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My Tribute to Pastor Tolu, My Pillar and Backbone
by Dr Peter Kehinde Mogaji
My brother, Pastor Tolu, you came, we lived together for decades, but suddenly, you left us to glory. Yes, your death was devastating, yet I have to come up with my tribute to your despite the difficulty caused by my ‘heavy heart’ in putting together such tribute.
In my heart, you will forever be loved and cherished for those ‘saving love and care’ you demonstrated in my life (and in the lives of other siblings and others) while you were with us. Your attitude towards our lives as siblings were those of care and affection. You would always want to us live our lives suffering-free by connecting us with the right people within appropriate atmosphere towards achieving our life goals within our chosen careers. In your show of care, I always remember the day you asked me in the early 1990s: ‘What’s Taye doing in Akure? He should come to Lagos even if it would cause us all living together, drinking gari’. Taking after our father’s (Pastor MD Mogaji’s) large heartedness, benevolence and generosity towards everyone, you provided and supported us all (Brother Femi, Taye, Kehinde, Idowu and Alaba) with initial long-term temporary accommodation, living with you in Ibadan (Old-Ife Road, Ajeigbe Bus-Stop in Challenge area) and in Lagos (Iju, idimu and Ketu) despite further associated costs.
Creating atmosphere of fun among us your younger siblings within Pastor MD Mogaji’s household in those early 1970s days, you formed our ‘family military unit’ you tagged as the ‘3rd Marine Commando’ (probably taken after a Nigerian Civil War unit led by Colonel Bejamin Adekunle). As our ‘military unit head’, you, ‘Field Marshall Atole Mambo’ led us in our military parades usually within the filled foundation of the then under-construction building of CAC Oke-Isegun Headquarters, Akure. You appointed me, ‘Brigadier Kennedy Mambo’ was the next in command to you. You also extended this military fun to propel us to work on our father’s farm in those days by giving your command whenever we wanted to start weeding on farm: ‘Third Marine Commado! Everybody, take position. One, two, three, four….’, and we would all start working fast and hard to achieve our tasks on farm.
You were very protective. The protection you gave me as your sibling, a junior student in the boarding house in Oyemekun Grammar School Akure, where we both had our secondary school education is what I will always remember. You were in Form 4 when I was in Form 1. Despite you living in far-away White House, you shielded me away from those dreadful seniors in Deji House. You prevented me from being part of the early morning hard ‘General Work’ and Operation Feed Nation (OFN)’ by drafting me to be a ‘sweeper’ in charge of the school buttery and dispensary which you were appointed to manage and oversee by the school authority.
In my banking career, you showed your care for me. I will all remember that you were the first family member to show up physical on-spot when as Branch Manager, my branches were attacked and robbed by heavily armed robbers of 1997 and in 1999. In the case of Owo Branch robbery, you stood by me throughout with the police investigations and ‘questionable’ interrogations. While I was under those post-banking life threatening heavy spiritual attacks (ignited by my indirect confrontation of those work-place secret society), from your Ondo town duty point, you were checking on me at home on my sick bed in Akure, almost every day for the over-6-month period of those attacks. On a particular day, you met me in severe pains while lying on a sofa, as the attacks got to the turn of my two knees, swollen with intense terribly smelling body fluid gushing out, you asked God a question that lingers in my brain till today that: ‘Iru adanwo Jobu wo l’eyi, Olorun?’ (Meaning: ‘What kind of (biblical) Job’s affliction is this, God’). I survived those intense spiritual afflictions truly, but painfully it’s unfortunate that you did not survive your’s. God knows the best.
You had a great influence in my coming to live, study and work in the UK. You were a strong backbone in the UK, giving me supports I needed every time, every moment. Due to what happened a decade ago during my doctoral (PhD) study years, I would have suddenly experienced sleeping rough on the street of London homelessly, but you came to my quick rescue and averted the possible catastrophic effects on my doctoral studies. This rescue of your loved brother is a source of disaffection to some till date. Your financial supports for the take-off doctoral studies as well as those moral and ‘family supports’ throughout my studies against all odds, would always on my mind. In 2016, as I was returning hopelessly to the UK after our mother’s burial to round of my thesis submission within the less than 2 months deadline, you turned my hopelessness to hopefulness by allowing my ‘second-coming’ with those great homely care and concern towards my survival within those difficulties and pains of doctoral studies. You and our daddy, Baba Toluwase also joined me in fighting post-thesis submission spiritual wars to the glory of God.
