Dear Friends and Compatriots,
I would like to thank you all for your birthday
wishes, I am forever grateful to each and every one of you. I took my time to
read each message and read every message; my 46th birthday went like
every other birthday, a normal day no fanfare, few phone calls and a prayer or
two from my two darling sisters.
Since I am not one for birthday parties and
celebrations, its been my tradition in recent years to write one or two
personal stories on my birthday, it was extremely pleasing that I was able to
spend the day in my city of birth Lagos and please find below the words that
came to my mind, forgive me if you find the personal story boring and
apolitical but I am hoping the story will strike one or two friends. Thank you
again and may the good Lord bless each and every one of you, may God forgive us
our sins and give our leaders and followers alike the wisdom to turn liberate
Nigeria from Nigerians.
Yours truly,
Kayode Ogundamisi
Joseph and Rabi - The Two Icons Who Built My Character - Kayode Ogundamisi
I was born on the 12th of August 1968 in Mushin, Lagos
Nigeria. My mother told me I was delivered by an ‘elewe omo’ (traditional
midwifes who use local herbs in the practice of medicine).
My arrival into Nigeria was as a result of the union
between a liberal Christian father whose main hobby was telling stories
of heroic and not so heroic tales of his experience as a young man who served
in Nigeria’s military.
Joseph My father
migrated from Ikare Akoko and marries his fellow Akoko ‘girlfriend’ in Lagos.
My Fathers greatest gift to me was his unrelenting repetition of the phrase
“Kayode I will tell you over and over again, contentment is the key to peace of
mind”.
My mother was the opposite, a strong Muslim, extremely
ambitious, courageous and sometimes carefree to the point that we felt she
didn’t care about her children.
My mum would say “go and wander in the forest,
go and survive, that is the reality of life”. She is the mother who would be
told her son had gotten into a fight and would simply shrug her shoulders
replying, “that is what a man should do to survive”. Till date I am still
trying to understand my mother.
Here is one woman who in one day found Lagos too ‘fake
and unwelcoming’ and simply gathered her belongings, left Lagos to settle not
in the urban town of Ikare but the deep farmlands in the village, farming,
trading, engaging in local politics and also rebellious in every way. Her first
love was the Akoko land, the cocoa farm, I still cant understand her love for
farming, she speaks to the land, her spiritual attachment
to planting and
harvesting is still a mystery.
When I listen to my father discuss his role during the
Nigerian civil war and how I was born as he was away fighting to keep Nigeria
one. All I saw was the picture of my mother in the trenches; my father never
cut the picture of someone who could hurt a fly, he was principled but reserved,
stubborn with a difference, several time i have witnessed him conceding every
inch of any argument to my mother.
It was my father who taught me how to cook, how to
wash dishes after every meal, how not to go to bed without having your bath,
how to respect others without losing your own dignity, how to stay away from an
argument if it will lead to violence. He was the soldier with the touch of a
woman and you know, women are perceived to be weak but in reality strong in
every sense of the word.
It was Joseph Ogundamisi who showered me with the love
of MOTHER & FATHER but it was my strong mother who conferred courage on me.
It was she who set me free at an early stage in life, and to her I owe a lot
when it comes to my spirit of resilience but to both of them I owe ALL and it
is to the glory of God, the love of Late Joseph Ogundamisi and the indomitable
spirit of my mother that today August 12 2014, precisely 46 years after she
gave birth to me that what they bestowed on me is the resolute belief that
nothing is more satisfying than a duty to humanity, a duty to serve those whose
voices may be trampled on.
It is to them that I owe my appreciation of the fact
that serving your community and being involved in activities to make your
country better is not a gift to your people but a privilege.
My country and my community do not owe me a thank you
for thinking about the downtrodden, I owe God a lot for giving me the privilege
to appreciate that walking away into your own comfort zone when others are
suffering is the greatest disservice to humanity.
And when people wonder why I don’t get shaken by
attempts to arm-twist me, or force me into a path I am not convince is right, they
fail to see that I am a product of 2 great icons and today, I say thank you to
a father who left the world in hurry and a big loving thank you to a mother we
breathed courage into my lungs.
Kayode Ogundamisi
Lagos-Nigeria
12th August 12, 2014
