Ladipo Ladapo Eso

DISTINGUISHED NONAGENARIAN: The Venerable Archdeacon Ladipo Ladapo Eso 

Celebrating Baba L. L. Eso at 90 

By 

Seye Adetunmbi, 25/8/2025

It is a thing of joy that Baba Eso marked 90th birthday gracefully and in good health on August 25, 2025 to the glory of God. Exactly 10 years ago, we gathered at Anglican Church of the Ascension, Opebi, Ikeja Lagos for a thanksgiving service marking 80th birthday anniversary of the venerable Archdeacon. Thereafter, his biography which I wrote was formally presented to the public at the reception for guests. To celebrate the nonagenarian on the anniversary of his 90th birthday, I have pulled out my write-up 10 years ago, marking his 80th birthday which was published in The Nation newspaper and embellish it with many remarkable pictures that further tell the story of a distinguished man of God and a statesman. This pictorial tribute is the least I can do to celebrate my beloved father in the Lord, a mentor, and an exemplar who had inspired me a great deal on so many fronts.

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Considering the background, adventurous lifestyle in his youth, professional disposition as a chartered Estate Surveyor, and his career as an ordained priest of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) as well as his tireless ongoing inclination to honourable ways in retirement; it would be most complementary to have such a remarkable lifetime journey documented in a book for posterity. Thus, when Venerable L. L. Eso first called my attention to his desire for me to put his biography together it was a welcome call to duty for me, with all humility.

I have worked on the biography of my very venerable father of blessed memory and a number of other historical books, yet writing the biography of a living mentor figure came with its challenges. Writing about him went beyond chronicling his early days in Ilesha up to his career as a chartered Estate Surveyor of repute and as a remarkable priest. The biography put into proper perspective his selflessness as a public servant in the early days of Nigeria Building Society, an appointment which took him to all the then states in Nigeria. He discharged his duties in the development of all established housing estates extending to all areas of land opened up by industrial property developers. His philosophy was that every qualified Nigerian must be able to own a dwelling place through the offer from the mortgage institutions. Throughout this period, he never acquired any property for himself until just before his retirement which by sheer providence he secured the place where he lives today. In fact his contemporaries couldn’t believe it that he never had a plot to himself before the time he built his plot in Ikeja GRA.

The distinct gift of the ability of Venerable Eso to recall events contributed to the depth of the book, his biography which I titled, "Like he that Serveth". His rich photograph collections made it possible for his biography to be distinctly pictorial with some vintage pictures that tell the story of Baba Eso as a multi-dimensional Nigerian with a remarkable lifestyle. The essence and authority of the book rest with when the narrative is placed in the wider cultural, economic and social context couple with analyzing other contemporary issues. Albeit, a good biography should relate good history and this is what I have tried to do with the book on Venerable L.L. Eso. Writing about Venerable Eso could not be complete without putting the rich historical background of his Ijesa root into proper perspective. Naturally the value of character that influenced and nurtured him in uprightness as well as fruitful independent-mind that runs in the Akomolafe Eso dynasty is characteristic of Ijesa culture to a great extent.

Of course with the privilege of my serving as a member of the Parish Church Council by virtue of my being a Synod delegate for many years and as an altar server in the Anglican Church of the Ascension, Opebi Lagos under his watch as the Vicar, I was able to put in perspective his sagacity as a church administrator and as a dedicated spirit filled man of God. As the spirit directed him while praying in English, he would buttress it with deep Yoruba prayerful words. I longed for his early morning call on my birthday anniversary as he did for all parishioners; to “su ire fun mi” (pray for me). This he kept doing after he has retired as my church priest and did it for my children and wife as well as many other co-parishioners that he has the records of their birthday anniversaries.

His amiable character notwithstanding, when it comes to spiritual and parish matters his discipline and firmness were not negotiable. Saying things the way they are, runs in the gene of an Eso and this is one of the things that stands Baba L. L. Eso out. The formal nature of delivering sermons in the Anglican Communion would not stop Baba Eso to call you to order before the congregation if you are caught dosing during service. As an altar sever, you have to be alert with him when on duty as the celebrant. His standing instruction for you as priests or altar servers and church workers is to be alert and never to lose sight of the flow of worship. The altar as a temple of God is held in high esteem by Venerable Eso, the no-nonsense quintessential priest.

