Ojelabi Honoured With 80th Posthumous Birthday Celebration and Presentation of His Book

Words By Paul Ukpabio, Pix By King Solomon Ekhaiyeme

It was Honours Day last Sunday evening for the Ojelabi family, but more particularly for Late Chief  Adekunle Ojelabi who would have turned 80 last week.

Pastor Dotun Ojelabi, the Senior Pastor of Covenant Harvest Christian International Ministry in highbrow Lekki area of Lagos and other prominent children, hosted the event on behalf of their late father.

The venue was at the prestigious Oriental Hotels in Lekki where the high and mighty, came out to celebrate the great historian and also launch his book.

The late Ojelabi was a known prolific writer, who worked on a number of books on history and government, the most popular being “A textbook of Government for West Africa” written in co-operation with Areoye Oyebola and Boluwaji Olaniyan and a Textbook of West African History which he had sole authorship rights. He was equally the Treasurer of the Nigerian Union of Teachers 1967-1972 and the General Secretary of the Association of History Teachers of Nigeria. He had interest in Drama, Chess, Music, Swimming, Literature and educational pursuits.

To celebrate him last Sunday were eminent personalities. The special guest of honour, the ex-Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, was ably represented by his wife Mrs. Bola Obasanjo.

Teacher, Lawyer and activist Pastor Tunde Bakare was also ably represented by Mr O. Enang, while Nigerian billionaire entrepreneur Director, Tonye Patrick Cole was there to take charge of the launch of the book and also the launch of a new Foundation in Late Ojelabi’s name.

The church came en masse to the event place, and there were ministers of God from different churches. Both the Pentecostal church and the orthodox churches were there to grace the occasion. Pastor Wale Adefarasin was there and so also was ex Lagos Deputy Governor, Mr Femi Pedro.

At the event, Late Adekunle Ojelabi’s friend Professor Stephen Adebanji Akintoye an ex-Senator, who flew in from Pennsylvania in the USA for the event, received a standing ovation for his brilliant lecture on the state of history as a subject in the country. It was also an evening where scholars and historians shared their views about the historical perspective of Africa, and particularly West Africa.