Pastor Sola Ajayi and Prince Bashir Adefaka: Echoes from the past as The DEFENDER publisher celebrated at 50
By KEMI KASUMU
Saturday September 3, 2022 was all along a hectic day for the particular reporter stationed to monitor and collate goodwill messages as they trickled in celebration of publisher of The DEFENDER Newspaper, Nigeria’s young but fast growing multilingual online medium with increasing number of readers in the West, Middle-East, Asia and across Africa.
One particular message that readily caught the attention of production team was one that came from an astute preacher, Sola Ajayi, who is Senior Pastor, at the RCCG Sunshine Assembly Zonal Headquarters, Egbe, Ikotun, Lagos State.
Pastor Ajayi, a member of Akure Muslim College Old Students’ Association (AMCOSA), is not just an old boy but also immediate predecessor of Prince Bashir Adefaka as the school’s Social Prefect 1990 set.
He simply, in an egalitarian manner, threw in his own contribution and put his 1991 set successor to the public notice by way of telling more of The DEFENDER publisher’s success in the school days political activities he partook in.
Fact-checks revealed that of four classes of 30 students each, Adefaka of Art Class won nomination to run for the Presidency of Akure Muslim College Press Club, which also served as debate club attending debate competitions intra and inter-schools in the old Akure Local Government at the time, now split into Akure South and Akure North.
That nomination saw him partake in the school’s Press Club presidential election that he won while his closest contestant, Khadijat Ibrahim of Science Class, now a doing well Nigeria’s registered nurse, emerged his vice president as the election umpire declared him President-elect and subsequently sworn-in as President of the School’s Press Club from the tail end of 1990 until the end of 1991 session when his tenure naturally expired.
Reminiscence of this past event involving some members of the era including the newly acknowledged 50-year-old Prince Bashir Adefaka was the major highlight that the wonderful senior, Pastor Sola Ajayi sought to do while celebrating the Isolo, Akure South Local Government Prince on Saturday September 3, 2022.
Celebrating his old junior, Ajayi, now doing greatly well in Lagos both in the Lord’s Vineyard and business, said:
“Happy Golden Jubilee celebration to our Amiable Prince Bashir Adefaka.
“He was the Social Prefect 1991 set (Akure Muslim College, Akure) and also the Elected President of the School’s Press Club.
“Your new landmark age is blessed abundantly in Jesus name.
“Congratulations and best wishes my beloved brother,” he said.