Those who knew him when he worked for the Federal Mortgage Bank attested to the fact that his position ordinarily was strategic to attract all kinds of unsolicited money from Nigerians who came for mortgage finance. After he politely turned down the bribe of a highly placed Nigerian, those with such tendency got the message and let him be to sustain his enduring self discipline and innate lasting virtues. To the glory of God he finished well as an upright public servant in a tempting and corrupt public service setting. This singular path of dignity points to one fact that individuals can always make the difference in most circumstances they find themselves. These virtues were strictly maintained when he was invited by the then International Bank for West Africa (later Afribank) to establish a bank property company to cater for development of bank buildings all over the country. The venerable man of God is ever ready to serve and always accessible to all God’s children who need him for one thing or the other. The summation of his disposition as a professional in the secular world; in active service as a priest and in retirement culminates into a lifetime in the service to mankind. This essentially informed my choice of the title for his biography, “Bi eni ti nse iranse” (Like He That Serveth).

Venerable Eso was born to the famous Eso family in Ilesa, Osun State on August 25, 1935. The younger brother of the Justice Kayode Eso the legal luminary of blessed memory, attended Ilesa Grammar School and one of the early students of Nigeria College of Arts & Science, Enugu, which subsequently transformed to University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he studied Estate Management. He later attended University of London and qualified as a Chartered Estate Surveyor from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Buckingham Gate, London. He co-founded the Nigerian Chapter Royal Institution of Estate Surveyors and Nigerian Institution of Estate of Estate Surveyors and Valuers in which he served as the 8th Chairman of the professional body. The highpoint of his working career was when he became an ordained priest in the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion in 1995. Prior to this, he served as a Licensed Lay Reader and rose through the ranks to retire as an Archdeacon in 2005.

His ability to recall Ijesa and family histories is legendary and commendable. The facts gathering and manuscript review sessions with Baba Eso in his Ikeja GRA residence remain indelible in my mind. Baba Eso is remarkably thorough; he ensured that I got the facts in the book right. The healthy living of the Venerable L. L. Eso is remarkable coupled with a robust diet that he adhered to over the years. I must also state that Venerable Eso told the story of his life and events around him, all I did was to structure and package the biography such that we can put in proper outlook the lifetime pursuit of excellence to the best of the towering abilities of the exemplary priest. The historical book expectedly has inspirational and spiritual touch. Therefore it should make a delightful reading to those who are inspired by reading biographies and people who are inclined to learning from the experiences of others who have done well for themselves and mankind in their lifetime activities. The Right Reverend (Prof) Dapo Asaju wrote the foreword of the biography. The book was reviewed by Prof Wole Omole; Chief Dele Fajemirokun unveiled the book at the launching ceremony, while Chief Festus Fadeyi led the formal presentation of the book to the public....

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What else can I say than to appreciate God for granting Baba Eso a long healthy life and ask God to continue to uphold him in his old age. Ajinde ora a je l'ase Edumare. Family members, friends and all ranks of other associates surrounded him on 25/8/25 to give thanks to God on the anniversary of his 90th birthday. It was a glorious thanksgiving service at the Anglican Church of the Ascension, followed by a grand reception. It was a well deserved memorable occassion to celebrate an exemplar. I wish the distinguished family man and quintessential priest, a happy 90th natal day.

Intellectual Roundtable

The Deep Calls Unto the Deep

Prologue to the Intellectual Roundtable Book

By

Seye Adetunmbi

Mind is a powerful part of the human being, the creature of God. As defined in the dictionary, mind is "the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel.” It is indeed the faculty of consciousness and thought. Mind is so powerful that its capacity to explore could be limitless. Essentially, every rational mortal has a mind with a productive wandering scope beyond imagination. What is of essence is how individual and collective minds have been applied in the situations around them for the good of their constituencies, communities and the larger society. The resourcefulness of a productively engaged fruitful-mind can manifest in various forms that could be imagined. All other things being equal, a tamed itinerant resourceful mind is bound to be a blessing to mankind if applied to laudable purpose-driven initiatives.