You were my propeller when it comes to attending many CAC programmes, events and anniversaries here in the UK. I appreciated the fact that you understood the reasons behind my reluctance in this regard. You always asked: Will you attend this anniversary or that programme? Don’t worry I will drop you at home after the event’. You always exhorted and encouraged me that one cannot stand afar watching simply because things are not done in the CAC-doctrine ways in many instances here and because of those apparent church-politics within the fold; and that one should still join the force (always making references Baba Toluwase’s exhortation in this regard). Although, we might have differences caused by our opposing schools of church administration and management thoughts/biblical interpretations (as matters of principles and practices); these never played down our close relationship as siblings/brothers. Now, my propeller is broken, and my driving force is gone.
Even up till your last days, on your sick bed in hospital despite what you were going through, you still exhibited your care and affection towards me when you asked me, 12 days to your demise: ‘Iwo naa n ko bayi, ti ori maa n fo nigba gbogbo?’ (Meaning: What about you also, experiencing incessant headache?’). My response to your question was that the headaches were cause work-related stress and that the headache would soon subside as I would soon proceed on leave to take things easy. One further assurance I gave you on this same day as I moved closer to you on bed was that nothing bad would happen to you and that you would not die, given the reason that if such would happen to you as my sibling it would have been revealed to me. I could not tell you before you left this world that the voice I heard around 2am the following morning (11 days to your death) was a voice that sang the first two lines of a common funeral song into my ears on my bed: ‘A o pade l’ese Jesu, nibi ti a ko ni y’ara wa’ (Meaning: We shall meet at Jesus’s feet, where we will not depart from each other’). I woke up sad; but the better and glorious assurance is that we shall meet at Jesus’s feet.
Sleep on my beloved brother, Pastor Isaac Toluwase Ekundayo Mogaji. Sun un re o. A o pade l’ese Jesu.
By: Dr Peter Kehinde Mogaji (Brother, Sibling)
by Dr Peter Kehinde Mogaji
My brother, Pastor Tolu, you came, we lived together for decades, but suddenly, you left us to glory. Yes, your death was devastating, yet I have to come up with my tribute to your despite the difficulty caused by my ‘heavy heart’ in putting together such tribute.
In my heart, you will forever be loved and cherished for those ‘saving love and care’ you demonstrated in my life (and in the lives of other siblings and others) while you were with us. Your attitude towards our lives as siblings were those of care and affection. You would always want to us live our lives suffering-free by connecting us with the right people within appropriate atmosphere towards achieving our life goals within our chosen careers. In your show of care, I always remember the day you asked me in the early 1990s: ‘What’s Taye doing in Akure? He should come to Lagos even if it would cause us all living together, drinking gari’. Taking after our father’s (Pastor MD Mogaji’s) large heartedness, benevolence and generosity towards everyone, you provided and supported us all (Brother Femi, Taye, Kehinde, Idowu and Alaba) with initial long-term temporary accommodation, living with you in Ibadan (Old-Ife Road, Ajeigbe Bus-Stop in Challenge area) and in Lagos (Iju, idimu and Ketu) despite further associated costs.
Creating atmosphere of fun among us your younger siblings within Pastor MD Mogaji’s household in those early 1970s days, you formed our ‘family military unit’ you tagged as the ‘3rd Marine Commando’ (probably taken after a Nigerian Civil War unit led by Colonel Bejamin Adekunle). As our ‘military unit head’, you, ‘Field Marshall Atole Mambo’ led us in our military parades usually within the filled foundation of the then under-construction building of CAC Oke-Isegun Headquarters, Akure. You appointed me, ‘Brigadier Kennedy Mambo’ was the next in command to you. You also extended this military fun to propel us to work on our father’s farm in those days by giving your command whenever we wanted to start weeding on farm: ‘Third Marine Commado! Everybody, take position. One, two, three, four….’, and we would all start working fast and hard to achieve our tasks on farm.
