Apotheosis - Benedict Olusegun Banjo (June 1938-June 1988) Today it is exactly 25 years that you left. We remember you with fondness and gratitude. Hardly a day goes by without someone, something, somewhere setting a reminder of the true nobility that you carried about you and infected others around you. In the past quarter-century, we have had time for reflection about the legacy you left behind. Some of them are visible in the lives of your children and the physical assets you left after a very active, generous life in every sphere of human endeavour. The promise of hope ‘B-O-B’ as you were fondly called, you imbued in those you encountered a promise of a better future. You invested in the lives of ordinary people, made sacrifices for your parents, your siblings, your children and mere acquaintances such that no-one was ever turned away from your door in need. You always wanted to put a smile on the faces of desperate and hapless folk, sometimes denying your own children accustomed middle-class comforts in order to uplift the poor, the indigent. You spent a lot of money, but more of your time, knowledge and skills to encourage and sponsor young men and women so they can get on the next step of the ladder of success. You were a pillar to your in-laws who found in you a dependable son and brother. Your enduring smile and affable openness was the light that imbued all social gatherings with its vibrancy. You were the spark that lit the party. The promise of equality You were a natural advocate of gender equality and was one of the earliest volunteers to help Mrs Hilda Adefarasin, Lady Kofoworola Pratt and others to establish the National Council of Women’s Societies [NCWS]. You were a strong believer in the dignity of women to forge their way in life, supporting each of your wives in their chosen careers. You supported your sisters and female children in every way possible to give them a strong foundation in life to achieve their dreams. You plugged holes that needed plugging and gave wings where there were none. You never discriminated between male and female children, encouraging your sons to respect their sisters and treat them well. You admonished any arrogance or disdain towards daughters and sisters. That is why, tilltoday, your sisters remember you with genuine a fondness and love that always elicits a smile after the pain of loss has passed. The power of the mind B-O-B was one of the finest minds of his generation. He was a man of many parts, a truly multi-talented gentleman of a high pedigree. A brilliant student of St Gregory’s College, Obalende, Lagos, he was a trained Psychiatrist Nurse before enrolling to study Business at Portsmouth University in England. He returned to Nigeria during the Civil War in 1967 and was recruited by Nigeria Ports Authority as Development Officer. His immediate boss then was a man called Bamanga Tukur, who is now PDP National Chairman. He left NPA to start an interesting career with John Holt Group, then one of the commercial behemoths in Nigeria. He was Dealership Manager, J Allen & Co Ltd, Ibadan which had a Ford, Scania and Yamaha portfolio and serviced the present Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Edo and Delta State. After a business trip to Japan, BOB imported the very first Yamaha motorcycle into Nigeria. He was reputed as a Master-Salesman who understood the link between one’s personal brand and the quality pitch behind a product or service. By 1978, he had risen within John Holt Group to become General Manager, Sales and Marketing for John Holt Group. In that year, while being touted as possible Managing Director of the group, he resigned and set up his private business, Grantham & Co Limited. He relocated from Lagos to Ijebu-Ode where he quickly immersed himself in the community. Grantham & Co Limited was named by him after an incident in the English town of Grantham when, according to him, he was, for the first time in his time in England, he was warmly approached and greeted by a white person, something that reinforced the common humanity of mankind, an idea he firmly advocated. The politics and the community BOB could never have survived his fifty years on earth without his close affinity to communal issues. He was a walking and talking encyclopaedia of Ijebu history and geography. There was no part of Ijebuland he did not know. He travelled the length and breadth of Nigeria by road in his corporate career and brought back artefacts of wondrous description. He was ardent collector of stories with which he regaled his audiences of family members and political associates. To see him address a political rally was to experience an epiphany of belief. He knew how to work a crowd and balance the high intellect of sound logic with native intelligence. He was a charming politician of conviction on the Left of Centre in the Unity Party of Nigeria. He believed in the politics of service and was pleased that he had enough fiscal resources to provide for his family. This independence of mind and acumen earned some resistance from the career politicians of his day who saw him as uncontrollable and impossible to manipulate. ‘Banjo kii se eran riro’ [Banjo is not tender meat’] was a constant refrain. He was a loyal party man to the core. Even when he had a rough time within the UPN and was approached by other parties seeking to use his popularity as a base in Ijebuland, he politely refused and stuck with principle. The quality of the man and his work A hands-on man, industrious and enterprising, no work was dirty work. Despite his education and refinement, he always stayed in the bunker with his employees. His work speaks of the attention to detail that he paid to every job. The extensive fence- work surrounding the Ijebu Ode Local Government headquarters at Itoro was completed by Grantham & Co Limited in 1978. The wire-mesh and earthworks remains sound and safe as it was in 1978. Again, if you visit St Sebastian’s Catholic Cathedral, Odo-Egbo, Ijebu Ode, look up the ceiling and admire the work that BOB supervised, piece by piece, watching his own employees and his own children, one by one, smoothening each piece of wood and polished. It’s a work of art by a man for whom quality came before profit. And for whom it was better to leave an enduring legacy than jostle for temporary fame. Indeed, his own modest home in Ijebu Ode expresses the mark of the man. For a house built in 1977, it is a classic edifice, in an Italian style with interior decor ahead of its time that has stood the test of time. The power of transparency BOB once remarked that he had no goods in his home for thieves to take. This was at a time when it was becoming fashionable for wealthy people to erect mile-high fences around their homes. BOB remarked that he had nothing to hide and so kept the fencing around the office at lower than five feet with see-through decorative fancy blocks. The fence at the front of the house was made of decorative iron rods and interspaced concrete columns. Another aspect of BOB was that he did not discriminate between the rich and the poor. While his living was magnificent enough for kings and high chiefs to be very comfortable, BOB abhorred what he called ‘over-decoration’ of the home that intimidated guests. He would often have very poor friends and family members sitting in his living room while he engaged senior people in conversation. He always taught his children and friends about how nothing in life is to be taking for granted as fortunes can change rapidly. He would quote the famous saying about minding those you meet on the way up. When, on Sunday June 19 1988, he answered the call of his Creator, BOB had given of all his talents that his 50 years could enable him to give to mankind. He had served God in his honest and upright dealings with mankind, in his devotion to applying his gifts to the benefit of the church and in his diligent, selfless service to his family and community members. And even if only for a short while, his true nobility was affirmed by his nomination on the very day of his demise by the Owobagbe-Liyangun Ruling House of Sagamu to take the throne of Akarigbo of Remo. BOB - Okunrin Meta, Rest in peace. [The Benedict Olusegun Banjo Biography Collection will be hosting Commemoration Event later this year to mark the 25th Memorial of Late Chief B O Banjo] Today it is exactly 25 years that you left. We remember you with fondness and gratitude. Hardly a day goes by without someone, something, somewhere setting a reminder of the true nobility that you carried about you and infected others around you. In the past quarter-century, we have had time for reflection about the legacy you left behind. Some of them are visible in the lives of your children and the physical assets you left after a very active, generous life in every sphere of human endeavour. The promise of hope ‘B-O-B’ as you were fondly called, you imbued in those you encountered a promise of a better future. You invested in the lives of ordinary people, made sacrifices for your parents, your siblings, your children and mere acquaintances such that no-one was ever turned away from your door in need. You always wanted to put a smile on the faces of desperate and hapless folk, sometimes denying your own children accustomed middle-class comforts in order to uplift the poor, the indigent. You spent a lot of money, but more of your time, knowledge and skills to encourage and sponsor young men and women so they can get on the next step of the ladder of success. You were a pillar to your in-laws who found in you a dependable son and brother. Your enduring smile and affable openness was the light that imbued all social gatherings with its vibrancy. You were the spark that lit the party. The promise of equality You were a natural advocate of gender equality and was one of the earliest volunteers to help Mrs Hilda Adefarasin, Lady Kofoworola Pratt and others to establish the National Council of Women’s Societies [NCWS]. You were a strong believer in the dignity of women to forge their way in life, supporting each of your wives in their chosen careers. You supported your sisters and female children in every way possible to give them a strong foundation in life to achieve their dreams. You plugged holes that needed plugging and gave wings where there were none. You never discriminated between male and female children, encouraging your sons to respect their sisters and treat them well. You admonished any arrogance or disdain towards daughters and sisters. That is why, tilltoday, your sisters remember you with genuine a fondness and love that always elicits a smile after the pain of loss has passed. The power of the mind B-O-B was one of the finest minds of his generation. He was a man of many parts, a truly multi-talented gentleman of a high pedigree. A brilliant student of St Gregory’s College, Obalende, Lagos, he was a trained Psychiatrist Nurse before enrolling to study Business at Portsmouth University in England. He returned to Nigeria during the Civil War in 1967 and was recruited by Nigeria Ports Authority as Development Officer. His immediate boss then was a man called Bamanga Tukur, who