Over the years and up till now, my humble fruitful mind continues to explore the world around me and interrogate arising various issues. Modestly, my God given perspicacious mind had been processing various thoughts as they came and at some points, when the urge could not be resisted, I put my inferences, feelings and views down in writing. Amazingly, the writings got voluminous which informed my decision to write my first book. Initially, I thought it was going to be a one-off book and decided to put all my essays on a wide range of subjects in one edition then, and structured the contents into sections with similar subject matter in each section and gave the book the title of Mindset. Yes, because the book is a product of a positively wandering productive-mind. Along the line, it crossed my mind again that there may be a need to write more books in future and people who see my work may want me to help out in publishing the products of their peripatetic minds too. There and then, I decided to register a business name to develop commerce around my passion of publishing activities.

    As the thoughts ran through my mind, I came to the conclusion to give the name Mindscope, for the company. This was in order to underscore the power of the scope of mind that inspired my writings, in the birthing of the business initiative. I added Africa to the business name because it is my root and the mind exploration is about unearthing lasting values in Africa for the benefit of the contemporary global world for the benefit of mankind. On July 20, in 2012, Mindscope Africa was registered by the Company Affairs Commission in Nigeria. On the 21st of July in 2012, Mindset was formally published by Mindscope Africa and the book was presented to the public to mark my 50th birthday anniversary. It has been one book or the order since then. 13 years after, this is my 14th published book and it is dedicated to one of my prominent passions, intellectual roundtable initiatives.

    I am a respecter of intellectuals, and I enjoy the company of cerebral people. I am very conscious of the fact that we have a huge knowledgeable community out there that can be explored for the good of the larger society if properly harnessed. Consequently, I often lookout for opportunities to bring together as many intellectuals as possible to a roundtable, be it within my indigenous communities, among professional colleagues or at socio-political interactive levels. Primarily, it is to provide a platform for the all ranks of intellectuals to air their views dispassionately without any fear of gagging and share their tested knowledge in a well-defined public forum for the people in government to tap from informed thoughts for the benefit of the majority at all tiers of government.

    Internet which has turned the whole world to a global community has helped a great deal in realising my dreams on the various intellectual forums that I have been able to initiate in the past 20 years. This made it possible to productively yoke the resourceful thoughts of the various intellectuals, online and real-time across the globe with ease. This solves to a great extent, the challenge of facilitating actual physical meetings of the various participants scattered all over the world in a physical roundtable conference.

    On the 6th of March in 2005, the inspiration to convene my first intellectual roundtable manifested with the debut of Ekitipanupo Indigenous Intellectual Forum for the benefit of my Jerusalem, Ekiti-State of Nigeria. The socio-political group marked 20th anniversary on 6/3/2025 with a virtual conference. Three years after unveiling Ekitipanupo forum, the intellectual roundtable for my professional community was initiated. With all humility, on August 15th 2008, I convened Capital Market Roundtable in Nigeria. On the 27th of June in 2016, I convened Yorubapanupo. Subsequent to the developments in Ekiti-State politics which prompted my involvement beyond a passing interest, I initiated Atokeibeirosi Intellectual Roundtable and deliberations started on the 1st of March in 2021. Atokeibeiro Forum has since been pitched around national and global issues.

    All the three seminal platforms have attracted a wide range of accomplished brilliant intellectuals who interrogate various contemporary issues on mankind online and realtime. Some of the robust debates in the various intellectual roundtables were so rich that it became imperative for the highlights to be documented for posterity and wider access to the reading public. There is a legacy book already on Ekitipanupo Forum which I published in 2015 to mark the 10th anniversary of the indigenous intellectual roundtable. Also, a section in my book, Financial Intermediation: Operations and Practice captured some of the best moments in the capital market roundtable. Likewise, I published a booklet on Atokeibeirosi as a school of thought in 2021. All the books are available on Amazon. Intellectual engagements in all the roundtables are ongoing which has caused me to dedicate this book strictly for an update on the already published books.

    This book therefore brings to fore some of the best moments in the three intellectual roundtables, that are yet to be accessible to the public. More importantly, it is in my nature to collate all my intellectual comments and writings published online, and make them available in a book for the benefit of those who may wish to have a copy. Interestingly, the first port of call for my articles and essays are the intellectual roundtables. As matter of fact, some of my articles were inspired by the deliberations in the referred intellectual roundtables. This book therefore, contains my recent articles that are yet to be published in a book.

