Tunde Ojo, Touchstone CEO, Eulogises Mum at 86

My tongue is, of necessity, has to be a little more native than usual today as I celebrate the vehicle which God employed  to transport me to this world, my mother, Comfort Jejelola Ojeniyi. Ori iya mi oni simenti o! ( Oh! how I salute my mother, the seller of cement).

Before you run away with the notion that I was raised by a wealthy mother who sold cement, she sold cement much later in her life. She was a kola-nut trader at Oja’ba, the market in front of Mapo Hall, the ever-imposing Greco-Roman architecture city hall, complete with fluted pillars, which was the headquarters of the colonial administration of the then Western Region of Nigeria. Kola-nut-selling was the trade of her family and family members still chant “Owo l’owo olobi,” (This money is from a kola-nut trader) when one of theirs has just made a financial contribution to an extended family project.

You have to pardon me as I  write, switching between my mother tongue, pun intended, the sweetest-ever Ibadan dialect of Yoruba, and my acquired language of English. To honour her, I will lace this write-up with Yoruba. Please allow me to serve you “ewa adalu”, the beans porridge that was the family staple in my growing up years. I ate so much of beans as I grew up that one of my naughty school mates who always saw us cooking beans early in the morning once remarked, “Ewa ti yi ori e.” (He -that is me -is suffering from beans-induced intoxication.) I initially thought I had consumed enough of beans to last me a lifetime but it’s still on my regular menu till today.

Back to my mother. Here is a woman who never had the privilege of education, except for the adult literacy class she attended which has equipped her to read her Bible, write her name and sign her signature. In spite of being educationally disadvantaged, she is a strong believer and sponsor of quality higher education. After I finished my first degree, she told me to continue to a masters degree and she was ready to sell everything she had to pay for it.

 “Okurin kekere ko to,” she said in Yoruba ( a small man is not enough). She kept her promise of financial support and motivation. If it was not the lure of the marketplace that took the better part of me, which I now regret with the benefit of hindsight, after a obtaining a masters degree, I would have gone ahead to do a doctoral degree with her promptings.

My maternal uncle, Ropo Ogunwole, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a Pastor, the patriarch of our family, once introduced me to a senior lawyer in his chamber as his nephew whose mother sent him to school. My mother  never mentioned that to me and when I asked her if she played such a role, she just chuckled, a quick illustration of her modesty and humility. I know that she supervised the university education of three of my older cousins. As for my siblings, with her support, we all have had the privilege of higher education which she did not taste, even at the lowest level.

She is one the most intelligent woman that I have known. Her memory capacity is the stuff legends are made of, even at 86.  She remembers her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren’s names and milestones. She  asks of them by names (often the name she has given each at their naming). Her power of critical analysis can compete with Nobel laureates. She’s the extended family organizer, events & project manager. She has supervised the purchase of lands and the building of property for people.

But all of these achievements pale when you compared them with her capacity for her faith in Christ, her love of all men and women of goodwill, even if they don’t share her faith or point of view. Her love and heart of giving is a lesson that inspires us. On countless visits to Lagos from her home in Ibadan, she would come with loads of food stuffs that would last my young family for months, with some to give our friends. In spite of her love for us, discipline is her way of life. She never compromises on discipline. If you step out of line, you get your deserve. She once drove away a girl who visited Seyi, my younger brother, when she felt he was not ready for a relationship leading to marriage.

This is not hagiography or a PR piece for my mother. All has not always been rosy for her. Her journey in life has not been without challenges. Her marriage to my father failed. After any years, she got remarried. She tells this unflattering part of her story in low tones and wishes she had had a genuine experience with Christ when she was much younger. That, she believes, would have prevented her marriage experience and  guided her choices and decisions as a much younger person. Today, she would do everything in prayers and godly advice to prevent anyone from this type of experience. She has been a great supporter of the marriage of my siblings and cousins. She is a strong advocate of marriage as God intends it.

This is getting too long for the Facebook generation, you may say. You are right. But l will not finish this without telling you one more thing.

This morning, my wife of 33 years, took to social media to celebrate my mother. She shared her photograph and wrote:

“Today is  September 17.

I celebrate a woman with a great heart, a woman of a great GOD.

She is mother, not just to her biological children, not just to some of us brought under her loins by the bond of marriage, but unto so many, too numerous to count. To these she had provided counsel, food, shelter, funds for schooling, accommodation, name it.

 COMFORT JEJELOLA OJENIYI , Iya Dada, as she is fondly called, is a mother in a million. A great cook, a compassionate, sacrificial and cheerful giver, a mother in Israel, Iya Ijo prays as a matter of lifestyle. There is nothing too big or small to pray about. IT IS, PRAY AS YOU GO.

Today, as you turn 86 years, may our good God, whom you serve diligently continue to bless, keep, preserve and uphold you. May your faith never fail. May your eyes continue to be full of HIS light as you continue to look unto your LORD and Saviour.

We love you dearly, our mother, grand mother, great grand mother, my sweet mother-in-law.

Happy birthday, Iya wa !

Your daughter ( in law),

Adora Ojo.”

If you can’t take my word of who my mother is for it, consider hers. My mother does not speak  English, my wife speaks “pidgin Yoruba,” but they both speak a common language – love.

We are grateful to God who has given us such a mother like no other.

Iya Dada, may the rest of your years be spent in the fullness of joy and sound health.  Happy 86.

Tunde Ojo