . It was my first time to visit Ikenne and Mama welcomed me to the fullest and answered all the questions I asked .First impression last longer , they say. Since then I have been their family member . And when The Nation newspaper was launched in 2007 the then Sunday Editor Mr. Lekan Otufodunrin would say ” Babalawo Of the Nation let’s have your Tai Solarin story, you have become their family member”. That was how I covered the Solarins’ story till when God said e don do for me at The Nation newspaper. Mama was ready to give me all stories . Ask her any question she was ready to answer.
WHAT I MISSED IN HER
I missed her if you don’t miss her. I know her worth and value . She was witty, she was an egghead and was full of wisdom. She taught me many things before she left. I was one of her students . The education she gave me for the 10 years I covered her story from the defunct The Comet newspaper to the biggest and thriving Nigeria media House – The Nation newspaper was great. She taught me what others can never have. She taught me what University education cannot teach you. She was to me like Socrates and his followers or disciples. During my journey in life I came across her and she was super. If you go to a rich man’s house he would feed you with food and wine but go to Mama Sheila she would feed you with knowledge and wisdom. She was one of the few greatest Nigerians I ever met.
I am in Black dress, mourning
THAT BLACK SUNDAY
I remember that day . It was Black Sunday . I repeat that that day was a Black Sunday . Today it echoes, the messages , the telephone calls , my actions .Yes I can recall all . It was a nasty Sunday . Yes , I didn’t go to church that day .I remember it was around 2 O’clock , yes 2 O’clock in the afternoon . I could recall the time, date and all what happened .Today I recalled that day, the sun was shining and the temperature was very high. I was drinking my black coffee , yes I could remember . Then I was laughing hysterically when I remembered something , Yes it was … no don’t let me tell you, when suddenly my phone rang. gran gran gran , and then started dishing out my favourite Bob Marley Music. I allowed the music to go on. It stopped. Again the phone Nokia 3310 rang and I picked it . Who could that be? . A voice came through ,”Babalawo , do you have Tai Solarin’s children’s cell number? I heard that Mama Sheila is dead , please help us to confirm’’, that was the voice of Kofo Osagie, a colleague from education desk from the office . Immediately I heard the name Babalawo I knew it was from the office, for that is what they call me. I suddenly became cold. I stopped sipping my coffee. I became cold . Tears went down my cheeks . It was a day that my heart was punctured .It was the day I missed one of my favourite family members I was never related to by blood. Yes , I sank into my sofa chair and screamed ”Oh my God”. Then I was a full staff at The Nation newspaper , then I was already the family member of the Tai Solarins. They all knew me ,my face was not unknown to the household except Tunde whom I never met till date. Mama said Tunde is a private person. But I was very close to Corin, who is a younger sister to Tunde.
I was shivering like Christmas goat and unstable like a floated leaf on waters. My cell phone almost dropped from my hand as if I was suffering from Parkinson syndrome. I called Corin’s line the first child of the Solarins. ”Confirmed ”, she replied in a text message and I wept like a baby. This was the second time I would weep in my life .The first time was when my mother died at 79 .
Few hours later I started receiving calls from home and abroad asking me the full details and her last hours as if I was there when she breathed her last. .
I used to ask her many questions from sense to non sense , civilized to uncouth, foolish or wise yet she would not turn me down. I have asked about her romantic life when she was young, the medical problem she ever faced and she told me it was cervical cancer. I told her that I am a friend to her parrot as I sighted the parrot in her house, she too told me that we were the same thing. I asked her why she did not use walking stick , she replied ‘’ I don’t need it’’. I have asked her why she kept Ghanaians ,Togolese in her house , and she replied ‘’ what is wrong in that Taiwo? . They are okay’’.
I remember she asked me to bring my twin brother if truly I am a twin , and I told him that my twin brother, Kehinde is still alive but far away in Canada but she said ”that is what Yoruba will say when they have no twin brother or sister again, anyway let us meet one day or do you want me to come to Owo? ”, she jocularly asked , and I promised to bring my twin brother ,Kehinde to know her .Unfortunately the woman never lived up to see him!.
Anytime I mentioned the former Head of state General Babangida she would say ”I cannot forgive him, he contributed to my husband’s death. Babangida incarcerated my husband for months just because he was fighting for a just cause. Where are the leaders of yesteryears? But has he come here to tender apology?’’, she asked.
I asked her why she did not go to Church on one Sunday morning when I went to interview her, she responded ”And why did you come here on Sunday morning when you know I should be in church. Church? I don’t go to Church. I am an Atheist .I am always busy ’’. And when I told her it has been long since I went to church she was excited and gave me a parting gift , a book titled Humanism By Barbara Smoker. Apart from this I have other eight books she always gave me anytime I went there for an interview ,these books are in my library.
SHEILA SOLARIN 1924-OCTOBER 10, 2012
Mama Sheila was one of the greatest Nigerians I ever met during my sojourn in journalism. She was a millionaire but chose to live a simple life. She fought for the Nigerian masses. She had wanted everything to be better but today things are getting worse. Her voice was powerful. She was listened to . She criticized the government both the Military the Civilian. She admonished the greedy politicians who increased poverty in Nigeria.
She could have wished to go back to England and live but chose to live and die in Nigeria. Can we have another Sheila again? . She had wanted History Subject to be brought back into the School’s curriculum. To Mama , the military only came to destroy the country while our politicians are just selfish and amassing wealth and impoverished the Nigerian masses.
Mama Sheila knew we would all die and not go with wealth. She knew that life is ephemeral. She was modest in everything . Her life was simple . While our millionaires wear expensive rags they called clothes , my Mama , our Mama would wear clothe full of wisdom , put on the cap of knowledge . All these and many more will be in my Book to be published soon.
The church was as silent as a graveyard while the music written by Jeremiah Rankin in 1882 was in mezzo forte form
God be with you till we meet again;
By His counsels guide uphold you
With His sheep securely fold you,
God be with you till we meet again…..
Till we meet,till we meet,
Till we meet at Jesus’ feet……
Born in Owo and laid to rest in St.Louis, Missouri, America
The funeral service started at 12 noon at The Redeemed Christian Church of God ( RCCG), City Of God , St. Louis Brentwood, 8614 Manchester Rd, Brentwood, MO 63144 Missouri , USA. Those who could not attend the programe were watching (and participating ) from live stream programe .Outside the Church premises too were over 100 people from families and friends who ‘defied’ the stay at home order courtesy of Corona virus pandemic as they all wore their masks and sat in their cars to avoid the airborne disease. That was on Friday ,April 3 when sympathizers, close friends and family members came out to pay the Chief their last respect while those who could not turn up were glued to their phone on live stream to participate in the funeral service , thanks to technology . In fact over 500 viewers were sighted within 30minutes while on live stream .
Many were shedding tears .Some were groaning and shaking their heads
Pastor Jegede delivering the sermon
intermittently as tears was streaming down their cheeks .Some were biting their lips. Some wore long faces .The voice of a female was heard as she showered the family’s panegyrics (oriki) on him. Gboyega’s glorious exit was colourful but emotional and painful .But here psychologically and philosophically everyone was not only weeping for Gboyega but weeping for themselves for the thought of who next (?) filled their minds. It reminds one of the Yoruba’s sayings that Oku nsunkun oku ,akaso lori nskun ara won.
