TRIBUTE TO MY LATE UNCLE, OBA KAYODE OLUWATUYI, THE OSOLO OF ISOLO
By Rotimi Ogunleye
“I am a product of his benevolence”
Writing a tribute in memory of a man who made remarkable impacts in the life of many people, and succeeded roundly in many other spheres, will be a difficult task. This is true of Oba Kayode Oluwatuyi, the late Osolo of Isolo..
To me, no word will be sufficient to describe the sacrificial life he lived, and the services he rendered to Isolo community and those he mentored and assisted to realise their potentials, before he danced the last dance, and got reunited with his ancestors.
Today, officially, we commemorate the 10th year of his departure as we celebrate his times and deeds while on this side. We are all aware, at least, of how his intervention birthed a major turnaround in our life endeavours.
For those who understood the enormity of Oba Kayode Oluwatuyi’s staunchness, he, when convinced about anything, was a lion with the compassion of a dove for the good of his people.
He was a king with a cassock of love and palace of accommodation for the less privileged. He was a man who preached education to all and lent support as much as he could.for the growing ones who desired it but lack the enablement.
A specific memory of my encounter stands out. After my secondary school education, I was determined, ignorantly though, to learn tailoring, leading me to put my father in the know. So, I resumed at the tailoring shop near our house at Isolo.
After about three months or thereabout, my father informed me that Kabiesi would love to see me. I took time off and went with him to his private house to see a brother whose opinion was the only decision my father was waiting for to either consent to my proposal or reject it.
Right on his sofa where he sat majestically in his living room, befitting of a king, Oba Kayode Oluwatuyi pronounced the judgement that dealt a fatal blow on my ambition of becoming a tailor in future. His words: “Rotimi, you have the potentials if you are supported to resit for your papers. Your first attempt was encouraging, given the challenges of environment and the school you attended”. He took me in, and that was how I dropped the idea of tailoring.
Oba Oluwatuyi was a vigorous leader who fought for the greatness of his community. He lived for his people, his family and for mankind. His house was a place of envy for those who could not lend their abode for their extended family members. Many of those who passed through him are today professionals in different areas of life endeavours and successful persons in their chosen trade. I am a product of his benevolence.
His reign as the king in the ancestral land that we all belong was historical, with many landmarks. Isolo Market, Isolo Community Primary School and the face-lift that adorned Osolo palace, with modern aesthetics, were some of the few deliverables his tenure brought to our community. He used his resources and influence to press for the recognition of the stool of Osolo in the comity of Obas in Ondo state.
Affable and avuncular, he was loved by his people, due to his sense of humour, unequalled philantrophy and concern for the well-being of others. For us, we will miss his random jokes he always cracked with us during his pass times. All of us had nicknames with which he comfortably related with us.
It is good night to a splendid king that inhabited the happiness of his people. Such is the life of Oba Oluwatuyi, the Osolo of Isolo.
May the soul of our King continue to rest in peace.
*Rotimi Ogunleye, a Chartered Accountant and Tax Consultant, is the Managing Partner of Williams Rotimi & Co, a firm of Chartered Accountants based in Akure.
