When the strings of juju legend, Chief Ebenezer Fabiyi Obey’s guitars sent into the air, the scintillating lyrics of achievements, no one was in doubt of the age of the celebrant inside the cossy ambience of the Ibadan Civic Centre, Idi Ape, the Oyo State capital.
From Ibadan, Lagos, Abuja and other far and near places, people of eminence had come to honour Chief Mrs. Victoria Olunike Ayorinde who clocked 80 on June 12, 2022.
But before the legendary Obey mounted the stage to dish out his timeless songs of achievements and grandeur, the military band had entertained guests as part of the honour from a celebrant who retired two decades ago at the Second Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army as a Matron.
•Oba Abolarin with a guest and son of the celebrant, Steve Ayorinde
Ushering in the 80 year old Mama Seyi, as she is fondly called in reference to her son who was Commissioner for Information and Strategy and later Culture and Tourism, the military band reminded the birthday ‘girl’ of her years in the barracks and the glamour, discipline, order and glitz that attended that career.
But Mama Seyi has been a woman of many parts and that explained the huge crowd of the eminent who graced the occasion.
She is the Maye Iyalode of Awaye Land after she retired from the Ministry of Defence as a civilian staff.
A member of Itesiwaju Society of Christ Anglican Church, Elekuro Ibadan, she is also a member of Christian Sisters Association, Adesola Area Ibadan and the Secretary of Ore-Ofe society, Ibadan
Born into the Oyewole family of Ibadan, she was married to Chief Sunday Adetunji Ayorinde, who died 30 years ago.
Of course, the church did a huge job of unveiling the real Madam Ayorinde with her devotion to God in the vineyards of the Lord.
The clerics at the Christ Anglican Church, Elekuro in the heart of Ibadan have glorious words to describe Mrs. Ayorinde having devoted her life to the service of God and humanity through the opportunities offered by those church and community platforms.
The three hours of service solemnly gave accounts of a journey through life but well lined with devotion.
She then deserved all the prayers offered before the guests moved to the reception, at least, one of the best that Ibadan can offer for dining and winning in celebration of a good woman.
From royal fathers like the Orangun of Oke-Ila, Oba (Dr.) Dokun Abolarin, to legal luminaries like Chief Bolaji Ayorinde, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria to the crème de la crème of the Nigerian entertainment, arts and recreation industry, the list was endless as artistes, publishers, editors, politicians trooped in to give Mrs. Ayorinde the most befitting honour that only decades of service to fatherland can buy.
Intermittently, the compere, a master of his trade who sent some of the guests off their sits with rib-cracking wisecracks, came on his microphone to announce that in the midst of the glamorous gathering were Kunle Afolayan, filmmaker and a friend of the son of the celebrant, Steve Ayorinde.
Expectedly, heads would turn to see the screen miracle workers such as Yomi Fash-Lanso, another actor when their names came up on the list of the attendees.
Steve Ayorinde, who has had a distinguished career in journalism from his days in the flagship The Guardian to The Comet (now The Nation), down to The PUNCH and later as Editor and Managing Director of National Mirror and today a popular face on leading television station, Arise TV, pulled together the best of the newsroom gurus (serving or retired) and a whole lot of those in the entertainment sector.
President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, where Ayorinde had equally served, Mustapha Isa, ace entertainment writes like Biodun Kupoluyi of Flip TV; Mojeed Jamiu of Upshot Reports, Semiu Okanlawon of NPO Reports, Joseph Adeyeye, Provost of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism and Editor-in-Chief of Vanguard, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, and many more were there to honour their friend celebrate her mother.
“She is simply just my mother and that is just all I can say. To begin to describe her is never to be able to come to a conclusion. Mama Seyi is hard to describe. She worked for and deserves every bit of the honour we can all give her at this stage of her life. She is a success,” Steve, the son told NPO Reports