BRIEF HISTORY OF MAMA
Mama Alice Olanike Adekunbi Olaniyan was born in 1916 into the Arugboro family at Ita Olola in Ogbomoso. Her father was the late Pa Aladae Oyebode of Ile Arugboro and her mother was the late Madam Oyeronke Ayinke Oyebode of Ile Oke Eran. She lost her mother very early in life when she was barely three years old. She was then brought up by her paternal grandfather, who also passed on a few years later. Her stepmother thereafter took up responsibility for bringing her up. She spent most of her childhood years in Arolu, near Ogbomoso.
When she was of marriageable age, her father, the late Pa Alade Oyebode, insisted she married Lasisi, the son of his Muslim friend. She refused and this caused disagreement between father and daughter. She had to leave Arolu for Ogbomoso to fend for herself. Several efforts to force her into this marriage failed as she insisted she would marry a Christian. At this time, young Asabi had never encountered Christ personally but even then, she showed a preference for the Christian religion.
Several years passed and most of her mates were married and bearing children but the disagreement between father and daughter persisted. Several people had to intervene before Pa Oyebode finally gave his consent for Asabi to marry the man of her choice.
On the wedding day, however, as the bride, Asabi, knelt before her father for the very significant parental blessings, he (Pa Oyebode) shocked those gathered as he withheld the much-desired blessings, insisting that his daughter would neither conceive nor bear any child until she came back to do his (Oyebode’s) will. The young Asabi was, however, encouraged by her husband, Pa Jacob Moronkeji Ajamu Olaniyan, who insisted that his faith in Jesus Christ was greater than and would override any curses even if they had been pronounced by parents. Worried about the possible consequences of Baba’s pronouncement on young Asabi’s life, those who had gathered for the joyous ceremony, appealed to him to rescind his decision to withhold the much-needed parental blessing. He, however, refused and the couple left.
In what appears to be her first experience with the power of the sovereign God to save those who trust in Him, several years after, Mama Asabi Olaniyan returned to visit her father with male and female children – blessing from God through Jesus Christ. Baba Oyebode then apologized and renounced what had turned out to be ineffective curses. He explained that he never meant any harm to his daughter.
Immediately after marriage, in 1945, Mama followed her husband, the Late Pa Jacob Oyebode to Ghana, where she lived for twenty-Six years. Whilst in Ghana, she worked very hard as a petty trader, trekking to several villages to hawk her wares. Amongst other things, she baked and sold bread, made Kenkey (a Ghanaian local dish), Sweet Buns and Puff-Puff, so as to support her family and make ends meet. A firm believer with her husband that even if they were not educated, all their children must go to school, the now married Asabi at some points took up weeding peoples backyard for money just to ensure her children got educated. When the going got tough, most of her friends abandoned her because she would not withdraw some of her children from school for full time hawking. She preferred to suffer, so as to secure a better future for her children. On weekends her children, depending on their ages, trekked with her to villages to sell her wares to augment her efforts. Long vacations were also periods when the children joined their parents in their trading to help finance their education. Their contributions were, however, nothing compared to the ceaseless struggles of their parents to ensure they were educated.
Mama returned to Ogbomoso in November 1969 as a result of the Aliens Compliance Order imposed by the administration of then Prime Minister, Prof Kofi Abrefa Busia. She and her husband were among the first to leave Ghana, long before the deadline set by the government, because she yearned to return home. By that time they already had a son on an undergraduate programme at the University of Ghana, another had completed the Ghana Teacher’s Certificate ‘A’ training college, had a daughter in a Nursing School while other children were similarly doing very well in their academic pursuits. The grace of the Lord upon her life is evident in the fact that her major wish that her children should be well educated to be able to rise above her and her husband’s socio-economic status was achieved in her lifetime.
In Ogbomoso, Mama was the first to make and sell ‘Kenkey’ (Dokunu), the Ghanaian local dish she had learned to make while in Ghana. This, she did for many years to support her family. She lost her husband in February 1971 and since that time she had played the roles of both mother and father to all her children.
In May 1971, Mama accepted Christ as her personal Lord and Saviour. She was baptized a year later in Ebenezer Baptist Church, Ogbomoso. And since that time, she has grown to love Christ more and to dedicate her whole life to Him. Though she never had the opportunity to get formal education, her thirst for the word of God drove her to Adult Literacy classes in the Church. However, according to Mama, she was mostly taught by the Holy Spirit to read the Yoruba Bible, which she did fluently. She could also sing from the Yoruba Baptist Hymn Book and read the Yoruba daily devotional – Bibeli Kika Ojojumo. Her favourite songs were – ‘Jesu Ye Titi Aiye,’ ‘Aigbabo Bila’. She became a Sunday School teacher and taught her class for many years. She was also a leader at the prayer cell in Ile Abese, Okelerin for many years.
When her sight deteriorated and she could not read with her prescribed glasses, Mama would not be deterred from reading her Bible. She began using a magnifying glass to read her Bible and daily devotional texts. When electricity outages disturbed reading habits, her magnifying glass was upgraded to one with a battery-powered light embedded so that she could read anytime she wanted to.
Generally, Mama Olaniyan was very hard working, a strict disciplinarian, a prayer warrior and unifying factor within her own family and that of her husband. Whoever came in contact with Mama received words of encouragement and plenty of prayers. She was a cheerful giver to the work of God and the needy. Right from childhood, her children knew Mama as one who would give anything she had to make life better for them and other people. She loved her children so very much and cherished their unity.
In June 2012, Mama left Ogbomoso for Ilesa to celebrate the retirement of her daughter. She had to remain in Ilesa due to her children’s insistence till that fateful day of March 8, 2016 when she went to be with the Lord.
Throughout the night, Mama was restless and called ‘Eesitsa,’ several times, she however, would not look into the pleading eyes of her Daughter. At 8:30am, after a thorough bath and light breakfast, she started pronouncing blessings on all her children calling their names one after the other. She prayed for her children in-law, her grandchildren. She extended her prayers to members of the extended family, friends, her Nanny and other children living with and caring for her.
As her voice drifted away, Mama Asabi Olaniyan started waving her hands, and when asked why? She said she was giving glory and honour to Jesus Christ. She never uttered a word again until she passed on at 2:40pm
Sun re o, Asabi Okin.