Bequeathed Indelible Spots in the Wilderness by Kolawole Mathew Ogundipe

 Bequeathed Indelible Spots in the Wilderness

What will be said about a tree after its lifespan greatly depends on the degree of refuge it provided to the animals in the forest during its existence. A deer that has only one kid but caters for the kids of the other animals in the forest; hasn’t it laid a solid foundation for its remembrance after its lifetime? Certainly it has painted the forest with tints which, by virtue of quality, can never be erased. There is life after life: life of which exists here on earth after the demise of a person. The number of years one lived on earth does not really matter, but what one did during one’s living matters a lot. Of her blessed memory! None of her people and neighbours will forget her because of her tremendous impacts on their life.

An aphorism says that, “Good/pleasant is the remembrance of the righteous”. She was such a naturally magnanimous woman. In spite of her endeavour to have the fruits of the womb, she had only one female child; but not hostile to the other wives who had many children in the polygamous family she found herself, and in the community as a whole. Something unusual I noticed about this woman was that ‘she was not envious of others’ accomplishments. Her only begotten daughter was a holder of First School Leaving Certificate. The woman did not look at this; she did give money and food stuff to her rivals’ children (children of her husband’s other wives) in their pursuit of higher academic qualifications. Woman of such is not common during this era. We were not her biological children but she was always after our well-being.

Even though she had miscarriages in her effort to bear more children for her husband, she fought spiritually to sustain the life of the children of others. She did prepare prodigious sacrifices that made vulture lose appetite; in order to SAVE LIFE, and not to DESTROY IT. Of several occasions, this woman did go from one Ifa Priest to another, so as to save the life of the children put under her auspice.

To be candid, thousands of words are not capable of describing her charity because they were intensely great. Her chivalrous deeds and unparalleled roles among her people, though died since year 2013, are left unforgotten. She was a mother of mothers and driver of all drivers. Oh, Adunni Rebecca Ogundipe, your blood flows in our veins.

About The Author

Kolawole Mathew Ogundipe, a holder of Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) in English (Double Major) from the Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria and B.A. (Ed.) in English language from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, was born in Oja-odan, Yewa North, Ogun State; but resides in Owode Egba, Ogun State. He has fervour for probing different aspects of his area of academic discipline. He also cherishes to be observant of common happenings of life, aiming at penning them for reading. He has published articles in journals. Also, some of his poems have been published in an anthology (the Mississippi Books) and Lipi Magazine. Email: kolawolemathew53@gmail.com