This Friday, August 18,all roads will lead to the Oodua House,located at 14 Ezekiel Street, off Toyin street, Ikeja, Lagos, where the Oodua People’s Congress’ (OPC) will be organising a special birthday party for the National General Secretary of the organization, Chief Babajide Tanimowo,who turns 50.
Apart from the party, a book will be unveiled in his honour: The book, titled:” A PATH OF HONOUR: 50 Eventful Years of Chief Babajide Tanimowo is a research effort painstakingly put together by me to celebrate the life of a brilliant and interesting personality.
Life itself is like a book with different chapters.Those chapters determine the various aspects of what we make out of life.
Our characters are the mirrors that other people see, learn and even use to form their judgments about our very being.
Either the good, the bad or the ugly, what really matters most in life is that our lives are true reflections of our characters, and characters are the true reflections of our being.
For me,Chief Babajide Akinkunmi Tanimowo is one exceptional human being, whose entire life, since childhood, has been a long, inspiring story.
Right from his toddling days, Kowope, (the sobriquet by which he’s better known), has consistently showcased an incredible blend of industry, character, integrity and tenacity.
Far from him, even as a teenager and young adult,was the unique entitlement mentality that has always pervaded our space.
His interesting life story truly shows that he is a man that is blessed by fate.
He was a self-made man that rose from nothing to something,and is now becoming one of the most sought-after lawyers in the country.
While growing up, neither he nor his siblings suffered any privation in those days, as their parents were certainly not uncomfortable by any means, but Kowope’s quest for financial freedom propelled him,
at an early age, to move to construction sites where he started working and making little money as a labourer after secondary school hours, much to the chagrin of his parents, who would quickly force him out of that ‘unedifying’ job.
When he came of age, he worked hard to get his parents’ nod to do holiday work with a construction firm.
And when he wasn’t admitted to a university immediately after leaving secondary school, he became an apprentice to a major printer in Somolu, Lagos.
While studying Business Administration at the University of Lagos,Kowope opened his printing office and started making his own money. He would later earn a Master’s in Marketing from the same institution.
His yearning for more personal accomplishments sent him back to the classroom when he sat for another Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and was admitted again to the University of Lagos, this time, to study law.
It is interesting that not a tiny bit of the knowledge he gained in those academic and artisanal backgrounds has ever gone to waste.
Today, Barrister Babajide Tanimowo is a lawyer, printer, businessman, real estate magnate and marketing guru.
He runs his own law firm, a printing outfit and several other businesses. He is not just an employer of labour, he is a wealth creator whose story alone is sufficient to motivate anyone, adult or youngster, to embrace the limitless opportunities that life offers.
A well-travelled man, Chief Babajide Tanimowo is a committed Christian and also the General Secretary of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC). He is also the Atoloye Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland.
How does he navigate through combining all these duties with managing his personal businesses? “It’s the grace of God,he said.
“God has always been good to me right from the beginning of my life”.
“I took risks that ordinarily could be difficult for people of little courage.
It is the grace of God and nothing more”.
If the truth be told,the reason for putting up a book on this great Silk is to tell the world about how Chief Babajide Tanimowo has been impacting his world, bringing smiles to the faces of the people.
Interestingly, Kowope ‘s life story as pictured in the book should be meticulously perused and analysed by the youths.
It tells a story of how a young Nigerian could make a huge success of his life without indulging in cultism, internet fraud (Yahoo-Yahoo or Yahoo-Plus) or any criminal activity.
It is a book that should be very conspicuous in every library, public or private.
While describing the various qualities that stand him out as a great man, Aareonakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams described Chief Tanimowo as someone that is 100 percent loyal to the leader.
“He is someone that you can trust. Someone that you can sleep with your two eyes closed whenever you give him any assignment or duty to do.
“Atoloye is someone that always controls his emotions. Even if I am angry with some issues, some of our leaders will try to connect him to persuade me. He is not a temperamental human being.
“He is someone that loves the Yoruba race, even as he practises one of the most respected professions as a lawyer. He doesn’t toy with the interest of Yoruba people.
“Atoloye is a team-builder.Very blunt, articulate and courageous. He is a complete family man and somebody you can trust.
“He is a promoter of our culture and he is someone that believes in the fact that Nigeria must be run in a proper way. Kowope believes in supporting the interest of the people and that the masses must not suffer,”Iba Gani Adams stated.
“So, when it was time to reward his commitment and loyalty, Aare Gani Adams was in spirit as he honoured him with a special traditional title of Atoloye Aareonakakanfo of Yoruba land.
The title is a reflection of Kowope’s value. It symbolises his true nature. It also showcases his charismatic mien and it affirms his unique qualities as a complete gentleman.
In conclusion,it is apt to say that life is a journey but never a destination.
The most important thing in life is not about the amount of money we have in the banks,the houses or the choice cars we have in our garages, but what matters most is about the way we are able to impact humanity with all the gifts, physical, financial, educational and social that it pleases God to bless us with as a person.
So, as we celebrate the golden boy this Friday, I pray God to bless him with more years,more wisdom and strengths for him to continue to be such a blessing to humanity.
Kehinde Aderemi writes from Lagos.
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