Chief Oloja’s Final resting place in America
Outside the Church premises were different types of vehicles. Members of Egbe Omo OwoAssociation in Missouri all came to give their active member the last respect and a heroic last honour . Some called him Adegboyega, some also called him after his chieftaincy title Oloja, others too simply called him Chief. He was installed as Chief Obagbemisugha of Owo Kingdom by His Imperial Majesty Olowo of Owo Oba Gbadegesin Ajibade Ogunoye III some months ago.Yes, he was popular in St Louis.
CHURCH SERVICE
Only few people were allowed in the church with a little distance to one another.Two officiating pastors, Pastors Yomi Jegede and Niyi Aruwajoye preached .Jegede delivered a thought-provoking sermon quoting some Bible passages. He made references to the parables of the Rich man in Matthew .He quoted Psalm 39:6, Matthew 16:24-27. He narrated the story of the Ten Virgins and how we can build our treasures in Heaven.The Pastor implored every living man to serve God and desist from sins such as fornication,adultery, lies, bribes,masturbation among others in order to gain eternal life.
Pastor Femi Omiye spoke about Chief Aruwajoye
Pastor Niyi Aruwajoye in his sermon described the deceased as a very good man , he added that he was happy that the deceased who was his brother gave his life to Christ before he died .Aruwajoye assured the mourners that heaven is real and that Gboyega’s believing in God and accepting Jesus Christ as the Lord and his Saviour will surely make him to go to heaven.The Pastor advised everybody to get prepared for one could be called home at any time”
DON’T MOURN MY FATHER——Tobi
While giving a vote of thanks , one of the children of the deceased, Tobi Aruwajoye thanked whose who stood by this father and the family during their trying period.He described his father’s life as an open book, his words ” His life is an open book, I will not call this mourning , please don’t mourn our father but let us celebrate him. He was always happy even when things were not going on well.”
Tobi went down memory lane and gave reasons why his father loved colour white, ” When I asked my father why he loved wearing white, he said he loved white colour because his late father Chief S.B.Aruwajoye loved white colour and he always wore white clothes during his lifetime. Aside that my father used to say that his heart was clean and white represents clean and pure heart. He was never afraid of death”. Tobi acknowledged his sisters and brother (in Dallas) at home ,infact he mentioned Bolu his father’s adopted child and the last wife of his father who all could not come all the way from Nigeria to attend the ceremony to pay their last respect.
ROAD TO THE FINAL RESTING PLACE
The beautiful white coloured casket was kept in the limousine with a flower on top.The Limousine was followed in a convoy to Bellefontaine Cemetery, 4947 W Florssant Ave, St .Louis.MO 63115 with a Condolence register. Engr. Samson Adekunle Obanigba, Gani Obanigba (President of Egbe Omo Owo Association, Missouri),Kofo Osun( MD of African Palace Restaurants, St.Louis, America and Akure in Ondo State, Nigeria) , Pastor Femi Omiye, Mrs Kike Osun, Pharmacist Bayo Ogunmolawa , Gboyega Lobo Agaun, Bode Fadeyi , among others were not left out to bid Gboyega a final goodbye .
The motorcade was heavy, the limousine car where the casket was placed had Gboyega’s big poster in his immaculate white with his beads on it. He was flamboyant in life so also in death. Pharmacist Ogunmolawa tried to control the traffic as shown on live stream. Mrs.Osun was sighted as she said ”I will miss you Brother Gboyega who would come to African Palace and ask for his delicious food”.
BY THE GRAVESIDE
Only the immediate family members were allowed to be at graveside to perform the dust- to- dust rite . Lobo Agaun who was present said ” Infact Brother Gboyega was buried like a king. The honour given to him was like burying a King. People trooped out , the African-Americans trooped out to say a final goodbye to him.He was greater in death even if his remains were brought to Nigeria for burial he couldn’t have been honoured more than this”
Although only the immediate family could get closer to where he was buried as fleet of cars that were there but sympathizers were in their cars as the rule dictated due to the pandemic of Coronavirus . The white, the Blacks and African -Americans too were present to bid him the final goodbye .After the dust-to-dust rite performed by children; Tobi, his sisters and his African -American wife many burst into tears. Fadeyi a close pal to the deceased , said he broke down and could not continue with the recording again. Others in their vehicles said immediately they saw him lowered in the grave their eyes turned red when it now dawned on them that Gboyega has truly gone, gone for ever.He died at the age of 59.
From the graveside everybody turned back leaving Chief Oloja Gboyega Aruwajoye behind. That was the glorious end of a popular man in his own country and in St.Louis, Missouri , America.
How are the mighty fallen!
WHY MY FATHER WAS BURIED IN AMERICA
Tobi ,son of the the late Chief said his father’s last wish was to be buried here in America .
While many called this reporter asking why the remains of the late Chief were not brought back to Owo,his hometown in Nigeria to sleep. Investigation reveals that it would be saddened to bring his remains back home because of his aged mother . Again another caller said money could have been the problem while this was punctured because the Aruwajoye family is rich and could afford bringing his remains back home .
When asked why the late Chief was buried in America, his son ,Tobi replied ” That was my father’s wish.He said he should be buried here in St.Louis , that was what he told me”, the handsome and brilliant son of the deceased said as American accent reflected from his speech. This view was supported by some friends who said ” he lived all his life here.He had his family here , so this place is his home and it makes sense .All the children are here so it is okay for him to be buried here”, his friend who begged for anonymity said .
HIS LAST WORDS
Gboyega Aruwajoye was a man of the people both in Nigeria and in America, read what he told his people
PHARMACIST BAYO OGUNMOLAWA
The renowned Pharmacist said Gboyega was a jolly fellow human being . He took life simple and this I will continue to remember. According to Ogunmolawa ” when I went to meet him at the hospital , he told me that he would feel bad if he dies before his mother. He said he would have loved to bury his mother but not the reverse.But I told him that God owes our life.His wish is unchangeable. He was passionate about his mother”.
LOBO AGAUN
He said ” The last time I saw him was when he came back from the hospital and he was bubbling, he told me he was getting better. I was very close to him. I never knew that would be the end. We spoke last on phone, when I saw him he had no strength again.He was a nice man”.
SANMI ARUWAJOYE
The late Chief was a half brother to Sanmi. Sanmi said ”I called him on phone while he was still at the hospital, he said ‘I am still here o, I am still alive o’. But I responded that ‘You are going nowhere my brother’ .Painfully , my younger sister called me on Sunday evening to break the news to me.I was devastated, for I prayed he should survive it. I am pained”, Sanmi burst into tears on phone as he cut off the phone in tears.
PASTOR NIYI ARUWAJOYE
The late Gboyega was half brother to Pastor Niyi . The Pastor said ” I am happy that he gave his life to Christ before he died.When he was in Hospice I was there to see him and the last words he said to me was ”All is well” .We spoke and spoke .I encouraged him and told him he should have faith in God .He passed on peacefully.I thank God that he accepted Christ before he passed to glory.”
DR. LAYI OLAGBEGI
The respected Medical Doctor said ”We were classmate, we attended same Primary School in the 60s, since then we have been very close. He was a jolly fellow. The last time we spoke was when I was on my way to South Carolina . I called him and he said ‘ Dr. hope you are doing well o, I am still here and I told him you will be okay in Jesus name’. He was a very, very nice guy .I am pained”.
GANI OBANIGBA spoke with him three days before his death
The President of Egbe Omo Owo Association in St Louis , Gani Obanigba said ” He (Gboyega) knew he was going , but I encouraged him that he should not give up. I said ‘Don’t give up, God will do miracle’ , that was three days before his death”.
IFEDAYO ROWLAND
We spoke last week , he said ‘he couldnt eat , the food is not going , and I told him I would call him back .When I heard about his death I was sad”
BODE FADEYI
The man of God Bode Fadeyi was very close to the late Chief, he said ” I attended the burial and when I was in the car , and tried to do a video but when he was being lowered into the grave, I could not stand it. I was crying , I couldn’t stand it and I left, crying. He was my best friend and brother . So Chief is gone?”, he lamented and continued crying .
O digba , o digbose
YAYA HACO OMOLOJA
The late Chief Oloja was loved by many , infact he was called ”Man of the People” as Omoloja described him. Omoloja said ”I went to meet him at the hospital .I never thought he was going to die for he was full of life. Whenever I called him he would say ‘I am still here o’. Sometimes when I called and he did not pick , he would later send me text messages and replied that he was sleeping when I called. When I saw his casket I was shivering .I couldn’t stand it when he was being lowered into the grave.I wept .The last time I wept was in 1992 when my father died. The painful aspect of it was that they did not open the casket for us to let us say final goodbye to him. They just drove straight to the graveside while only his children were there .My daughter , Kehinde wept uncontrollably and couldn’t eat for days .She wanted to attend the burial but I didn’t allow her. Oloja’s death is painful,he was jovial. Who will make us laugh again?”, Omoloja burst into tears.
KOFO OSUN of African Palace
The Managing Director of African Palace in St Louis who also has a branch in Akure, Nigeria spoke glowingly about the late Chief. He said ”I spoke with him before he died , he knew he was going , he called Rotimi my younger brother and told him to take care of his wife. I was there when he was rolled down into the grave.I was touched. He was a good man , he was jovial and loved. I wept .This life is just ephemeral .Only people like the pastors and the children were allowed to be by the graveside . His second born couldn’t come due to his duty. He is a soldier in Dallas. Gboyega was a fun guy , he was jovial all the time , everybody gona miss him”.
PASTOR FEMI OMIYE
Pastor Femi Omiye of Freedom Church, St.Louis , Missouri, described Chief’s death as painful and untimely .The Pastor however produced a small video clip in his memory. Omiye said ”I prayed for him and I always prayed for him .Before he died he called me and asked me to take him to the hospital and I did . But he was weak. Whenever I called I would pray for him and he too would ask me to remember him in prayer’
Engr. AKINWALE OLUWADARE
The man who was his classmate at Government Technical College, Owo cried on phone, he said ”We were classmate when in Technical School. He was a very nice man. I want we his friends to organize a candle light for him and celebrate him here when this Coronavirus leaves.We should honour him here too .He deserved it ”, he said as he was crying on phone.
OLUNAUN of UNAUN
The Olunaun of Unaun., Prince Olanrewaju ABEGUNDE cried on phone . He said ” So when he came to Owo last time was the last time I would see him? .This life has no meaning at all.But we still thank God that he left behind children and grandchildren.I pray May God console his mother and the family he left behind”.
AKINWALE WEMIMO HEZEKIAH
Hezekiah lamented on phone and said ” Imagine how wicked death is, he is still having a mother at home.I know Gboyega very well, he was a nice friend as we both went to Technical College together .Death where is thy sting?”, he broke down on phone and was weeping as his phone was running .
Those who attended the funeral ceremony are :Dipo Okunrinboye, Yomi Fajagba,Dodolewa, Pastor Akano,Mr. Adeniseun Greg, Mrs Haco Omoloja, Mrs. Aariola Olugboroko, Mrs Kehinde Olagbegi -Osinkoya and Bola her husband and many others.
Lobo Agaun said ” here was a man who was loved from Owo his country home to Canada, Russia, United Kingdom, Australia and America . The story of Chief Oloja who was popular home and abroad makes the beat go on as his humility, simplicity, cheerfulness and social life continues to ring bell” .
As my cell phone rang I picked it and looked at the Calling Line Identification . It was very unusual for the caller to call at that unholy hour. The caller was not strange but the voice was unusual for he was not in high spirit as he used to be . He now spoke in hushed tone .His voice was cracking and shaking , infact his voice was hoarse and his words were incoherent . ”Babalawo of the Nation I called you last night but you switched off your phone. Brother Gboyega passed on last night”, the caller said. I responded ”Repeat what you said Lobo , and he repeated it as he now spoke in Owo dialect ”i brother Gboyega Aruwajoye Chief Oloja ti ku o”, he then burst into tears . I screamed ”Whaaaaaaat?”. I then switched off my phone.
I was devastated . I was rattled. I was dumbfounded. I was shocked. I began to sweat ( in the cold weather) like Christmas goat who sighted a kitchen knife.
I screamed ”Ah! akuko ko l’ehin Omokunrin”. I broke down and wept. I could not sleep again. I could not call Lobo Agaun my friend who passed the information to me to ask him questions . I could not do anything . I was furious and within a second I was temporarily insane. I visited the loo six times thinking it was a bedroom. I ran out looking for the car key . I dashed out calling Ronnie to open the garage having forgotten that she has gone to work and the car was not in the garage while the key I was holding was not a car key but door key. I thought of driving to the family house at Owaluwa to sympathize or commiserate with the family but I later discovered where I was .Haaa, this is not Owo , Owo is far from here .Kai , this is America !.
So Gboyega died in America here . Mo gbe! So we don’t know where death would meet us?. Gboyega who has just buried his older brother about eight months ago. Gboyega who became a Chief eight months ago. Gboyega the man we used to call and hail as Oloja in Egbe Omo Owo Association in St. Louis . Oloun Olodumare oo, Death you are wicked.
I looked at the stupid Month of March .The March did not march on very well. The March did not match our thoughts. The March reminded me the Ides of March . The March reminded me how everybody was marched to ‘prison’ in the month of March no thanks to the pandemic Coronavirus. The March that that did not match any good thing. The March that used machete on everybody . No, this is one death too many . Yes , ”your turn is on the way is what death whistles into everybody’s ears” (tire mbo , tire nbo n’iku nwi]. I wept like a baby.
John Donne said it all that Death be not proud , though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful,for thou art not so,For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow,Die not, poor death ,nor yet canst thou kill me.One day , yes one day the gragra of this monster called Death will be put to death one day.
Ika ni iku , odaju si ni pelu
Iku a pe eni a npe
Iku a pe eni ti npe ni.
Ika ni iku , iku ni ika ninu jojo
A ni se , oloriburuku ni iku
Alejo oran nla ni Iku
Alanitiju ni Iku
Iku a wo’le wuye , igbe a ta
Iku a mu omo ikoko lo
A mu Omo lo, a fi Baba ati Iya sile
Sugbon kini kan ni mo mo daju saka o
Lojo kan, ani lojo kan Owo a te iku
Iku paa paa yio ku
No, he did not die from this pandemic called Coronavirus as rumour began to spread and people were asking the nature of his death. I know this very well. He has been sick for a while and anybody could fall sick. Infact sickness will not announce itself while death too will never tell you he’s on the way.
I remember when the late Chief sighted me the first time in St.Louis in an Hotel where the World Council Association of Owo Indigenes held their Convention two years ago , he cried ”Babalawo of the Nation ,Bobo T, T Bobo where is your opele, where is your Ifa?”he jokingly asked and added ”thank God you are here your talent will be rewarded here. Don’t worry you will enjoy your stay” .When the story of Dele Udo’s was published in Nigerian and foreign newspapers; Reunited after 37 years of which World News Day published and received loud ovation , Gboyega and Agaun celebrated it alongside with my wife at African Palace for they knew the lady, Angelle Udoh who patronizes African Palace Restaurant in St. Louis .That was when I started adjusting to the environment
Few months ago when he arrived from Owo after the Olowo of Owo’s installation, he spoke glowingly about the royal father, he asked me to come have an interview with him, he swore and said ”Olowo did not collect a dime from me , sincerely speaking I appreciate him”. Gboyega was rich in manner, he was a man full of ideas.He was witty .He was a lover of people and he was loved too. He would never talk ill of anybody instead he would say ”settle it, settle it” and that is all.
Agaun and Chief Oja
He is now free , free from all struggle after all did a French proverb not say ”Life is like an onion that one peels crying ”, he is no longer peeling onion, crying . He has joined the Saints. All the struggle has ended , he no longer struggle like us -the living , and who knows the next person to answer His call, so Marcus Aurelius was not wrong in his words that ”The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing”.
Gboyega is no more in debt , he has been freed while the living continue , he has transformed or metamorphosed to the spiritual world and it is the living who are still in debt as the Book of Common Prayer of Church of England is quoted ”In the midst of life, we are in debt”.
Gboyega, Agaun and Babalawo of the Nation
Did Samuel Johnson not say ” It matters not how a man dies , but how he lives?” Chief Oloja lived well.No man has ever reported him of any fraudulent activities. His yes was ‘yes’ while his no was ‘no’.
”Babalawo of The Nation please tell Ronnie to let us meet at African Palace or should I come and pick you up?”, he asked many times .And at African Palace he would ask me and Ronnie, my wife to eat, drink and be satisfied. One day he told us why he stopped taking alcohol . ”You see a Police officer stopped me , and I stopped . Later I remember that if I should smell alcohol it will be a big trouble , since then I had stopped taking any alcoholic drink ”, he said and continued the story ,” You see when I stopped the engine and when he was coming towards me I sped off. I was surprised that he did not run after me”.
The Olunaun of Unaun ,Prince Olanrewaju Abegunde burst into tears on phone , he said ” Gboyega was a star, a loving friend , kind, humble and full of simplicity, he could not hurt a fly . He struggled to make a living legally in America .He was a very successful man . He maintained his dignity and protected the Aruwajoye family name. Yes , that is Gboyega for you”.
He was full of stories .The last time we met was when I went to see him at ‘Home’ where he was being treated, he summoned courage and said he would be okay .Infact he was bubbling but Aisan lo see wo , a ko ri t’Olojo se.
Ronnie loved him so much that she always called him to African Palace to dance , she said ” He knows how to dance our American dance , he could dance and he dresses very well ”.Gboyega would tell me that ” this Ronnie your wife is a special woman , you are lucky to have met her type ”
And the question I am asking is ”So they will bury that handsome man with white beard? .So his glittering skin and white teeth will no more be seen?. The jokes are no more ? .Well, we are all going the same way but only at different time .
Rest on Oloja , and keep on smiling after all we will all return home whether we like it or not for the world is like a market place, where you purchase your goods and must compulsorily go back home no matter how late.
For Aruwajoye his smile would be dearly missed by all especially in St.Louis here in America where the words of George Burns come into action that ”Happiness is having a large loving family in another city” .
Bode Fadeyi wrote ” I have known him for over 50years right from Owo in Ondo state , he was always full of life , very lively as there was no dull moment.He was always ready to help.He would be greatly missed”.
Pastor Omiye wrote ”Its with heavy heart and great sadness but with perfect submission to the will of God that we announce the sunset of Chief Adegboyega Aruwajoye on Sunday March 29,2000, May his gentle soul rest in peace”.
Princess Kehinde Olagbegi Osinkoya wrote ” May his gentle soul rest in peace” Adesoji Olateru Olagbegi typed ”Rest in peace Gboyega”. Pharmacist Bayo Ogunmolawa too prayed ”May his soul rest in peace and may our Lord Jesus Christ comfort his friends and family”
Dr. Layi Olagbegi with heavy heart wrote ”Rest in peace.”
For the family and friends let us give him a befitting burial, it is sure we shall all go one day ,after all Marcus Tullius Cicero says it all that ” the life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living , his memory lingers on in our minds”.
God giveth and He taketh.Yes , he has an aged mother , but what do we do? .If he had become insane or in vegetable state we would be praying for him saying if …..and if he were still alive we would not be at ease seeing him groaning in pains. Let us take consolation in John 3:16 that says For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish , but have everlasting life.
Adieu Chief Gboyega Aruwajoye we shall meet on the the resurrection day. Sleep on and rest well .
She is in second position among the three surviving wives of the late musician, Dr. Orlando Owoh. A well-educated woman who was a secondary school teacher in Ekiti -State when Orlando met her. She is sound and sharp-witted as she speaks impeccable English and Yoruba languages laced with proverbs and anecdotes . Madam Funke Owomoyela is a mother in a million and a woman a man should be proud of . She is a wife who will not betray or deny her husband even in death.
………..Why we can’t remarry again
……….We don’t see Orlando’s friends
…….Thanks to Tunde Oladunjoye
…….We use to hear Orlando’s voice in his room
The highly intelligent woman spoke with modest and clarity. When asked to introduce herself, she said ”My name is Funke Owomoyela .You must have been hearing our names from the records Orlando Owoh waxed where he mentioned our names and sang our (wives) praises “. She continued “among the surviving wives of Orlando I am next to Muibatu and Shade is next to me” .
WIVES ARE UNITED
Contrary to what always happen in a polygamous family and in an African set- up where wives fight one another , keep malice, spread rumour and where envy and strife reign this is not so among these three wives the late musician left behind. These women all live under one roof in their husband’s house at Agege without any quarrel .
However, when asked to tell the secret of their unity and togetherness , the woman said ”nobody that has the effrontery to break that love and mutual understanding that exist within us. Even when our husband was alive he did not succeed in knowing the secret or breaking the bond .The love was too much, and nobody can now come to destroy it for us”.