    The book has 26 chapters broken into 6 sections. Section One defines intellectual roundtable and the characteristic features with an overview on the four intellectual roundtables that I have convened till date. Section 2 contains interrogative articles on the political leadership in Nigeria while sections 3, 4 and 5 showcased best moments in Ekitipanupo Forum, Capital Market Roundtable and Atokeibeirosi Initiative. A robust debate on Afenifere and highlights of the timeless accomplishments of Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola were well captured in two chapters of the book. Likewise, there is a chapter onnthe intellectual input of the capital market roundtable to the national economic council. The last section contains my latest series of random paeans on worthy people including Queen Elizabeth II. 

Let me use this opportunity to formally appreciate once more, everyone who responded to my request to join the various intellectual forums that I humbly convened over the years. “Deep calleth unto deep” Psalm 42.7. You heeded the call to come on board for us to think and reason together. Thank you all for believing. Without you, this book would not be published. In all, this is yet another unique ideological book of an ideologue, laced with some vintage pictures which would make reading of the book quite refreshing. It is a must have distinct corpus, for those who collect good books in their library.

You can get your copy through

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FMDWD927

or

https://a.co/d/dTGJm04

Right Reverend Jacob Olabode Kehinde Olowokure

Church of Nigeria, the Clergy colleagues of Rt. REV. J. O. K. Olowokure, family friends and other associates joined the family members during the glorious final rites for Baba Bishop.

Commendation Service at Ikare in Akoko Diocese

https://youtu.be/IEnJT9rkxO0?si=VkTXDxWB69WVh14k

Funeral Service at Ijebu-Jesa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba08Ii3DkfE 

THE RIGHT REVEREND JACOB OLABODE KEHINDE OLOWOKURE (1929-2024)

Inimitable family man, Conscientious Teacher, Proficient School Administrator, Visionary Priest, Diocesan of Repute and an unforgettable Godfather

By

Seye Adetunmbi

Most of the first generation of the Nigerian consecrated Lord Bishops in the of Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, rose through the ranks as full time clergy men. A number of them started with basic academic qualification as a catechist and made it to the top while enhancing their education qualifications along the line. By the time Ekiti Anglican Diocese was created in 1966 and the Right Reverend Michael Osanyin became the first bishop, more well educated priests with university degrees evolved at entry level. There were a number of them who were full time teachers at the same time an ordained priests after passing through the seminary college. At some point, some of these university graduate priests left full-time teaching career to face the church ministry squarely as full time clergymen. One of them in this category who made it to the peak of his career in the Christian ministry to become a bishop was the Right Reverend Jacob Olabode Olowokure. He could be classified among the second generation of lord bishops produced in the Church of Nigeria who were university graduates and he made his mark as a distinguished diocesan
Background
The Right Reverend J.O.K. Olowokure, like most of the successful men of his generation, had a humble beginning. Whatever he achieved in life was through dint of hard work and the grace of God which was adequate for him. He was born as an identical twin on September 10, 1929 in Ijebu-Jesa in Osun-State of Nigeria into a Christianfamily. His twin brother, also got to the peak of his career as an academician, Professor Theophilus Olatunji Taiwo Olowokure. He had his primary education in Osun-State and obtained basic qualification which enabled him to work as a teacher in elementary schools. He worked as a pupil teacher at St. John's Primary School, Iye-Ekiti in the early 1950s and a number of other schools within Ekiti District. He gained admission to the University of Ibadan in the early 1960s where he graduated with Bachelor of Arts with honours in 1965 and Master of Arts in 1970. He also held Diploma in Theology from the Emmanuel College, Ibadan. 

Inimitable Family Man

Right Reverend J. O. K. Olowokure met his beloved wife, Mama, Abigail Kehinde Olowokure in Iye-Ekiti. Through the grace of God, the ordained encounter with a lady-twin from Ekiti led to marriage at St. David’s Anglican Church, Iludun-Ekiti in 1954. To the glory of God the almighty, the marriage had been blessed with three successful children: Pastor Mrs Mary Moji McCauley, Pastor Mrs Modupe Adetunji and Mrs Yetunde Ogunrinde.

