The Egba Muslims Council on Saturday eulogized Dr. Lateefat Oyeyemi Kolapo urging her to continue to overcome barriers that earned her the recognition which led to her installation as the Iyalode of Egba Muslims.
Giving the charge at the installation ceremony Saturday in Abeokuta, Mufasir of Egbaland, Dr. Taofeeq Amolegbe, commended Dr. Oyeyemi Kolapo for her striking piety and commitment to the promotion of Islamic values.
According to him, the rare circumstance of the ceremony indicates the favour of God upon the Iyalode.
Discussing one of the circumstances, the cleric noted that very few people are able to step into their father’s shoes especially when the shoes are large and weighty.
“Children love to put on their father’s shoes, but that is only when they are still children. The situation changes at some point as the child gradually becomes an adult,’ he said, adding that the child’s disposition is same with regards to his or her father’s cap and clothes.
“When a father returns home and places his cap where his child can reach it, on sighting the cap, the child would usually happily put it on his or her own head. At childhood, we all exhibited high propensity to put on even the clothes of our fathers. But when a child begins to approach maturity age, they lose fondness for the father’s cloth. In fact, at some stage, the child would have no desire for the father’s clothing, cap or shoes,” he said.
The cleric, who said that while children happily put on their father’s shoes, cap and clothes only when the accessories hardly sized them, explained that the same child soon rejects the shoes, clothes and cap when he or she is old enough to use them.
He said the situation denotes the extent to which children can carry on the legacies of their parents, stating that God gives grace to only very few individuals to carry on the legacies of their parents.
He said, “In this regard, we see the grace of Almighty God on Alhaja Lafeefat Oyeyemi Sowunmi Kolapo, who is now wearing her father’s Islamic shoe in her adulthood. It is rare to have a child who would carry on the great legacies of their father. It is well known to us that Yemi Kolapo’s father, Alhaji Tayo Sowunmi stands out in piety as he administers his position as the Baba Adini of Iperu Remo.”
According to the cleric, “Oyeyemi Kolapo is the more worthy of the honor we are bestowing on her today, because she did not only emulate her father as a exemplary muslim, but she has joined him as a leader in Islam.”
Addressing Kolapo, the Mufasir said: “Oyeyemi Kolapo, you are among the very few and exceptional children who have not only shared your father’s shoe as a devout muslim, but today, you will begin to put on his cap of leadership in Islam to the glory of God almighty.
“Your father is a notable religious nobleman of Egbaland, you have also joined him as a noblewoman of the Egba people.’
“There is something that interests me in the installation of Yemi Kolapo as the Iyalode of Egba Muslims: It is that her father is alive to witness the conferment of this honor.’
“We have seen her father clad in a cap of glory, so too did we witness her mother in glory, and it is heartwarming and divine that Egba People will today witness how the daughter of two committed muslims will carry on the legacy of a devout parent.
“Let me tell a story of myself, the Mufasir said, and continued: ‘I am the son of Ogunfemi. I remember how about 50 or 51 years ago, in 1952 or 1953, I was among the children who trooped into this mosque. Some of us followed our parents to this mosque.’
“The noble people sit in front. There was attracted of splendor in the attires of the noble Muslims who worshiped alongside other members of the public in this hall. There was so much display of regalia and wealth. In those days, a wealthy nobleman may decide to dress in long chains that adorned him and shows him off as wealthy.
“One day, in the mosque, I approached my father and asked, “Father, why don’t you sit in front?” He said to me, “Only the noble sit in front,” and I replied, “Why don’t you become a noble and sit in front.” And then he prayed for me saying, “My son, that should not bother you because you too would be a nobleman.
“I remembered my father’s words when I was brought to the front on the day I became an Alfa of Egbaland.”
The cleric admonished the Iyalode to stay firm in her commitment to the promotion of Islamic values in Egbaland and around the world, adding that it will sustain the pride and honor that she has brought to her father and Egbaland.
“Nothing is better enjoyed by an elderly father than the honor he gets from the prosperity of his children; it is the food of accomplished fathers.’
“In this regard, we celebrate with your father, the Baba Adini of Egbaland on the noble responsibility being conferred on you today,’ the Mufasir added.
