Series 1
I have pondered on this for a few weeks now – penning down my memories of my dad, whom by all standards wasn’t your average man. As a husband, he loved my mum to the heavens. As a father, he was a provider, a priest, a prophet and a protector. As a medical doctor and priest, he deeply cared. This will be a series of posts, pictures and maybe videos too, to celebrate his life and times.A difficult season of my life, had me pondering what my dad would have done, how would he have counselled me? Well, this has been my attitude since dad made his rest with the Lord. In his lifetime, he was a very present father. He gave, he taught, he loved, he bore our hurt and he was a fan – he believed in my siblings and I and would instil in us the confidence we needed. He would champion our cause and push us as best as he can. He was not rich but we never lacked. Somehow, we always got the things we needed, not because he had the means to but because he belonged to and served the God of all flesh, who made all things. So when you make any request of him, he wouldn’t dismise your request but was quick to add “the Lord will provide”. I always thought, this is cliché, not until I see the manifestation of his faith.I thought, his life and times could also be an inspiration for others, just as it has for me. Perhaps I should give some background into his early life, to give some perspective. Born into the royal and noble Adeyefa family of Ogbon-Oya in Ile-Ife on a good Friday, the 11th of April 1949, to Canon Samuel Adedoja Adeyefa and Mrs Beatrice Afoluke Adeyefa (Both of blessed memory), dad’s path and walk to fulfilling purpose was set. His dad was the first indigenous graduate from Ife and later the first African principal of Oduduwa college in Ile-Ife, a position he held for many years till he became a senior lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. His mother was an educationist and went on to study nursing in Surrey, England. Dad was the 2nd of seven siblings born of his mother. Tragedy struck when she died at the age of 44, leaving behind 7 kids including a baby. Dad had just completed Medical School 8 years later, when his father took ill briefly and died. Dad would often speak about his parents and you could tell sometimes the pain he bore at their early demise.When life dealt him lemons, he made lemonade of it. He didn’t allow this tragedy get in the way of whom he later became. Through hardwork, determination and an encounter with Christ in 1980, he found God’s eternal purpose for his life and lived it.

By Doja AdeyeOluwa