Oyebolu

FINAL RITES FOR VENERABLE ENGINEER P. B. OYEBOLU (1930-2024)

The Venerable Engineer Phillip Bolude Oyebolu passed on, on the 13th of January, 2024. His body was laid to rest on the 8th of February in 2024 after the funeral service at the Cathedral of St Peter, Ake, Abeokuta. May the gentle soul of Baba rest in peace, amen 🙏🏾 

Church Service 

Interment 

Venerable Engr. P. B. Oyebolu: Accomplished Nonagenarian

First published in the Guardian, Thisday and The Nation in 2010 when he marked 80, It was revised in 2020 to celebrate  90th birthday of the Venerable Archdeacon

By, Seye Adetunmbi

In the olden days, children mortality rate was high in Africa. This explains why four children came before Venerable Engineer Phillip Bolude Oyebolu (PBO) who as a child of promise survived the ravaging menace, apparently to fulfill God’s purpose for him in life.

He was born in Abeokuta on June 16, 1930 to the assiduous family of Pa Simeon Ladipo and Madam Emily Olabopo Oyebolu who lived and worked in Ibadan. As a son of a diligent produce buyer, PBO in his adulthood manifested his industrious family background which dates back to his successful-farmer grandfather, Chief Oyebolu Oyenekan who was popularly called Baba Eleshin because he often rode on horses. His prominence earned him the title of Bashorun of Ago Odo area of Abeokuta. By standard of his environment where he grew-up, PBO was privileged; yet he and his younger siblings Chief Oluseyi Oyebolu and Mr Dele Oyebolu were not spared from house chores and were made to work hard to assist their very enterprising and hard-working parents. Due to transportation challenge of the time, he too had to trek long distances to receive early formal education. 

He started infants, primary school in 1937 and completed Standard VI in 1945 during which he predominantly led his class. His brilliance stood him out in at Government College Ibadan (GCI) where he gained admission in 1947 and passed out in 1952. By the time PBO gained admission to the University College Ibadan in 1953 to study Electrical Engineering on Western Nigerian Government Scholarship, he was among the first set of undergraduates to use the new facilities of the institution. He proceeded to University of Edinburg, Scotland where he graduated as a qualified Engineer in 1958.

Parents of Venerable Oyebolu

GCI Form 1 in 1947

On April 7, 1958 he married his heartthrob, Miss Margaret Fibisola Oyeneyin in Scotland. She is a native of Ondo born on July 17, 1934; a school teacher he met years back in Ibadan. He also worked for Marconi Company, Chelmsford for three years before coming back to Nigeria. In July 1961 he joined Post and Telecommunications Department of Nigeria Civil Service where he served at Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Lagos before resigning in 1965. Leaving public sector was a decision considered courageous at the time. He dared to be different in the civil service, when it was then standard for officers to appear before the Permanent Secretary in suit or at least with a tie which he was not particularly too comfortable with. He stuck to his formal shirt and trouser as an engineer and kept his appointment with the Permanent Secretary who didn’t make any issue out of his appearance.

The family in 1990. Standing Behind Baba & Mama L-R: Tomiwa, Funlola, Olusola, Gbemi and Bolade

He got employment with Phillips Nigeria Limited in 1965 and left in 1975 as the Head of Professional Products Division. He is a man of strong character who detests injustice of any kind. Sometime in 1968 during the Nigerian Civil War, he was on official assignment in company with a white expatriate and an Ibo colleague to Ewekoro from Lagos and they ran into a federal troop road block. When one of the soldiers insisted on keeping the Ibo man, PBO refused to go until a superior officer interceded and released his wrongly accosted colleague. He ventured into self-employment in 1975 with the establishment of Molecular Consultants and Associates which he made success of and retired when he was 60 years old in 1990 to pass-on the baton to his children who are engineers. He was also involved in quite a number of joint business ventures to meet the enterprising drive in him which resulted to his wife running a Shell (later National Oil) Filling Station between 1970 and 1991.

His becoming a priest was instigated by the culmination of his spiritual upbringing, accentuated by the moral training at GCI and the prodding from Professor Venerable Olaitan who saw priesthood calling in him after watching him took the initiative to deliver sermons in the absence of scheduled vicars at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital Chapel, Idi-Araba. His becoming a Deacon in December 1982 was a matter of time, which was the year he became the President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE). PBO was later ordained a Priest in December 1983, his delighted aged parents witnessed the ceremony presided over by Bishop Festus Segun to their admiration. It was indeed the beginning of a new chapter in the lifetime journey of PBO, “Like he that serveth” (bi eniti ti nse iranse).

The Venerable Engineer with wife and parents on the day of his ordination as a priest in 1982

As my vicar, a non-stipendiary priest, whatever allowances due to him, he was in the habit of donating to the purse of his parish. His first duty post was as a curate at Bishop Adelakun Howell’s Memorial Anglican Church, Surulere. He left in 1988 for his first posting as a vicar, at St Bartholomew’s Anglican Church, Aguda where he made a success of a very challenging posting to the parish noted for multifarious crisis at that point in time; deploying his managerial experience. He was posted on November 30^th 1994 to Church of Pentecost, Festac Town where he served till January 15th, 1996 not without weathering through peculiar intrigues among parishioners against principled priests on the side of order.

