AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
Citizens have been urged to live a life of service for the benefit of mankind in general in line with the perfect will of God rather than focusing attention on selfish needs.
The Chaplain, Chapel of Resurrection, University of Ibadan, Ven. VI Oladele and Prof. Victoria Adetunji, among others gave the charge in Ibadan, at the precinct of the Christian Wake Keep Service of Dr Joshua Oyewole Orojobi, a former senior lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State.
Orojobi, a native of Modakeke, who passed on at age 87, survived by a wife and seven children, was described as a gem who was given to serving the people regardless of the cost of doing so.
Noting that death is the ultimate end of every human being, they harped on the need for all to aspire to leave behind a worthy legacy that could stand the test of time.
Oladele said that the success rate of a man could not be measured by material acquisitions but by the number of lives that he touched while he was alive.
Prof. Adetunji, one of the daughters of the deceased, said that “My father added value to the lives of many people as he showed concern to their growth and development. He lived a life worthy of emulation and we are proud of him. He brought us up in the fear of God.”
Earlier in his sermon at the wake, Ven. TB Oluwalusi, made reference to the book of Numbers 23, 10, which read, ‘Let me die the death of the righteous and let my end be as his.’
The clergyman urged the family of the deceased, saying, “Let us not be sorrowful as those who do not have hope. Pa Orojobi took care of his family. He trained his children and gave them education. He invested in the lives of others. One of his children is a professor at the University of Ibadan.
“He lived purposefully, he did not just spend his time anyhow. As we look at his life, we should give thanks to God. He died at age 87. Nobody would want the loved ones to go out of the world, but we should take solace in the fact that he had rested from his labour.”
The man of God said that the fact remains that life must come to an end one day, stressing that “As we thank God for the life of baba today, I want to ask, have you given your life to Christ? At this time of Lent, I want to charge us to focus on what matters. And, what matters is life eternal where there is no more pain. Angels come to usher the righteous into eternal life.
“Brothers and sisters, let us live righteously so that on the day we depart this world, we would be received in heaven. Let the truth dwell in you.”
His wife, Mrs. Olayinka Mary, and children, Victoria Olusola, Bosede Felicia, Shayo Adeniyi, Bunmi Alege, Olukunle, Yomi, and Olajumoke Pearse, expressed appreciation to those in attendance for the ceremony, saying that it was a honour worthy of note.
