Mama Olaitan Abiodun’s 90 years of virtuous life, By Kayode Akinmade

Today, Wednesday, 15 October, Chief (Mrs) Olaitan Victoria Abiodun, educationist, businesswoman and community leader, clocks 90. As the Book of Psalms proclaims, it is The Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our sight. As the day begins with songs of praise, Mama will lack the company of her husband of many years and praise and worship partner, Dr Emmanuel Adesanya Abiodun, fondly called Baba Teacher, but she will be surrounded by the love, warmth and presence of her dear children, including the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; her grandchildren, extended family members, friends and well wishers.

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In a country where life expectancy is just a little above 54 years, it is great, in fact glorious, to be 90, hale and hearty, basking in the grace of Almighty God: the celebrations have been fully deserved. The years have not been without challenges, obstacles, many of them daunting, but as the Holy Writ declares, there is a compassion from on high that is new every morning, and faithfulness that is great. It is too lofty to be properly captured in words. Mama at 90 is not about sagacity, design or intention: it is the sheer mercy and love of the Almighty: pure, boundless and unfeigned.

To live to be 90 in a country plagued by many ills, and having fought so many battles, calls for precisely the thanksgiving that Mama and her family and friends are offering today. Let us all join Mama in her feast of thanksgiving… Born on 15th of October,1935 to the family of Mr Raji Alli Balogun and Mrs Adijatu Kubura Alli Sobowale in Iperu Remo, Ogun State, Chief (Mrs) Olaitan Victoria Abiodun began her primary education at Bishop Oluwole Memorial Primary School Agege, Lagos, and later proceeded to St James Anglican Primary School, Iperu, where she completed her primary education in1955.

In 1956, she started teaching at the African Church Primary School, Iperu, also known as Bethel. The desire to acquire more knowledge took her to the Teacher Training College, Iperu, where she obtained her Grade 3 certificate. It was time to be posted to St Paul’s Anglican Primary school Ijokun Sagamu where she taught from 1958 to 1962… In 1963, she got admission into the Teachers Training College, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, for her Grade 2 certificate. Armed with that certificate, she worked at IJABCOL Grade 2 Teacher Training College and Modern School in Iperu, and in 1968 she moved with her husband to Ayetoro Egbado (now Yewa North).

Her husband taught at the Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro, while she was transferred to United Primary School, Ayetoro, where she taught till early 1971 when she moved to Ondo town with her husband who had just joined the staff of the prestigious Adeyemi College of Education Ondo, an institution affiliated to the then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

She taught at the Local Authority School (1) in Ondo, then in October 1972 she gained admission into Adeyemi, where she studied Home Economics. After her graduation, she was posted to Ondo High School, Ondo, where she was made the head of the Home Economics Department. And this was where she retired in1986, following which she took up trading and extended her frontiers far and wide.

At 90, Chief Victoria Olaitan Abiodun stands as a living testimony to grace, faith, and enduring values: her life reflects devotion to family, service, and community. As she says, “I feel deeply grateful to God. Ninety years is not a small journey. It’s been grace all through — grace that carried me through marriage, motherhood, teaching, and service to my community.”

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Life as a child, she recalls, was modest but meaningful: “We valued hard work, honesty, and community. Education was our key to freedom, and that belief guided everything I did.” Her marriage was great: “My late husband and I were both teachers. We both believed teaching was more than a job — it was a ministry. “Baba Teacher,” as people called him, used to say that when you teach a child, you are shaping the world. We wanted to shape lives, and we gave our hearts to it. In those days, there was no social media — only purpose and prayer. We met through mutual friends in Ibadan, both of us teachers, and we shared the same values. We married in 1960, and it was the beginning of a long, blessed journey. I had 65 years of marriage, a rare blessing.”

The Ogun State Governor is her first born and the bond between mother and son is indeed cast in stone; unbreakable. As the American writer Sara Hale says, there is no influence so powerful as that of that of the mother. Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws, says the Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, essayist, and poet, Barbara Kingsolver; and that is why the great Abraham Lincoln crafted these unforgettable lines: “All that I am, or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”

For Dapo Abiodun, and in the words of the poet, Emily Dickinson, a mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled. Mama is her son’s unceasing fountain of support who trained him to be ready to dare, and to go against the norm to set new standards. During his 42nd birthday in Ikoyi, Lagos, she spoke glowingly about him, saying with pride: “ I am the one and only mother of Dapo Abiodun.” She trained her children well, and her counsel combined with great vision has given the Gateway State a Governor turning barren land to construction sites.

Go to the Gateway Airport and see wonders in architecture and engineering; go to Olumo Rock and see the power of renewal. Go to the MKO Stadium and see what it means to have a Governor imbued with strategic foresight. Her pride in her son is not just because he’s Governor, but because he has remained humble and focused on service. Her word to him as she hits 90 cheers is to fear God, listen to advice, and never forget the poor: power should bring compassion, not arrogance.

The key to success, she avers, is to work hard, respect elders, and build your future with integrity. Why? “The world is moving fast, but good character never goes out of fashion.” Her words are indeed words on marble, and are fitting in closing this piece: “ I believe in quiet strength. You don’t have to shout to lead. I speak when it is necessary, and I stand by truth. That is how I was raised, and that is how I raised my children.

I want women to see themselves as builders — of homes, of society. Women, support your husbands, raise your children well, and never stop learning. Women carry the soul of the nation. My greatest legacy is a good name. The Bible says a good name is better than riches. If people remember me as a woman of faith, discipline, and love, I am fulfilled. I pray for peace — peace in Nigeria, peace in Ogun State, and peace in every home. May God guide our leaders, bless our children, and let the light of truth never go out in our land.”

Happy Birthday, Mama Olaitan Victoria Abiodun, and many glorious returns. Here’s wishing Mama many more years in sound health and joy of heart.

* Akinmade is Special Adviser, Media and Strategy to Governor Dapo Abiodun.