Conscientious Teacher and Proficient School Administrator

He worked in various schools before  rising to become the Vice-Principal of St. John/Mary's College, Owo and the Principal of Ado Grammar School where he retired from teaching service in 1976. To underscore the fact that he made the difference as a school principal is evident in this extract from the comment of one of his old students, Wole Olujobi in Ekitipanupo Forum on September 4, 2011 and I quote: "....the great Ado Grammar School, where I learned how to build something out of nothing through role models in those days. Bishop Olowokure our principal built my future in just five minutes, instilling in me the spirit that even though the start of any venture could be daunting and full of difficulties, the end would be praises to the Almighty and story of successes to tell. But let me confess here that I was just a symbol of several others in the school who have the same story to tell. I am happy to be among other students who witnessed the transformation of the school under Bishop Olowokure and Chief Gabriel Adejuwon when the school changed her status from trouble brewer to a citadel of academic excellence and sports development."

Servant of the Lord - Well Done

Bishop Olowokure was formally ordained as a deacon in 1961 and became a substantive priest in 1962. His first posting as a priest was to St Michael's Anglican Church, Ifaki-Ekiti in 1962 and he was the first ordained priest of the parish, which had been under the watch of catechists and deacons since 1905. In 1973, he was elevated to the rank of a reverend canon and he served diligently as the Chaplain of St. John/Mary's College, Owo for many years. In September 1976, he was appointed the vicar of All Saints' Church, Ogbonkowo in Ondo and the Archdeacon of Ondo Archdeaconry where he served meritoriously for ten years. His tenure recorded some feats which include launching of an endowment fund, reroofing of the main church with steel structures, building of a modern vicarage, administrative block, church hall, conference room/library, construction of a belfry etc. Two schools were founded during his tenure, All Saint's Grammar School, Oka, Ondo in 1979 and St. Luke's Primary School, Oka, Ondo in 1984. The Right Reverend J.O.K. Olowokure was consecrated as a Lord Bishop in the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion in 1986 and became the Diocesan of Akoko Diocese. 

He was acknowledged for his good works during his tenue in office some of which include the building of the Bishop's Court and the secretariat for the diocese. In 1988 and 1998, he attended the famous Lambeth Conference of Bishops which was convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury and held in England. He retired as the Lord Bishop of Akoko Anglican Diocese on September 8, 1990. He remained active in the service of God thereafter by supporting church work in the Diocese of Ijesa North where Bishop Olowokure Anglican Church had been built in his honour. He single handedly coordinated fund raising for the building of the vicarage for the church. He mentored a number of priests some of whom are bishops today to the glory of God. He was a true servant of God and worshipped God with a deep conviction. Every Wednesday was his seclusion day when he stayed in his room on a spiritual note for most part of the day.

Laying of the foundation of the vicarage of
Bishop Olowokure Anglican Church  

Unforgettable Godfather

Baba and Mama Olowokure were my godparents. I was born in July 1962 when Baba Bishop became the vicar of my parents' parish, St. Michael's Anglican Church, Ifaki-Ekiti and I thank my parents for naming them my godparents. Interestingly,  their last born, Yetunde ("my twin") came in August, two weeks after that I was born and the two families became good family friends since then. As my fond memories of Mama Olowokure remain indelible in my mind, Baba Bishop would always be my unforgettable godfather. He was there for me when my biological parents were alive and after their departure to the world beyond. His was there for every member of my family in his lifetime. At every opportunity whenever I travelled through Ijebu-Jesa, I stopped over to see him. He too was always looking out for me. Baba was very generous and loving. From his pension, he would still give me money when I visited him. Giving was in his DNA. I looked forward to spending the night in the house because family worship in his chapel before we went to bed and early in the morning meant a lot to me. When my family came from Lagos to spend a weekend with him and Mama in Ijebu-Jesa, it was one of our best stays outside our base.

Transition

The time of Baba Bishop came on May 7, 2024. He has gone home to rest. Laalaa alagbase pari. May God uphold his family that he left behind - His children, his twin brother, Baba Prof who has lost his best friend and uterine twin brother that they have been together for over nine decades. The family, all ranks of the clergy, members of the episcopal clan, family friends and other associates are going to bid Baba Bishop farewell on Friday, October 18, 2024. May God keep the date and grant all travellers journey mercies in the mighty name of Jesus.

FINAL RITES IN PICTURES 

Prof Taiwo Olowokure at the lying-in-state of his beloved identical twin and best friend for over 90 years. It is well....

Commendation Service at the Cathedral Church, Ikare in Akoko Diocese

FUNERAL SERVICE AT THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH, IJEBU-JESA