MY GRANNY SUPPORTED MY MARRIAGE
Funke tried to remember how she met Orlando and those who supported her in the family to marry Orlando. She went down memory lane and narrated how it all went ” I was a secondary school teacher in Ekiti -State when we met. None of my family members supported our marriage except my grandmother. It was only my granny that supported our union because she loved Orlando’s music , and she said she wanted her daughter to marry a musician so that when she dies she wanted big and popular musicians to come and play at her funeral ceremony. Truly , Orlando fulfilled his promise when she died” ,she said.
She described the burial ceremony of her grandmother as ”one in town”, she said ”It was a fantastic burial. It was not only Orlando that came but many great musicians also came to play and they supported me morally and financially ”.
ORLANDO’S MOTHER
Asked whether she sees Orlando’s mother and her response is ”Yes, she is still alive and she lives in Owo .We saw her when we went for the burial ceremony of Sade’s mother recently in Owo last February”.
ORLANDO NOT AN ORDINARY MAN
The woman who said she is always sad anytime she hears Orlando’s music . On how she feels when listening to Orlando’s music being played , she shouted”Ah!, they are injecting us where it hurts , we used to hear his music especially over the radio everyday. Infact they cannot do without playing his music. They would even praise him, and say his death was a fatal blow on them , they will say Iku b’ola je and that if he were alive today he would have sang more songs .We don’t want to be remembering this. We always cry while watching him on VCD and video because Orlando was not an ordinary man”.
HIS SPIRIT STILL IN THE HOUSE
The spirit of the dead don’t die according to Yoruba belief and in African Philosophy , Funke said Orlando’s voice is still being heard as his spirit still lives in the house . She said ”I used to see him in my dream , even we used hear his voice in his room and when he is having his bath. Sade is the one that would miss him most because they were 24/7”. Pressed to speak further on the mysterious things that have been happening , she refused and said ”No, don’t let us go there”, she pleaded.
ORLANDO’S FRIENDS DESERTED US
The retired teacher is visibly angry and dissapointed that after their benefactor and confidant had gone none of his friends bothered to know how they are faring , she said ”It was when he was alive that he had friends but immediately he died he had no friends again because nobody turned up, we did not see anybody. All their empty promises are tissues of lies. They left us alone, even…………. ( names withheld ) who was trained in Orlando’s house in Oshogbo did not pick our calls again. So Orlando has no friends again, it was when he was alive that he had thousands of friends who milled round him and stay glued here”
GANJA & LEGEND
Ganja, known to be his Orlando’s favourite smoke for spiritualism and musical inspiration ,She confirmed that her late husband did smoke it , ”Yes, he smoked ganja but with sense”, she added ”Orlando had that sense of musical and poetic fitness .His brain cannot be compared with those with Cambridge Certificates . Orlando was a genius , very brilliant and was gifted . Orlando would wax three records in the studio overnight. We would stay with him and he would come to ask us whether he did very well, and we would give him positive answer . We always went with him to the studio. He would wax three records at a sitting , that cannot be accomplished by any living musician. No musician can beat that .Waxing three records one night and mixing it was no easy feat .That is why I said he was a legend. He was not an ordinary man.We really missed him. Now we need assistance from people , may be they can respond”.
ON ORLANDO’S ROYALTIES
When the retired teacher said they needed assistance, this reporter was forced to ask about the royalties from Orlando’s albums which should have made them comfortable, but she screamed ”Royalties?, the ones he was entitled to from the Nigeria Performing Musical Association of which they bring every year before had stopped since!. I believe someone must have been collecting it behind us ”, she said , and added that the painful aspect of it is that ”at the end of each year we would receive message that we have received royalties yet we did not see anything! .We are not novice , we are all educated”, she said with voice raised.
When asked whether the family lodged complaints , she said ”both the PMAN NAPCON and others who should be giving us royalties did not , someone must have been collecting it and it is sad”. She however confessed that they had not gone to lodge complaint ,”We wanted to complain, but we were slow, we ought to have complained since”, she admitted.
NONE OF MY CHILDREN SING
The retired teacher said none of her children sings, but was quick to add ” some of my stepchildren like Daisi Orlando and Kunle Orlando sing while Orimipe Orlando who lives in the United States of America also sing”.
WHY WE CAN’T REMARRY
Since Orlando’s death none of the wives had remarried. Asked why she has not remarried since all these years , the woman screamed ”Remarry?, none of us dare tried it. After all what that man (Orlando) did for us? . No, nobody can remarry among us. If we are talking of any man that loves his wife , Orlando was number one, and I have not seen any second person. I have not met any man that would behave like Orlando. Nobody has a cause to remarry because he did his best for everybody, he trained our children .We cannot remarry , Who is that person?. Ki la fe fe?. What else do we want again?”.
WHEN ORLANDO DIED…
She recounted the last minutes of the late Musical maestro, ,she said ”we ( wives) were with him at the bedside at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) when he gave up the ghost. He spoke with us but you don’t tell everything. What is still strange to us up till this moment is how the news filtered out that he had given up the ghost when nobody was informed for while he was being packed , we heard the breaking news on the television that ‘Sir Orlando Owoh is dead‘, we didn’t know how they got the news”.
On Orlando’s death , she said if death could accept money some governors would have donated as she said ”about four governors struggled to make sure he live, if they can buy life they would have bought it but that is it.”
I WILL MARRY HIM AGAIN IF ……
Reminded that Yoruba believes in reincarnation ,asked whether she would marry Orlando again in the next world if she meets him again , she quickly responded ”God’s willing , if per chance we meet again , all of us who married him would still marry him. He was a very loving man, very caring and loving . I have not seen another man like him. We feel it”.
HE WAS ACCOMMODATING
Funke could not but speak on how accomodating the African Kennery was when alive, she said ”anytime he came back from his outing/play his fans and others would immediately thronged here shouting his name and we would be begging them to allow him to rest for sometime that he had just arrived but Orlando himself would peep from the window and cry out that ‘I am at home!, I am at home!!’ to our consternation” .
She continued ”Orlando almost turned us to liars so we left him alone .When his death was announced many people came to sympathise with us and some almost killed themselves here. Some said he was the one who footed their bills during their babies’ naming ceremonies , some said he gave them dollars when he came back from America while some too said he gave them clothes and shoes when he arrived from America .He was very nice to everybody and very accommodating ,he welcomed everybody and housed and fed them irrespective of their status”.
OUR HOUSE WAS MECCA NOW DESERTED
Leopard will never change its skin, that is Orlando for you , he refused to change, he was genrous to a fault. Funke said ”his death is what we cannot forget easily , remembering him makes us feel bad and sad. He would advise us to allow him to do what he was doing , that is assisting everybody for he would leave one day. Later we left him alone and we would tell whoever came that he was at home , they should go and meet him. Whenever he came back from play he would not rest, for he would be attending and entertaining visitors always , no rest. As we were pounding yam in the kitchen, we would also be smoothing amala.He would say ‘ pounded yam for six people , amala for four people , eba for eight people’ , our house would be full like a market place but since he had died we did not see anybody!.There is no human being again [no person again).Ko seeyan mo!
