Funeral Service Of Emeritus Prof. Theophilus Oladipo Ogunlesi In Sagamu, Ogun State

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REMARKS DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE FUNERAL SERVICE OF EMERITUS PROFESSOR THEOPHILUS OLADIPO OGUNLESI IN SAGAMU, OGUN STATE ON THE 14^TH OF APRIL, 2023

PROTOCOLS

It is a great honour to be here to join family, friends, associates and the global community to celebrate the life and times of a great Nigerian, an African colossus, and a man who by his scholarship and practice, made a global impact in medicine.

He was the first professor of medicine in Nigeria, the first head of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, the first President of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, Emeritus Professor Theophilus Oladipo Ogunlesi.

It is difficult to find a Nigerian who has contributed more to establishing the medical profession in Nigeria and scholarships in medicine in Nigeria. With a long list of research achievements, he built a department and teaching hospital that became the reference of excellence in Africa and the Commonwealth.

He was the founding director of the Ibarapa Community Health Programme, which became a model for primary health care interventions in many parts of Africa, and the precursor of our celebrated National Primary Health Care system established by Prof Olikoye Ransome Kuti.

Prof. Ogunlesi lived a life completely dedicated to public service, he had strong values, hard work, selfless service, transparency, and propriety – doing things properly.

In 2021, he asked to speak to me and I called him, and he complained that his pension was no longer being paid and wanted to know the agency responsible and why. As the conversation continued, I teased him about the fact that he certainly didn’t need the pension and he said, “true, thank God for that, but this is a matter of principle. Why should anyone work for many years and be deprived of his pensions in his old age.”  I am pleased to say that we were able to sort out the issue.

After that, we spoke again and he reminded me that he was one of many people who suffered from pensions not being paid and that I should do something about it. He reminded me about 3 times, to do something about pensions.

The life of Prof. Ogunlesi and those of his ilk, challenge this generation to live up to the high values necessary to build people, institutions and our society and to live lives that are defined by achievements that contribute to the common good.

He said himself in an interview he gave in 2017 to the This Day Newspaper and I quote, “but to me, real wealth means being fulfilled in the assignment God has committed into your hands, and being able to put smiles on the faces of other people who are in need. I am not a businessman in the Nigerian sense of the word, but my lifelong business has been, and still is, to take care of the sick, promote health and prevent sickness, through health education, and help the poor and the needy as best as I can.”

Prof. Ogunlesi’s life and times tell an important story of a time when the Nigerian elite, the academia, business and even religious elite believed in the nation and its potential, were proud of that and worked diligently to build the nation.

He was the founder and first President of the Ibarapa Community Health Programme as I had said and it is important to mention that this service was entirely voluntary, trying to develop a healthcare system from the scratch. A system that would cater to the health needs of the poorest in the community

I think what must give us all the greatest joy is where he is now, which depends with all due respect, on a man’s relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. We are glad that he knew the Lord personally and believed in him. He said himself at the age of 94, in that same 2017 interview, and I quote him again, “God Almighty has been my best adviser, He is my master, best adviser and best friend.”

There is no doubt in my mind that he knew the Lord Jesus Christ and served Him as we have heard, throughout his life till the end. We are proud that today he lives eternally with the Lord Jesus Christ.

On behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Government and the people of our nation, I express our sincere condolences to the family of Prof. Oladipo Ogunlesi, the Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, and the government of our State, Ogun State.

I pray that his memory and legacy will remain forever blessed.

Amen.