On the 16^th of January 1996, he assumed duty at the Anglican Church of Ascension (ACA), Opebi where I was privileged to serve in the Parish Church Council under his Chairmanship and passed through his mentoring in the vineyard. His arrival came with several innovations when the church auditorium was under construction and was able to make a remarkable progress while his posting lasted. He committed his personal resources for God’s project which often made him to stand tall among his colleagues and parishioners.

50th Wedding Anniversary celebration of Baba & Mama held in 2008 at Abeokuta

Under him, I along with others trained as the pioneer altar servers of ACA which was his initiative. He has the culture of bringing out the best out of his parishioners and people around him. His first Easter Friday in the parish, I was among the parishioners selected to deliver sermons on the seven words Jesus spoke on the cross, mine was “mother behold thy son, son behold thy mother”.

By the time he left in 1998 on transfer to Magodo, it was a daunting task for him to nurture the existing church in Shangisha and plant a new one in Magodo. As God would have it, it was at St Jude’s Anglican Church, Magodo that he probably surpassed his past records. His parish was so cash-strapped that he personally paid the first annual assessment. From no building, he built a new Church auditorium within 9 months leveraging all his contacts outside the parish to raise most of the funds. It was a feat; ‘like he that serveth’! He earned the respect of the Lagos West Diocese and was the first person to be granted an extension to stay beyond the retirement age of 70. He was also the first to be installed as an Archdeacon in the then new Diocese. He has a book to his credit: “Sermons that Touched the Heart”, which was published to mark his 70^th birthday in 2000.

Baba's 79th birthday celebration at Abeokuta in June 2009 when his book was presented to the public

PBO is an active member of GCI Old Boys Association and Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE). The proposed NSE Lagos Branch Secretariat was to be named after him in recognition of his enormous contributions to the growth and development of the branch. He also served in the governing council of Ondo State University. Subsequent to his retirement and relocation to Abeokuta in 2004 after living in Lagos since 1961, he served as a Bishop's nominee in Egba Diocesan Board, Chairman of the Multipurpose Hall Building Committee and Egba Anglican Diocese Proposed Cemetery.

Presentation of the Nigerian Society of Engineers

Baba's 80th birthday celebration at Abeokuta in June 2010

Apart from my baptismal godfather, Right Reverend J.K. Olowokure; the other godfather I have that I look up to in the mold of my most beloved biological father is Venerable Phillip Bolude Oyebolu. When I looked back to my first encounter with him in January 1996, and wondered why I have been so attached to him till date. I then realised that; reverence for God, generosity, selflessness, sincere bluntness, love, integrity, diligence, thoroughness, uprightness, discipline, priceless counsel, benevolence, industry, straight forwardness, honesty, high moral rectitude, devotion to duty, punctuality, perspective planning, lasting family values, passion to serve, strong disposition to honorable ways and other virtues that endeared my very venerable father to my heart are all I see in him. He christened my children born when he resided in Lagos and would get to our house in company with mummy, his wife many minutes before 7am the scheduled time, notwithstanding.

Venerable Engineer P.B. Oyebolu and his stockbroker and beloved godson, Seye Adetunmbi

At CSL Registrar with Baba and Mama in 2001

Baba is a meticulous investor in the stock market, we visited our accredited dealing firms together severally

Besides, I am his stockbroker in whom he reposed so much confidence. Right from when he had adopted me as his godson, all his stock market orders till tomorrow are done through me, his relocation to Abeokuta notwithstanding. Even when my firm was yet to deal directly on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, he still asked me to oversee his deals through my accredited dealers. I have benefited immensely from his in-depth knowledge of the stock market which I found useful in developing investment portfolio for myself and clients. 

IBM Senior Executive Team spent quality time with the Venerable Engineer at his Abeokuta expansive compound. It was a memorable encounter. I brought the august visitors as part of their sight seeing in the ancient city in 2013.

 

Baba autographed copies of his book for the august visitors who were delighted to leave a parting token gift for their wonderful host.

The Venerable Archdeacon in his elements with Chief Dele & Chief Mrs Edith Fajemirokun in December 2018

Baba bonding with old students of GCI 

In essence all that I missed in the absence of my adored father, who passed on in 1990, manifested in the venerable engineer. As a matter of fact, I dare not misbehave anywhere. If I do and he gets to know, he will summon me and put me in my place. Yes, that’s my no nonsense mentor for you. Thus, I longed to see him, be around him and interact with his family as much as possible. Consequently, this 90^th birthday I have waited for to bear witness to the admirable deeds of the great priest, family man, engineer of note and a mentor in a million. I congratulate Tomiwa, Bolade, Sola, Yetunde and Funlola for such a unique father God has given them; complemented by their distinctive mother, the inestimable jewel of venerable PBO. Happy 90^th birthday to Daddy, while wishing Venerable Engineer & Mrs P.B. Oyebolu more years together in good health.

The passionate engineer at a building site

The jolly good fellow, Venerable Engineer P.B. Oyebolu and his beloved sons - Tomiwa, Olusola and Bolade