ANY OTHER WORDS AGAIN?
Funke gave this advise ”Please do whatever you can do to assist people , it is what one did that he would be remembered for .You cannot clothe yourself in another person’s character .Whatever God sent you to do it , just do it for people would talk about it and remember you for it”.
TUNDE OLADUNJOYE
The woman however exonerated one Tunde Oladunjoye who was Orlando’s manager for a short period , she said ”Tunde Oladunjoye is from Ijebu- Remo in Ogun state, he was Orlando’s manager for a short period and when he became the Commissioner he always assist us and fulfilled his promises, he used to say ‘Orlando is my mentor, there is nothing I would become today that I would not give credit to him’ ” . According to Funke, Oladunjoye is the only man that has been assisting them, ”he is the only man that comes here to give us money , he would come with foodstuff and other things. It is only this Tunde Oladunjoye we see, he (Orlando) has no friends again and that is for the wives. He even sent money to me when I was hospitalised recently” .
As the old man got to the Newspapers’ Distributing/ Agent’s office at Oyemekun Road, Akure to collect his papers for the day’s sales , he firstly glanced through all the newspapers reading the headlines before he packed his own allotted newspapers for sale for the day .
He placed some newspapers on the top bar and others on the handlebars stem of his Raleigh bicycle, mounted it and sat on the saddle , peddling as he rode away . ”He would not return until there is no single paper on his bike ”, one of the Vendors told this reporter on that Monday morning.
That is Pa Gabriel Ayodele Ajayi who has been a newspaper vendor for over 50 years.
His dressing is unique, he wears simple but casual dress with a Bucket Hat on his head to keep him away from the scorching sun. He gets to the Agent’s office as early as 6:30am.
The old man sells for the high and the low in Akure the capital of Ondo State. He knows many streets, many big men in Akure here , and also all the nooks and crannies here too. Speaking with the old man proved a little bit difficult for he was in haste to go out and sell his newspapers. In addition, the man is a man of few words as he managed to respond to this reporter’s questions . Asked when he has been selling newspapers , he responded ” I have been selling newspapers for over 50 years. I sold newspapers during the Nigerian Civil War when the war was hot. I have lived for many years in this town (Akure)”. Asked whether it is true that he was once a photographer , he smiled but did not give an answer. When asked about his family, he declined to answer. Asked the time he would come back from selling his papers, he replied ” when I finished selling ”.
Asked another question again, he refused to answer , as he put on his Bucket’s Hat , he adjusted himself , pushed his bicycle , mounted it and left.
”Although his hearing is partially impaired yet he could understand and get what he want. He is a disciplinarian and does not tolerate nonsense , he time conscious and always the first vendor to come here and pick his newspapers to sale. He goes out early and closes by 3:30pm ”, said a Vendor. Baba celebrated his 75 birthday two years ago, the Vendor added.
One of the vendors at the Distribution Centre said ” this man is popular and known all over Akure here and he sells to the high and the low. I met him doing the job. I believe he has old customers and supplies to individuals”.
HIS BICYCLE & HIS HONEST LIFE
Looking at his Raleigh bicycle one would know that it has seen ages!. Chief Alade Adewale ( a one- time Newspaper Agent ) spoke about the septuagenarian Vendor and his bicycle, he said ” Baba’s bicycle is over 17 years old and he bought it brand new. He used to collect newspapers from me. The man is a mystery . He does not cheat, if he is paid in excess by mistake he would refund the money. Nobody knows about his family ,nobody knows his wife or kid”.
Adewale continued ” the old man is also a photographer , we don’t know much about him but all we know is that he is from Ikogosi. The man is ever neat, always at alert , well kitted , well dressed as he wears apron to show his professionalism”.
The old Vendor’s motto is ” We should look for peace not war ”. His common saying is “Keep Nigeria one is a task to be done ” and this is what he has been shouting when he came , another Vendor stated.
John Kolawole said Pa Ajayi always tell them the stories about the Nigeria’s Civil War , ” he told us about the Civil war of 1966/67 and June 12 1993 and the 1983 Governorship crisis of Ondo State where he went out selling his papers . He would sing Laarin ota ibon, yiyan le mi o yan , (I will march on in the middle of hail of bullets ) .
Tayo Ade a Vendor said ” Baba always sing songs of encouragement and tells us stories of how he used to sell newspapers during the Nigerian Civil War. He is ever neat and straightforward”
Another Vendor said the old man plays with everybody. If he dies today they will call all vendors to come and attend his burial and pay homage to him because he is faithful to the organization , he does not miss any meeting”.
What a hardworking, dutiful and honest Vendor!
This was the last interview conducted with him.
NOTE:
The old man passed on four months ago. He has since been buried in his home town, Ogotun-Ekiti
Yesterday, a Memorial Service of Songs and Celebration of Life was held for Mrs. Olufunke Oyeyemi Olakunri at The Redeemed Church of God (RCCG) City of God at 8614 Manchester Rd, St.Louis , MO 63144, America .
The programme which was organized by Gani Obanigba who was a brother in-law to the deceased was attended by many people from family members to friends and acquaintances.Pastor Niyi Aruwajoye the officiating Pastor implored everyone present to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, he said ” we came with nothing and will surely go empty handed ”, he counseled.Pastor Akin Aruwajoye also added that ”since no one knows when he is going it is better now to repent because we will all die one day”.Pastor Omiye consoled the family and friends and implored everybody to be strong.
The service which started at 2pm did not close until after 5pm as everybody was discussing about how nice the the woman was. A member of the family described how she survived cancer of the breast 20 years ago but fell cheaply and painfully into the hands of suspected herdsmen or killers, no one is safe again, she concluded.
Some songs were rendered as many used handkerchief to clean their misty eyes . Among the songs are On the resurrection morning , Soul and body meet again , No more sorrow, no more weeping , No more pains …. A woman could not sing along as she kept on looking at the pictures in the program and weeping profusely.
Mr.Gani Obanigba who is a brother –inlaw to the late woman described the woman as a nice, humble and a great philanthropist who will not allow anybody to suffer.
According to Gani, ‘’ I called her my mother , mentor and God-sent. She facilitated my coming to America and I shall for ever be grateful to her”., he said .
Pastor Idowu ,described the woman as a rare gift to humanity whose life was brutally cut down. He said ”She used to call me Uncle, Uncle and I too would call her Auntie , Auntie. She was a wonderful individual , woman of accomplishment. She worked hard , blessed people and was a strong pillar of the family”’
When Seun Obanigba held the microphone and was about to speak about her , she broke down as hot tears cascaded on her cheeks, she could not talk.,
Born on June 11, 1961 in Akure to the families of Chief Reuben Famuyide Fasoranti and Frances Oladiwura Fasoranti who were both teachers .
Olufunke attended St. Stephen’s Primary School in Iju -Itaogbolu , Ondo state , She also attended St Louis secondary school , Ondo for her secondary school where she spent two years but due to transfer of her father again she went with him to Olivet Baptist High School , Oyo where she completed her secondary school .She proceeded to Federal School of Arts and Science Ondo for her Advanced level .
