Bro. Olu Adeyemi: A Child of God in Verity
A Tribute and Some Reminiscences
He was at my graduation from the seminary on June 1, 1991, yet I had no recollection of meeting him before church duty called him to prepare my place of residence on assuming the pastorate of New Realm Baptist Church. He was the director of administration and church secretary when I arrive there in July 1991. That first encounter turned out to be the pacesetter for what would be my thirty years of drawing from his unflinching generosity and goodwill. He gave me the free hand to choose the furnishing for the apartment he got for me on behalf of the church, and my colleagues who visited me there could not but be impressed with the quality of the space. It is not a common experience for young pastors assuming duties in our local Baptist churches to be so privileged.
Barely two years later, about April 1993, I received the news of my father’s ill health and admission to the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan. I had strongly desired, as my father prayed for me four years earlier, that he would see me coupled before he died. Bro. Adeyemi sensed my gloomy feelings about my situation and considered it might be unsafe for me to drive to Ibadan alone. So, he joined me on that trip, possibly with the advice and consent of his wife. He prayed with my father and as a Yoruba omoluwabi, quintessential character, he also gave him a cash gift. His company lightened the burden of that journey.
On a lighter note, I did not know he just endured my driving to Ibadan. When we were about to set out on the return journey to Lagos, he said with his characteristic Yoruba courtesy, “Pastor, E je k’emi drive,” meaning, “Pastor, Let me do the driving.” When we hit the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and I watched the car’s speedometer, I could not believe what I saw. I was uneasy but shy to tell him to slow down. Well, we arrived safely and in good time. A few weeks later, I discovered that my speedometer was actually over-reading and his apparent over-speeding was my own lack of experience in driving and managing the car. It was good the restraint of my shyness paid back his patience at our going out.
Another significant expression of his generous spirit occurred barely a year after our trip to Ibadan. About mid-1994, I was with him at his residence in Festac Town when he asked me what I was doing about marriage. I told him I recently met a lady in Port-Harcourt through Mr. Ajayi and that I was planning to write her to indicate my interest in her. He nodded his head in his characteristic poise, and said with solemnity, “Pastooor, Iyan le nse bi oka bayi. Go and meet her (with unmistakable emphasis)!” Paraphrased: “Pastor, you are handling a serious business with lightness. Go and meet her!” The rest, as people say, is story. He and his close friends, Uncle Donatus Ajayi and Deacon Dare Ifelayo were all there for us during our wedding ceremonies. Their wives gave us unforgettable, generous material support; all with self-effacement. What more can one ask for?
Over the years, as I related with Bro. Adeyemi and his family, I witnessed his generous attitude to all and sundry. I saw him care for his parents and siblings. Thankfully, his parents preceded him in transition. And although Bro. Adeyemi was well placed professionally and very sophisticated intellectually, his heart was warm toward his less opportune Iludun-Oro kinspeople. He identified with them in Lagos, in Ilorin and at home. He supported them with his resources and took in a few of their children to live with his family. The young girls from another ethnic group who were assisting the family at the domestic front were no less favored and supported. Like their own children, they gave them decent futures as these girls chose. In this, I and my family took our model from Bro. Olu and his wife, Sis, Yinka, as they incarnated the best of Yoruba cultural values of humility, modesty, generosity and respect for the elderly. Not many with his professional status as a seasoned and well exposed technocrat exemplify these godly traits. It was in retrospect I came to appreciate their values most while studying Christianity and African culture at graduate level in South Africa and Ghana.
I had wished he had the time to rest and enjoy the fruits of his labor after years of diligent service. But our brother was no idle mind. When he retired unscathed from the treacherous federal civil service environment, his active mind found a new direction in academic pursuit and teaching at the university level. He packed so much into life and left behind footprints in the hearts of those of us who knew him. My consolation is that he left behind his wife and children in whom God, in His economy, will vindicate his toil more generously than he served Him. When I spoke with him last December from my own location, he was in Iludun for the festive season. I had not the slightest premonition it would be our last conversation. Barely two months after, it was the news of his possible departure I received, and that departure was confirmed in the early hours of February 23. Bro Olu Adeyemi,
Servant of God, well done!
Rest from your loved employ:
The battle fought, the victory won,
Enter your Master’s joy.
Kehinde Olabimtan
Edmonton, Canada
March 16, 2021