Good morning all.
Since 1st January, 2021 when my brother, Morufu Babatunde Salawu called me from Kaduna to break the shocking news of the sudden and untimely death of our darling Sister and friend, Adeola Omiye- Adepoju to me on phone, my health has greatly deteriorated. For the first time in my almost 53years of existence on earth, I had a raised blood pressure which my physician said was very abnormal.
Adeola was a great blessing to us at The Cradle Connect.
She was our Benefactor and a life-saver. Whenever, we had any cause to contribute money to do any CSR project for our community where we all grew up , Adeola was always and constantly consistently the highest donor. She was not the richest in terms of liquidity and asset among all of us as we have within us several money-bags who can effectively compete with Dangote and Adenuga, yet Adeola’s contributions to support our hapless and poor kinsmen and women were always in multiples of the contributions of our known billionaires. Her passion to lift our people of Labo, Idi-Aro, Ita-Ege, Eleta, Odinjo, Modina, Elekuro , Aperin, Adekile, Gbelekale and Oranyan out of abject poverty from which most of us were born into accidentally was very uncommon and legendary. Adeola was a cheerful giver. It was a very rare, sincere and genuine display of love and affection to our people and communities by Adeola in the sense that Adeola was not of a very rough and very poor background like most of us.
And what do I mean by that? Adeola’s parents were not peasants like our own parents as Adeola was given birth to by very cosmopolitan, aristocratic and elistic parents.
Her Mum who transisted very recently and is yet to be interred was a School headmistress while her Dad, Chief Mathew Adepoju is one of the foremost legal practitioners in Ibadan and of course in Nigeria. Both of them are great and true Wesleyans in every sense of the Methodist world. In actual fact, Chief Mathew Adpoju is a knight in the Methodist Diocease of Nigeria.
Notwithstanding her aristocratic background, Adeola never for once displayed opulence and was always altruistic and ascetic. She lived her life selflessly and she lived for our people . I have lost counts of her several trips from her base in United Kingdom to Ibadan, Nigeria to do several CSR projects for our poor and hapless people. The projects ranged from medical supports, food banks and distributions, cash sharing, bursary and scholarships, life supports, business supports and empowerments. I became astounded when I was told in 2019 that Adeola was doing same CSR in equal proportion in the United Kingdom. That was her life.
There was a time that I took her up when I suggested to her to let me make arrangements with my friends and associates in the media to do a press coverage of the great works that Adeola was doing which were totally unnoticed and unreported. Adeola being a God-sent angel to our people and communities just smiled and softly told me that , “Hon. Commissioner, please dont let us do all these in the ways of you politicians. We are not doing it to secure our people’s votes or sympathies or emphaties, rather it is our abiding duties and responsibilities to our people to appreciate God our Creator for the great things He has done in our lives.” .
With those words, I lost my self esteem and was happily downcast because of Adeola true gift and real love to our people and our communities. And those indelible words of our darling angel who had left us to join the saint triumphant brings back the often admonition of my leader, my mentor, my hero, my role model and confidant, Senator Abiola Adeyemi Ajimobi of blessed memory to me that , “OJ, when we help or assist the poors and the needies, let us put away the camera if we truly want the blessings and rewards of our Creator”.
Papa, Sir Mathew Adepoju, I can feel your pains and anguish with the sudden death of Adeola who has predeceased you unexpectedly and most abnormally. Ditto for the extended Adepoju family and all the good people of Ibadan South-East and Ibadan North-East local government areas of Oyo State.
However, we must not despair and behave like the Gentiles and the Unbelievers in mourning endlessly the rare saint and angel who had left our sinful world to join the great Saint Triumphants in heaven because Adeola never belonged to this terrestrial world of ours in the first place at all if we all consider all her humanitarian works and services to our people which are done selflessly and without expecting any earthly rewards and returns from our people as most of our politicians and businessmen do.
My darling Adeola, our loss in this sinful world is truly the gain of the heavens where you have safely and happily transisted to.
I insist that you never belonged to us here at all because you are just too different and totally different from us and the vain lifestyles that we all live here.
You have gone rightly to join the rightful place and position that really deserve to host and receive an angel and a Saint that you are.
Rest in peace my darling Sister, my friend and destiny helper of our people and our communities. I pray and look forward to the privilege, mercy and grace of God to graciously grant me the honour and concession to join you and Senator Abiola Ajimobi at the bossom of our Lord whenever the angel of death deem it fit to terminate my life.
This just concluded Year 2020 was truly and indeed an unfair year and an extremely wicked year to me.
Undoubtedly, I am convinced that you are already Resting in Peace, my own Adeola.
It is well with my soul.
Dated this 3rd day of January,2021
Mutalubi Ojo Adebayo Esq.,
Asiwaju of Ita-Ege & Idi-Aro,
Ward 5,
Ibadan South-East Local Government Area,
Oyo State of Nigeria.
+2348033275495
+2348181585848
Email: adebayoojo90@gmail.com
deluchi2001@yahoo.co.uk