She went to Ondo state Polytechnic where she obtained her HND in Accounting in 1983.
After her National Youth Service Corps in Omega Bank now Spring Bank . She later went to Lagos University to read Law, she was a pioneer student at Nigeria Law School, Abuja
Olufunke attended many courses and programes home and abroad inccluding Havard University , USA.
As a seasoned Banker she worked with Citi Express Bank, Great Nigeria Insurance and rose to the positions of Secretary in these companies .
She was generous to a fault,
She married Mr. Idowu Olakunri of the Elerewe Dynasty of Owo on February 15, 1985, and the union was blessed with two daughters ; Oyindamola Weider, Oluwafeyisike Omosehin and grandchildren . Olufunke was survived by her husband, children sister and many family members
May her soul rest in peace.
Those who were present at the event are ; Dr. Layi Olagbegi, Pastor Omiye, Pastor Niyi Aruwajoye, Chief Gboyega Aruwajoye, Dipo Okunrinboye,Mr and Mrs Kofo Osun, and many others ,
However the remains of the Lawyer cum Banker will be buried today at Akure .
Pa Adepoju (speaking in Yoruba language)lamenting the death of his daughter
Olodumare oooo!! Haa! this is our royal father , traditional ruler, our Oba ,our Monarch ,our King . Look at his agbada, torn!.
Look ,look, as he is struggling and fighting his Olori in the public.Ooo my God, Ah, where are his beads? [Ileke/akun]- they are dangling on his neck . Abomination, Eeewo, a a ti gbo?. Yegede!odindi Oba!. This is desecration of the throne.Oh my God!.
How come? What happen?.Kilo sele? kilo de? In the end , nothing happened, no justice . It was a bad story .Nothing is heard about the case again.It all happened nine years ago in Akure, Ondo State.
Human Rights Activists, Women groups were upset while the king makers removed him for bringing shame to Yoruba culture and tradition. They took up the case. From Owo, Akure , Lagos, United Kingdom and to America the cries went up to high heavens that the wife of a first Class Yoruba Monarch was dehumanized.
Haaa! whaaat?. She was beaten and substances suspected to be acid was poured on her at her residence , 141 Hospital Road , Akure .
Interview (in Owo dialect), says it was the strange woman the King brought home that caused all the problem
It was controversial .It became a Police case, and Court case . She was taken to the hospital for treatment and later died!.
Dead?.Ku ke?. Yes she died and on that 12th of July 2011 and her remains were brought from Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos (LASUTH) to her residence in Akure where she was buried. May her soul rest in peace.Shout a big Amen!.
Ah! the first Class monarch was banished from the throne and hometown , Akure to GRA , Owo, his in-law’s town. Oloun oo, o gbele ooo! itiju nla!.
Chei ! Osanobua !!!. Disgrace. A first class Monarch, the Deji of Akure fighting in the public?. Ahhh, look at his agbada, torn! .Look , he is struggling and fighting in the public. Ah, with beads on his neck and wrists? [Ileke/akun]. Abomination, Eeewo, a a ti gbo?. Yegede!odindi Oba. Haa odindi Kaabiyesiii. This is desecration to the throne.
How come? What happened?. In the end , nothing happened. It was a bad story. Nothing is heard about the case again.Haaa where is justice? Nigeria!Nigeria!! Nigeria!!!. It all happened eight years ago in Akure.
That was the story behind the banishment, deposition and dethronement of the Deji of Akure , Oluwadare Adesina Adepoju who allegedly accused his wife on of adultery , accusation
Taiwo Abiodun visited the father of the late Olori Bolanle in Owo.
FATHER OF THE LATE OLORI SPEAKS
The old man narrated the story as in this two video clips [in Yoruba language and Owo dilalect]
Today , nothing is heard about the case again!
The deposed Monarch
Pa Fadeyi said ”my late daughter and the deposed monarch, Deji of Akure, Oba Oluwadare Adesina Adepoju courted for six years and did engagement in my house here in Owo .The husband came to demand her hand in marriage in the year 2001 while he became the Oba of Akure in 2005.
When I was told that my daughter had been hospitalized I went to see her at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC ) Owo, before she was transferred to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital ( LASUTH) Lagos where she later died .She didn’t know she would die. .
”I was told that they poured some things on her that …..
”I can’t forget her, She was buried in her house in Akure .I am sad, sad and sad.It is very painful.
”During the fracas , I went to the monarch in Akure to beg the king and to reconsider his wife but he refused to take his wife back .I knew when he was at the District Officers’ ( D.O) quarters in my town , Owo where he was banished to “.
”Each time I look at her pictures I feel sad , these are her photographs from her spinsterhood till when she got married.
Pa Fadeyi said the quarrel between his late daughter and the deposed Oba (husband ) was more than ordinary , he said ” It was the woman he (the monarch) brought to the palace that caused everything .It was a big error , when the monarch was telling me he said he didn’t know what came over him. The devil really used him.
”You can see that I am old now , and can no longer work . The late Olori’s younger ones are the one assisting me now since my daughter has gone , it is very , very sad.
Pa Fadeyi going through some pics of his late daughter
Haa, o ma se o! now the Olori’s father is at home weeping for the loss of his daughter while the mother was somewhere taking care of the two kids the woman left behind.
And the questions are ” What will the deposed Monarch tell his kids in the future? Where is the woman that was said to have caused all these problems?”.
Last week at the St. Louis Lewis and Clark Library Missouri, America I sighted two CDs of two Nigeria’s great Musicians on the shelf: Fela Anikulapo Kuti and King Sunny Ade. I felt great. I showed the two CDs to many there . I want to donate some of Orlando’s CDs to them.
Its a pity that a prophet does not have honor in his own town.When Orlando’s music is being played it throws many into frenzy. Last year a young man suddenly stopped and started dancing to the track, Ojo (Ojo onitemi o Ojo o, Ojo a b’adiye s’aba l’ori eyin Ojo , Ojo o si ni’le Omo adiye d’agba …..Ojo ooooooo,ooooo… ) the young man who coincidentally bears Ojo danced his heart out .He said ” that is my favorite music that is my name Orlando is singing its praises , then the others followed him dancing when they were convinced of his sanity.
It happened last year at Agege Pen Cinema area , infact I joined in the dance.The young man told everybody that he bears Ojo, the name Orlando sang its praise. That is Orlando’s music for you.
His music suits any occasion , highly philosophical, full of wisdom, poetry, folklores, traditional stories .
When he released the Ganja album , he sold millions and was hailed to high heavens despite being banned , yet it sold like hot cake. But how can we pay honor to this great man?
During an interview with the mother of Orlando Owoh, she was not happy that her son was not buried in his country home , Ifon. Now , it is exactly 10 years Orlando has been dead,while his remains were buried in Lagos.Yes, mistake has been made but let all his friends, fans and family members gather and put their heads together and have his bones exhumed and be buried in Ifon while his statue be placed at the center of the town while a museum be built and all his materials be kept in his memory. Up till this moment no street not even a local government Park or Center is named after this legend.
