“Legacy is not leaving something for people, it is leaving something in people”
– Peter Strope
This quote attributed to Peter Strope is instructive talking about legacy.Many people live but only few endure in terms of their legacy to their community or humanity. A legacy is what is bequeathed to the next generation in consistent benefits and impact.
Names like Muhammad Mustapha, Mary the mother of Jesus, Maria Montessori, Mahatma Gandhi, Thomas Edison, Obafemi Awolowo, Taslim Elias, Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare, Mary Slessor and may others left their legacies to the world.
The name Bola Ajibola is another legacy. It is a household name that must be immortalized.One name in a century. Like rainbow, the name glows with several beautiful colours. A global citizen. A legal giant. A philanthropist par excellence. A peace advocate. A prince noble. A sage and visionary. An arbitration juggernaut. Education promoter. Islam’s ambassador. View him from any perspective of his life, Bola Ajibola was and still is a marketable brand.Like a slogan in marketing communications that “a good product sells itself”, the brand name Bola Ajibola can successfully promote a cause in law, arbitration or education around the world. The name sold like brands in their retentive stage of Advertising Spiral. A name that resonates positivity with people, such as Bola Ajibola did and still does.
One who has legacy lives forever. They live forever as a philosophy in the hearts of men. They live as institutionalized values for today, tomorrow and the future unborn. They live forever as model for rookies seeking the path to greatness.Bola Ajibola is a legacy today and tomorrow .
What do you call a man who dreamt a laudable vision in education at age 70, who believed in that vision and nurtured the vision until it crystalized to benefit humanity first and second decades later? His last twenty five years on earth was especially dedicated to the service of the Almighty and benefit of humanity.
People of the future see tomorrow ahead of today. They selflessly invest in their legacy without consciously knowing that they are doing so. Because their time, energy, resources, sweats and blood are heavily invested in lifting and impacting humanity positively.Because they see what others do not see and toil extra hours while others are snoring away in their sleep.Because they are a rare creation of every generation. Because they are only one in fifty or hundred years. They are uncommon.They are extraordinary. They are exceptional. They are outstanding. Our own Bola Ajibola was and still is one such rare breed.
People of legacy are not committed to themselves but humanity. They are not serving interests of themselves but that of prosperity. They are the cornerstone of the world and human existence. Hence, their names are carved boldly on the rock taller than the world. Their words remain evergreen on lips of humanity .Their deeds are rays of guidance to humankind. Their acts and kindness are preserved in the book of life. Their names are appended in the book of history. So, they do not vanish in the oblivion of history.
From the foregoing, is it not, therefore, apposite for us the world to preserve and promote the legacy, to immortalize the words, deeds and actions of an apostle of law, promoter of education and developer of human capital in person of Prince Bola Ajibola, CFR, KBE, D.Litt, FNIALS, FCIArb, SAN?
The turning of the sod of Bola Ajibola Gallery coincided with the 89th birthday of the super citizen on the 22nd March 2023. Two weeks later, the global citizen had a glorious exit from this sinful wold.A gallery will be erected in honour a one-in-century personage on the soil of his ultimate vision, Crescent University, Abeokuta.
Glory be to God!
(C) Idris Katib 2023
