Throughout the history of mankind, gemstones are considered to be precious and treasured jewels. They are therefore treated as such because of their extra ordinary qualities. Rarity is a characteristic that lends value to a gemstone. These days, gemstones are often used as symbolic of courage, passion, love, intuition and creativity just to mention a few. Our daddy, Rev B.O. Olarewaju, certainly encapsulates all of these rare and unique qualities of a gemstone.
Daddy was a rare gem by all ramifications. He is a legend by all dimensions. He is our true hero. He left behind a lasting legacy that will remain evergreen in our hearts and also deserving of immortalization.
Our daddy was certainly not born into any earthly royalty. Neither did he even enjoy the luxuries of a privileged background, he was not born with silver spoon in his mouth. As a matter of fact, his growing up experience was a complete opposite to all of these; He became master of his own destiny at a very young age. Yet, by the time of his demise, he had touched so many lives and gave so much to the service of humanity. Today, as we honour this rare gem of a dad, my super hero father, I boldly confess that “he fought the good fight, He finished the race, he kept the faith. Now there is in store for him the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to him on that day and not only to him, but also to all who have longed for the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ”. (2 Tim 4:7-8)
Rev Benjamin Oladiran Olarewaju was born into a polygamous family. Having lost both of his parents at a very young age, he was confronted with enormous challenges and suddenly had to fend for himself in the wilderness of life. He quickly learnt to be emotionally and intellectually independent. Even though he had every valid reasons and all legitimate excuses to justify a lifetime of failure and conformity to a certain norm, he nonetheless refused vehemently to let circumstances relegate him into an underdog status. Daddy chose to take the high roads at all times, raising his banner very high and recognizing that an appointment with destiny was definitely not for comfort seekers. He followed his parents to farm for most part of his childhood, he was later enrolled into Oke-Ese Methodist primary school, Ilesha, at a very matured age. Probably the oldest boy in his class and possibly taunted and called all kinds of ridiculous names by classmates, who knows? Nevertheless, he rose above every obstacle, believing that impossible was absolutely nothing!
Daddy believed in the same philosophy as former World boxing champion, that Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. He believed that Impossible is not a fact. It's just an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing
His academic brilliance at school quickly earned him an immediate recognition. He was offered employment as a teacher in the same primary school where he studied. Ironically, those who probably laughed at him being the oldest man in class soon began to show some respect. Being a go-getter that our daddy naturally was, he continued relentlessly in the pursuit of a better future for himself and also a decent family that he once envisaged.
He wouldn’t settle down far too long at the same spot in his life’s pursuit but continuously ensuring that if he couldn’t fly then run, if he couldn’t run then walk, if he couldn’t walk then crawl, but whatever he did, daddy made sure that he kept moving forward. He was saving money and leveraging constantly on every previous success to further his career growth.
My father’s approach to his own self education and self-empowerment is an encouragement to many of us today. He was absolutely determined and fully committed to paying the price and getting himself a good education. Until his death, my father was always encouraging, facilitating and influencing academic or moral development in the life of everyone around him.
In his late 40s and early 50s, a time when many people in that mid-life age group would rather belittle themselves as being intellectually done for any further studies, our daddy was still breaking new grounds and attaining even greater heights. He enrolled at the Emmanuel College of Theology in Ibadan for diploma courses and subsequently became an ordained priest of the Methodist Church Nigeria. We later nick-named him “The Reverend Gentleman” and we would all laugh about it around the house. Daddy was always full of humor, it was fun hanging around with him, yet so strict and very uncompromising with child discipline. As if that was not enough, our Reverend gentleman also went ahead to enroll again at his alma mater, the University of Ibadan, for post graduate studies. He later graduated in 1982 with Masters in Guidance & Counselling.
I have just lost a mentor of a dad. He was my life coach. Many of his words, warnings and instructions have become my life’s blueprint. Daddy was a living example of hope personified, perseverance, persistence, self-discipline and Contentment. Through the prisms of his own life experiences, I could relate quite easily to many of the biblical principles that he preached to his congregation on Sundays. One of the lessons learnt from his tough but fulfilling challenges in life was a realization that hard-work truly pays. The only antidote to poverty, my father always says, is education.
Success without a successor has always been a major concern in the lives of many great people in our society today. My father left behind a strong team of successors in children, cousins, neighbors, students, friends and everyone who passed through his training. I am one of the successors that my great dad left behind. My father was able to discipline himself to delay short term gratifications in order to enjoy long term rewards. In today’s world, we are confronted with obsessions and pressure for instant pleasures which most times, rob us of our God given potentials to fully mature with grace. Consequently, we end up with a belligerent society of matured toddlers and pre-matured adults. They are petulant, impatient, grumpy, short-temperedand always blaming others for their own self-inflicted misadventures.
Daddy went through the storms of life without developing any complacency towards life. He was confronted with sad and unfortunate realities of survival at a very young age after losing his mum, dad and very close step brother (my uncle) but he approached life with an uncommon courage. He was hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8)
Daddy retired as a Methodist clergy from the Oke Ese Methodist Church in Ilesha Osun State Nigeria. He was very passionate about methodism and everything that the Methodist church Christian community represented. Founded by John Wesley, the great English cleric, theologian and evangelist, the Methodist church was at the very core of everything my father believed in. He dedicated his entire life in the Methodist ministry to tentmaking, preaching the good news and overseeing smaller parishes (circuits) without receiving any salary in returns. I remember a discussion with him sometimes ago, concerning people jumping from one church denomination to another. He told me that it would be a taboo for him to relinquish his Methodist faith for anything else. He said he was fully committed to live and die as a Methodist regardless of any circumstance. He told me that even if the presbyter (pastor in charge) flogs him with ten strokes of cane daily, he will rise up and say “thank you Sir” and he will return back to his seat. This summarizes the depth of my father’s loyalty to the Methodist church. He was very generous to the church and gave freely without any grudging.
Asides from Methodism, our daddy was also an erudite scholar, a seasoned teacher and an icon of knowledge. After 35 years of meritorious teaching service, he retired as a senior civil servant with the Federal Ministry of Education. His final place of assignment before retirement was at the Federal Government Girls College (FGGC) in Oyo, Oyo State Nigeria. He was a guidance counsellor with the college and also a teacher of Bible Knowledge (BK) which was later known as the Christian Religious Studies (CRS).
Daddy was very passionate about the educational wellbeing of any child. He loved children very passionately. He believed that every child is God’s perfect creation; They are beautiful, awesome and deserving of a good education. He offered free, voluntary teaching services to public secondary schools where teachers were lacking in CRS, preparing students for the West African Examinations (WAEC) exams without receiving any financial benefit from either students or the school authorities in return.
I am full of gratitude to God Almighty for blessing me with an earthly father whose accomplishments I will forever relish with a sense of pride. We will ensure that his legacies are well preserved in our schools and homes to raise awareness about the hidden potentials on the inside of every individual to change the world around them.
Our daddy lived a very fulfilled life. Though starting very small but he finished his race on a very large and convincing note. His areas of influence in terms of people who went through his training, transcends his place of birth and extends far beyond the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
My father passed away peacefully on 17th Jan 2019. When my children come of age, I will tell them the loving story of a caring grand-father who truly loves everyone.
Adieu daddy.
Written By : Dele Olarewaju
