HOMILY PREACHED AT THE 80TH BIRTHDAY THANKSGIVING OF SIR DOMINIC OGUNDIPE AT ST PETER, OTA, 4TH JANUARY 2024. BY FR STEPHEN SOBIYE CDA.

 HOMILY PREACHED AT THE 80TH BIRTHDAY THANKSGIVING OF SIR DOMINIC OGUNDIPE AT ST PETER, OTA, 4TH JANUARY 2024. BY FR STEPHEN SOBIYE CDA. 

“Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers in their generations. The Lord apportioned to them great glory, His majesty from the beginning. There were those who ruled in their kingdoms, and were men renowned for their power, giving counsel by their understanding and proclaiming prophesies; leaders of the people in their deliberations and in understanding of learning for the people, wise in their words of instruction. (Sir 44: 1-4).”

These words taking from the opening 1st four verses of chapter 44 of the book Sirach, is such that Ben Sira, the author of the book described as the “Praise of the Men of Old”. The entire chapter celebrates the heroes of Israel, where wisdom resides. 

I believe my dear brothers and sisters that our gathering of today is of the same nature…. We have all come today to celebrate one of the great men of our times, a true son of the Royal house, one need not ask of your royalty, it is very obvious for everyone to see, a hero of our faith (a worthy grand knight of the Order of St Mulumba), culture and tradition, a father, a good administrator, a man that is exceptionally kind-hearted, a philanthropist per excellence, a very good leader, lover of children and humanity, a season educationist, a passionate engineer by profession and a good lover of sport, especially the game of lawn tennis.

80years ago, the Lord knitted you in the womb of your mother, Alhaja Rafat Aduke Ogundipe and made you a precious gift to the Royal family of the Ogundipe. Today, that same little Oladosu has brought all of us together in this house of the Lord to rejoice with him in thanksgiving to God who has been so gracious and merciful to him these 80years, for keeping him alive till this moment in wealth, in health and prosperity. Indeed yours is a life of grace and favour. I am sure no one will believe you are 80years because you still look healthier and stronger and could even pass for a 60years old man. Today your life bears testimony to the fact that indeed 80 is for those that are strong. 

Attaining the age of 80 is a remarkable feat at any time but especially in our present time. As we give thanks to God for this gift, we thank you also for putting these years at the service of God and humanity. May God continue to strengthen you and provide for you.

Looking back, you can with satisfaction count the ways the Lord has blessed and enabled you to serve in various capacities. May you be duly rewarded in this world and in the world to come.

As you celebrate this important milestone, I believe you will spare a moment for sober reflection and communion with God to express your appreciation to Him for the special gift of life bestowed on you and to pledge the rest of your life and talents to His service.

Won ni igba meta ni igba eda laye, k’ale san wa ju owuro lo. 

I am sure life must have also dealt with you in some certain ways that you had to experience some disappointment, the death of your wife Paula was one of such of moments. May the Lord continue to rest her soul in eternity. But I also believed so strongly that you have enjoyed life in so many ways, and you are still enjoying it till now as a good jolly fellow that you are. We pray you will keep on enjoying it till your last days. 

There was once a time when people look forward to their old age surrounded with children and grandchildren, because there was an honour, dignity and respect accorded to old age. But now, there seem to be a change in our paradigm. To say we live in a youth oriented culture is to say the least. Old age in society is often looked upon as blight, a disease rather than as a normal and even desirable part of one’s life cycle.

Our fashion and beauty worlds give a little attention, if any at all, to our elderly. The beauty industry is so much obsessed with finding creams, lotions and oils that supposedly restore the skin, hide the wrinkles and even reverse the process of aging. The plastic surgery business is now a multi-billion industry.   

Even our language and expression shows our ignorance about old age. We hear people say, “I am not old, I am 80years young”. As much as we say it’s a compliment, we also loose the fact it is a pointer to the idea that the old is bad, the young is good.  

We are as a society, embracing a “throwaway” culture that tends to consider the elderly unimportant or even insignificant to the society. 