You were very protective. The protection you gave me as your sibling, a junior student in the boarding house in Oyemekun Grammar School Akure, where we both had our secondary school education is what I will always remember. You were in Form 4 when I was in Form 1. Despite you living in far-away White House, you shielded me away from those dreadful seniors in Deji House. You prevented me from being part of the early morning hard ‘General Work’ and Operation Feed Nation (OFN)’ by drafting me to be a ‘sweeper’ in charge of the school buttery and dispensary which you were appointed to manage and oversee by the school authority.
In my banking career, you showed your care for me. I will all remember that you were the first family member to show up physical on-spot when as Branch Manager, my branches were attacked and robbed by heavily armed robbers of 1997 and in 1999. In the case of Owo Branch robbery, you stood by me throughout with the police investigations and ‘questionable’ interrogations. While I was under those post-banking life threatening heavy spiritual attacks (ignited by my indirect confrontation of those work-place secret society), from your Ondo town duty point, you were checking on me at home on my sick bed in Akure, almost every day for the over-6-month period of those attacks. On a particular day, you met me in severe pains while lying on a sofa, as the attacks got to the turn of my two knees, swollen with intense terribly smelling body fluid gushing out, you asked God a question that lingers in my brain till today that: ‘Iru adanwo Jobu wo l’eyi, Olorun?’ (Meaning: ‘What kind of (biblical) Job’s affliction is this, God’). I survived those intense spiritual afflictions truly, but painfully it’s unfortunate that you did not survive your’s. God knows the best.
You had a great influence in my coming to live, study and work in the UK. You were a strong backbone in the UK, giving me supports I needed every time, every moment. Due to what happened a decade ago during my doctoral (PhD) study years, I would have suddenly experienced sleeping rough on the street of London homelessly, but you came to my quick rescue and averted the possible catastrophic effects on my doctoral studies. This rescue of your loved brother is a source of disaffection to some till date. Your financial supports for the take-off doctoral studies as well as those moral and ‘family supports’ throughout my studies against all odds, would always on my mind. In 2016, as I was returning hopelessly to the UK after our mother’s burial to round of my thesis submission within the less than 2 months deadline, you turned my hopelessness to hopefulness by allowing my ‘second-coming’ with those great homely care and concern towards my survival within those difficulties and pains of doctoral studies. You and our daddy, Baba Toluwase also joined me in fighting post-thesis submission spiritual wars to the glory of God.
You were my propeller when it comes to attending many CAC programmes, events and anniversaries here in the UK. I appreciated the fact that you understood the reasons behind my reluctance in this regard. You always asked: Will you attend this anniversary or that programme? Don’t worry I will drop you at home after the event’. You always exhorted and encouraged me that one cannot stand afar watching simply because things are not done in the CAC-doctrine ways in many instances here and because of those apparent church-politics within the fold; and that one should still join the force (always making references Baba Toluwase’s exhortation in this regard). Although, we might have differences caused by our opposing schools of church administration and management thoughts/biblical interpretations (as matters of principles and practices); these never played down our close relationship as siblings/brothers. Now, my propeller is broken, and my driving force is gone.
Even up till your last days, on your sick bed in hospital despite what you were going through, you still exhibited your care and affection towards me when you asked me, 12 days to your demise: ‘Iwo naa n ko bayi, ti ori maa n fo nigba gbogbo?’ (Meaning: What about you also, experiencing incessant headache?’). My response to your question was that the headaches were cause work-related stress and that the headache would soon subside as I would soon proceed on leave to take things easy. One further assurance I gave you on this same day as I moved closer to you on bed was that nothing bad would happen to you and that you would not die, given the reason that if such would happen to you as my sibling it would have been revealed to me. I could not tell you before you left this world that the voice I heard around 2am the following morning (11 days to your death) was a voice that sang the first two lines of a common funeral song into my ears on my bed: ‘A o pade l’ese Jesu, nibi ti a ko ni y’ara wa’ (Meaning: We shall meet at Jesus’s feet, where we will not depart from each other’). I woke up sad; but the better and glorious assurance is that we shall meet at Jesus’s feet.
Sleep on my beloved brother, Pastor Isaac Toluwase Ekundayo Mogaji. Sun un re o. A o pade l’ese Jesu.
By: Dr Peter Kehinde Mogaji (Brother, Sibling)