That Orlando’s mother is still alive is not an excuse. Bob Marley’s mother , Cedella Booker was still alive when her son died at 36.She died 27 years later ( 2008).
LET’S EXHUME ORLANDO’S BODY
The Holy Bible tells us how Joseph’s bones were exhumed from the land of Egypt and brought to Shechem and buried according to the instructions he [Joseph] gave to the Israelites before he died.
Moses Orimolade Tunolase the leader and founder of Cherubim and Seraphim died on October 19, 1933 ,and was buried at Ojokoro Church , along Lagos /Abeokuta express way , but 42 years later his bones were exhumed and taken to his hometown , Ikare, Ondo State for burial on October 19, 1975.
Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia had his bones exhumed 25 years after his death and was given a befitting burial.
Others who had their remains exhumed and reburied are Eva Peron, Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, Zachary Taylor, Christopher Columbus, Oliver Cromwell, Lee Harvey Oswald, Simon Bolivar,
Orlando’s sculptor carved on his mother’s door
Daniel Boone, Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas) and many more.
APPEAL FUND NEEDED
We need an appeal fund, if need be, and the money realized from his royalties coupled with all his friends , fans and family members of the late Orlando Owoh should endeavor give him last respect and honor and bring his bones down to Ifon, his hometown and be reburied. It is then we will be proud of having a son from Ifon who took us beyond the native town.
Here was a man who has over 70 albums to his credit.Let us appeal to his childhood friends , Die The Matter, HRH Apata, and some of his friends to come together and if need be launch an appeal fund and exhume Orlando’s remains and take it back home.
BoN with Orlando’s mother
If the late African Kennery were here today he would have recorded many albums. He would have sang on religion, politics, killings by Boko Haram and Corruption. The great musician would have sang about elections, against Cultism, inflation, increment of school fees and workers’ hardship.
Yes! if Orlando were here today he would have used his songs to fight social injustice and social ills in the society.He was a multi -talented musician, poet, composer ,guitarist and folklorist.
But the High-life musician is not here. The African Kennery joined his ancestors 10 years ago .The Ganja preacher has gone to the land of no return. His remains were buried at his Lagos residence. May his soul rest in peace.
For him truth was his watchword, he would boldly tell you he smoked Indian hemp and so what? .He was a friend of the masses. He was humble to a fault.
Apart from the late Orlando and Fela Anikulapo Kuti who publicly smoked ganja no musician in Nigeria ever confessed smoking it. Infact, he is ranked among likes of Bob Marley , Peter Tosh and Fela. He preached the gospel of ganja .In one of his elpees he sings that the Police and other law makers smoke the weed.If he were here he would have waxed another record for its legalization. He was gifted. He was the voice of the masses, voice for the Voiceless and he truly identified himself with them.
NEED ORLANDO’S MUSEUM
Bob Marley died at the age of 36 in 1981, today there is a museum where all his personal effects and his history are being kept for viewing . It is now a tourist center.While many Parks and other things are named after him.
There is James Brown’s museum, there is Michael Jackson’s museum.We need Orlando Owoh’s museum. Infact there is no book yet written about Orlando , although I met a man five years ago in Ogbomoso who is a die-hard fan of Orlando compiling information on the late Musician.Up till now no book known to me that had been published about him.
And the question is “when can we have this type of Musician again? .”
ORLANDO’S ALBUMS
A man whose wife nags him always last week played IYAWO OLELE for her but when his wife knew he was indirectly referring to him, she changed the CD and played KO SEE MA NI (Woman is indispensable). They looked at each other and stopped their quarrel.
The reason why people are migrating is because of ITAN OWO (THESTORY OF MONEY ). Oh my God how do we call it when Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Jacob Miller Killer, Michael Jackson , James Brown, Haruna Ishola, Ogunde Hubert,Baba Sala, Orlando Owoh are gone? BELERE BA LO NILE YI, no music again for ASOTITO AYE have all gone . ADAJO ERE but the Musicians are nowhere to be found to play for us.
A young boy whose boss accused him of stealing his money played MA WO MI RORO, to stop suspecting him. For the past one week till the end of this year it is THANKSGIVING for God has spared our lives .
If you smoke GANJA [I] and arrested by the law enforcement agent just tell them that the Police, Judges smoke it while in some states in America GANJA [II] has been legalized.
For those who are away from home they should console themselves and play the track ERO KI YEYE MI for their mother. Above all don’t underrate your siblings because OMIYE LALA.
Are you oppressed by one stupid rich man?, then sing the song LOGBA LOGBA for him, and he would calm his frayed nerves but don’t forget to , remind him that AYE NYI, while we would continue to pray until when OLORUN OBA DA WA LOHUN then we will sing MODUPE , infact ORO MI JU OPE LO.
Whenever I remember THE LATE DELE GIWA I used to tell others that OMO BERU AIYE -AIYE LE .I also advise that MA SIKA, because of the EXPERIENCE I have in life.
We shall soon sing ORIN TUNTUN and give IBA EDUMARE in the new year because OKAN MI YIN OBA ORUN and I SAY NO to any YELLOW SISI for E GET AS E BE even though SISI SALEWA will not understand .
If your husband is angry just play ORIKI OJO for him since he is aba diye saba lori eyin and say IRE LONI for you have to say AGBA MO JUBA, to show respect for him..
The monster called APARTHEID still reigns in South Africa, but WHO NO KNOW GO KNOW as they treat us like CAIN AND ABEL.
Economy is biting hard no wonder our ladies have become MONEY FOR HAND BACK FOR GROUND that is why we need to ask the State Governments who claim they cannot pay 30k minimum wage that WHICH IS WHICH?
The only way to reach your friends here and outside is to send a text MESSAGE.
Last week I saw a KANGAROO in the Zoo at St. Louis
When you look up you see how be OSUPA RORO, Everyday we say , O BABY,to our ladies wanting to make her happy . I SAY NO to satan .When you remember your mum sing this song with message ERO KI YEYE MI. Are you in America, UK or other foreign country , remember that AJO KO LE DUN, so East , West, South or North home is the best.
With the current political topsy turvy and hullabaloo we still have hope and we should believe that NIGERIA A DARA.It is good you have made it and no enemy can attack you so sing AJANAKU DARABA. During the Muslim festival they kill Eran Ileya and in four months time is EASTER SPECIAL for the Christians when we will be celebrating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ .
In two weeks time they will soon be selling KNOCK OUT to herald Christmas and not now for AJUWA YEYE. Please remember that LAIKU EGIRI you don’t you don’t use its skin to make drum and we need to say MO DUPE always especially we OMO YORUBA for giving us good leaders like Osinbajo.
Born as Stephen Oladipupo Owomoyela in Oshogbo, his father was from Ifon and mother from Owo
Thank God Orlando left behind his children who did not want his name to die as Kunle Orlando Owoh is making waves .
Unfortunately this great musician left his aged mother behind.
Orlando’s fans should be kind enough to see that his mother is doing fine.
Born on February 14 1932 , died on November 4, 2008.
gine and when he was coming towards me I sped off. I was surprised that he did not run after me”.
AMERICA MOURNS OLUFUNKE 
