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By Kunle Somorin
Ogun State is unique in many ways. Geographically, it is the “Gateway State” because it shares land or sea boundaries with four states – Lagos, Oyo, Ondo and Osun – and an international boundary with Benin Republic. The state is also known for its rich cultural heritage, fertile land, breathtaking scenery and unique sights and sounds. However, Ogun’s proudest export, both nationally and internationally, has always been its excellent people.
The state has produced an unmatched array of stars in all areas of human endeavour. So blessed is Ogun among states that it recently had the rarest opportunity to celebrate three of its greatest icons in one single week!
On Tuesday, July 12, 2022, Emeritus Professor Theophilus Ogunlesi clocked 99, having being born on July 12, 1923. As one of the leading lights in Nigeria’s medical research and education, the nonagenarian needs no introduction.
The next day, another icon, this time a giant of literature and literary studies, clocked 88. Of course, the person in mention is no other than Professor Wole Soyinka.
On July 15, 2022, two days after Soyinka clocked 88, the respected journalist, media mogul and politician, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, also celebrated his 83rd birthday.
In his tribute to the doyen of Medicine in Nigeria, Professor Emeritus Theophilus Oladipo Ogunlesi, His Excellency Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, described the first Professor of Medicine in Nigeria as a rare gift to the nation and the medical profession across the world. The governor noted that Ogunlesi had trained many other professors and medical experts in Nigeria and abroad.
Prince Abiodun also showered encomium on the world renowned playwright and Nobel Laureate prize winner in Literature, Professor Wole Soyinka at 88, describing him as a rarest breed of mankind and one who has straddled planet earth with exceptional candour.
In separate tributes personally penned by Prince Abiodun, he said of Soyinka: “Ogun is proud to have a son who studied a language; began to teach the owners of the language the language, and invented words for the language, which the owners of the language have never heard of and now which has become regular lexicon of the, or if you like, their language.
“Professor Wole Soyinka, an emeritus Professor of Comparative Literature and the Black race’s first Nobel Laureate in the Arts of Beautiful Letter (Literature) means many things to different people. To the literary world and the academia, he is celebrated as Kongi, the wordsmith. To the dictators and enemies of democracy, he is a fiery civil fighter. To lovers of democracy, he represents the best in the promotion of people’s rights and good governance, while he remains a father, husband, leader, mentor, hunter and connoisseur of best brewed wines to his buddies.”
On the occasion of Emeritus Professor Ogunlesi’s 99th birthday, Prince Abiodun noted how he pioneered research on Tropical Medicine and mentored the earliest generations of orthodox medical practitioners and researchers. “I felicitate with Emeritus Professor Theophilus Ogunlesi on his 99th birthday. Professor Ogunlesi deserves to be celebrated today, not just for enjoying the rare grace of clocking the age but for living a life dedicated to setting up principles that impact society positively. Amongst others, Prof’s status as Nigeria’s first Professor of Medicine has set Ogun State on the global map, where other states envy. I am delighted to wish Professor Ogunlesi a memorable birth anniversary, with prayers of renewed strength.”
Prince Abiodun also extolled the virtues of Aremo Osoba, former governor of the state and frontline politician, describing him as a model in exemplary leadership and service to fatherland. Abiodun said Aremo remains a towering figure in the political firmament of Ogun State and Nigeria.
Born in Sagamu in Ogun State on July 12, 1923, to a blacksmith, Ogunlesi went to St Paul Primary School in Sagamu from 1931-35 and proceeded to CMS Grammar School in Lagos from 1936-40. He went to Higher College in Yaba between1941 and 42. He was inspired for the medical profession by R.L Oluwole, a son of bishop Oluwole, who recommended him for a scholarship after his programme at the Yaba Higher College in 1942. Ogunlesi started on the path of the medical profession in 1947 through the Yaba Medical School. He later went to the University of London in 1953 and subsequently qualified as a medical officer in Britain, registered in England. The nonagenarian physician was conferred with a medicine professorship by the University of Ibadan in 1965 four years after joining the institution’s Department of Medicine.
Born on July 13, 1934, Soyinka attended Government College, Ibadan, and subsequently University College Ibadan and the University of Leeds in England. After studying in Nigeria and the UK, he worked with the Royal Court Theatre in London. As a playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language, Soyinka was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first sub-Saharan African to be honoured in that category. As an activist and civil rights worker, he was arrested by the Federal Government and put in solitary confinement for two years for volunteering to be a non-government mediating actor during the Civil War in 1967. In December 2017, Soyinka was awarded the Europe Theatre Prize in the “Special Prize” category awarded to someone who has contributed to the realisation of cultural events that promote understanding and the exchange of knowledge between peoples.
Born on July 15, 1939, Osoba started his career in journalism in 1964 working with the Daily Times as a trainee reporter covering crime stories and by 1966, he was the diplomatic correspondent of the Times. Nine years later, in August 1975, he became the Editor of the Daily Times of Nigeria. As a journalist, he worked as correspondent for the British Broadcasting Corporation, The Times of London, Newsweek Magazine and United Press International News Agency. As a politician, Osoba was elected on two occasions as Governor of Ogun State.
As these glass ceiling-shattering, illustrious sons of Ogun clock 99, 88 and 83 respectively, it is pertinent on the Ogun people to renew their collective resolve to raise the next generation of citizens who will fly the flag of the state and sustain its enviable place as the state which produces the highest calibre of excellent individuals whose contributions to humanity bring glory and pride to the Gateway State.
•Somorin is the Chief Press Secretary to Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun
