Senator Bode Olajumoke

Bode Olajumoke at 80,

Festus Adedayo

Tomorrow, Monday, one of Providence’s priceless gifts to Ondo State and Nigeria, Dr. Bode Olajumoke, will be 80 years old. Born on Saturday, July 1, 1944, Olajumoke was Senator representing Ondo North from 2007 to 2011 and hails from Ose Local Government of the state. In 1999, he aspired to be Nigeria’s president. If Nigerians, especially the people of the Southwest, forget everything about Olajumoke, they will certainly remember the grey-bearded man who birthed the idea of a Yoruba unity under the umbrella of the Imeri Unity Group. Recognizing how fractious the Yoruba had been since the demise of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Olajumoke began a yeoman fence-mending effort which reconciled feuding groups and individuals in Yorubaland. He also redrew the map of his Imeri hometown, a town hitherto mis-contiguously placed under Mid-West and Bendel State, which he fought to bring back to its Ondo kith and kin on September 19, 1991.

The credentials above are almost insignificant when placed side by side Olajumoke’s philanthropy, unassuming nature and staunch religiosity. All these and far much more are contained in an autobiography he entitled, A Life of Grace: Courage, Vicissitudes and Legacies in the Journey of Bode Olajumoke which will be unveiled in a birthday ceremony tomorrow at Yoruba Tennis Club, Onikan, Lagos.