Getting old is a beautiful thing. Thank you for bringing graciousness, elegance and finesse to getting old, so many of us will want to look like you when we also have the grace of attaining this age. Mo dagba, mi o so oge, iyin o si loro yin! 

We all need to understand that old age is a new opportunity to respond to God’s call. The vocation to love is a call that God makes to us at every stage of our lives. The elderly are also called to live out the grace of their relationship with the Lord through their relationship with their children, grandchildren, young people and adolescents. 

The elderly still has a lot to offer to others through their experiences, their patience and their wisdom. Omode o le laso titi, ko ni akisa bi agba………

We must therefore as a people reawaken the collective sense of gratitude, of appreciation, of hospitality which make the elderly feel like a living part of his community. Our elders are men and women, fathers and mothers, who came before us on the road of life, they are men and women from whom we have received so much. The elder is never an alien. Old age has a grace and mission too because it is a vocation from the Lord and we must celebrate it. 

You must therefore Sir, keep your eyes still on the price alone. You already have legacy, your prints both within the Church and the larger society are obviously seen. You have served in various capacities and most importantly, the leadership you gave to the Laity Council at several levels, parish, diocese, province and National has helped greatly in shaping the council into a better organisation. These are attested to by the various awards that have been bestowed on you by these organisations. Your leadership role here in St Peter Ota cannot be forgotten, indeed I don’t think the story of this parish will be complete without the mention of your name and contributions to her growth. (the elders corners, sitting position in church!) The so many parish priests you worked with as the Vice Chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council, some of whom are here today and some gone to their eternal reward, all attest to the fact of your selfless service to God and His Church. That is why our Bishop is here today to celebrate with you and bring you the blessings of the Church. So I say, thank you so much Sir. Thank you for the gift of your life, service and ministry. (ko ma sohun ti mo ni o, to kun mi loju j’Oluwa lo) But I believe you can still do more. You are a man with great assets, immense wisdom and understanding. 

You must continue to bequeath to the next generation more than ever before, through your Mother’s joy group of School to continue to form the young minds not just in areas of academics, but also in morals and discipline. You have fully embraced and given yourself in full commitment to the Church and community leadership. Social and community work is one strong passion you have amongst others.  

This generation need to learn amongst other things the virtues of patience and perseverance from your generation. Yours was a generation that saw this Nation attain independence, saw her worked, we are sorry for what we have made it to be now, surely things will get better soon. Our Bishop has just given us a message of a renewed Hope at Christmas, that we should not lose hope, regardless of what our political leaders are doing, this Nation will be great again. 

Yours was a generation that believed strongly in the values inherent in dignity of labour, that takes pride in hard work. You must therefore continue to teach this our “2 minutes indomie” generation the virtue of hard work and endurance. The Lord will continue to be your strength as you continue to this.

We want to thank your beautiful wife Olori, for being a good helpmate to you, for bringing the smiles, laughter and joy back to your life. We thank her for being a friend, confidant, your comfort, your support system and for taking good care of you. Sometimes I think there a subtle fashion competition between the two of you!

We thank also your loving children for also making this day a reality and for celebrating you. May they also reap the fruits of their labours.

To the entire Ogundipe, e ku orire, ni tooto, Olorun fun yin ni Olori ebi to da, to se mu yangan. Ebi yin o ni daru o, Alafia ati ayo Kristi a ma ba yin gbogbo gbe.

As we rejoice with you today Papa, we pray the Lord will grant you the forgiveness of your sins, grant eternal rest to the souls of your parents, renew you in His love, grace, mercy and favour. I believe you still have so much to give to humanity, may the Lord keep you going according to His perfect Will. We love you!

E ku odun, e ku yedun, igba odun, odun kan. Eyi to ku ke lo, e ni lo ninu aisan, e ni lo ninu ekun, e ni lo ninu ibanuje, ajinde ara a ma je loruko Kristi.

And to Him who sits on the throne be glory, honour and praise both now and for ever. Amen.