is now PDP National Chairman. He left NPA to start an interesting career with John Holt Group, then one of the commercial behemoths in Nigeria. He was Dealership Manager, J Allen & Co Ltd, Ibadan which had a Ford, Scania and Yamaha portfolio and serviced the present Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Edo and Delta State. After a business trip to Japan, BOB imported the very first Yamaha motorcycle into Nigeria. He was reputed as a Master-Salesman who understood the link between one’s personal brand and the quality pitch behind a product or service. By 1978, he had risen within John Holt Group to become General Manager, Sales and Marketing for John Holt Group. In that year, while being touted as possible Managing Director of the group, he resigned and set up his private business, Grantham & Co Limited. He relocated from Lagos to Ijebu-Ode where he quickly immersed himself in the community. Grantham & Co Limited was named by him after an incident in the English town of Grantham when, according to him, he was, for the first time in his time in England, he was warmly approached and greeted by a white person, something that reinforced the common humanity of mankind, an idea he firmly advocated. The politics and the community BOB could never have survived his fifty years on earth without his close affinity to communal issues. He was a walking and talking encyclopaedia of Ijebu history and geography. There was no part of Ijebuland he did not know. He travelled the length and breadth of Nigeria by road in his corporate career and brought back artefacts of wondrous description. He was ardent collector of stories with which he regaled his audiences of family members and political associates. To see him address a political rally was to experience an epiphany of belief. He knew how to work a crowd and balance the high intellect of sound logic with native intelligence. He was a charming politician of conviction on the Left of Centre in the Unity Party of Nigeria. He believed in the politics of service and was pleased that he had enough fiscal resources to provide for his family. This independence of mind and acumen earned some resistance from the career politicians of his day who saw him as uncontrollable and impossible to manipulate. ‘Banjo kii se eran riro’ [Banjo is not tender meat’] was a constant refrain. He was a loyal party man to the core. Even when he had a rough time within the UPN and was approached by other parties seeking to use his popularity as a base in Ijebuland, he politely refused and stuck with principle. The quality of the man and his work A hands-on man, industrious and enterprising, no work was dirty work. Despite his education and refinement, he always stayed in the bunker with his employees. His work speaks of the attention to detail that he paid to every job. The extensive fence- work surrounding the Ijebu Ode Local Government headquarters at Itoro was completed by Grantham & Co Limited in 1978. The wire-mesh and earthworks remains sound and safe as it was in 1978. Again, if you visit St Sebastian’s Catholic Cathedral, Odo-Egbo, Ijebu Ode, look up the ceiling and admire the work that BOB supervised, piece by piece, watching his own employees and his own children, one by one, smoothening each piece of wood and polished. It’s a work of art by a man for whom quality came before profit. And for whom it was better to leave an enduring legacy than jostle for temporary fame. Indeed, his own modest home in Ijebu Ode expresses the mark of the man. For a house built in 1977, it is a classic edifice, in an Italian style with interior decor ahead of its time that has stood the test of time. The power of transparency BOB once remarked that he had no goods in his home for thieves to take. This was at a time when it was becoming fashionable for wealthy people to erect mile-high fences around their homes. BOB remarked that he had nothing to hide and so kept the fencing around the office at lower than five feet with see-through decorative fancy blocks. The fence at the front of the house was made of decorative iron rods and interspaced concrete columns. Another aspect of BOB was that he did not discriminate between the rich and the poor. While his living was magnificent enough for kings and high chiefs to be very comfortable, BOB abhorred what he called ‘over-decoration’ of the home that intimidated guests. He would often have very poor friends and family members sitting in his living room while he engaged senior people in conversation. He always taught his children and friends about how nothing in life is to be taking for granted as fortunes can change rapidly. He would quote the famous saying about minding those you meet on the way up. When, on Sunday June 19 1988, he answered the call of his Creator, BOB had given of all his talents that his 50 years could enable him to give to mankind. He had served God in his honest and upright dealings with mankind, in his devotion to applying his gifts to the benefit of the church and in his diligent, selfless service to his family and community members. And even if only for a short while, his true nobility was affirmed by his nomination on the very day of his demise by the Owobagbe-Liyangun Ruling House of Sagamu to take the throne of Akarigbo of Remo. BOB - Okunrin Meta, Rest in peace. [The Benedict Olusegun Banjo Biography Collection will be hosting Commemoration Event later this year to mark the 25th Memorial of Late Chief B O Banjo]
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:34:43 +0000
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