Former Shooting Stars FC of Ibadan chairman, Elder Bode Oyewole, reflects on what life has brought to the bale for him as he clocked 64 on March 15 2016

“I bless the womb of my dear mother, Mrs. Bolanle Oyewole, a mother in a million, where I was incubated for nine months. And I am grateful to my father, Adeoye Oyewole, the best one could have, for being my vehicle unto this world on March 15, 1952. I bless the name of the Lord for the grace of being a living soul. When I look back to the years past and think of my life; how, alongside my peers, I lived life to the fullest, engaging in all the encompassing exuberances – youthful and otherwise – I will be an ingrate if I fail to acknowledge God, the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth. A couple of days ago, upon deep reflection, I listed a number of my friends and classmates who had become servants of God. It was to acknowledge the awesomeness of God as well as His divine way of doing things, because, but for His mercy, our pattern of life when growing up did not, in anyway, suggest that any one of us could be a vessel in His mighty hand. What could have been my mission on earth if He had not allowed me to live this long to know, serve and worship Him? I will be eternally grateful for this uncommon and unquantifiable grace.

At 64, I give glory to the Almighty God from whom all blessings flow. The profession of journalism which I chose and still practice has afforded me all the best one could wish for in life. The profession has taken me to any length one can dream of and I’m not done yet. I have, through it, met with the shakers and movers of the society and I’m still on the move. I can’t thank God enough for leading me to the right profession. In the course of the journey, one has suffered betrayal, mistrust, slander, backbiting, envy, and all sorts of things. But I’m grateful to God that I have not been overwhelmed by any of those human vices. It is expedient on this occasion of my birthday to shed light on my pet project of being a newspaper publisher – a project that has, in the view of some people, become a pipe dream. In fairness to those in that school of thought, the inability of the project to take off, years after the idea came into open, confirms their pessimism. But our mission and vision remain intact.

Although newspapering is a business in which even angels fear to tread, especially now in Nigeria, we are determined to do it; the hiccups notwithstanding. In a venture of this nature, funding should be the main issue. But in our own case and against the permutations and expectations of our traducers, it has not been the case. Rather, we have been bogged down by the Nigerian system which, rather than encourage initiatives, kills them. We found ourselves in a system that promotes self far above collective interests; a system that promotes stagnation, bureaucracy and red-tapism instead of dynamism, innovation and result-oriented approaches. In the time past, we have submitted and subjected ourselves to the dictates of a system which used the power at its disposal to drag us up and down, showing little or no respect for our feelings all in the name of seeking for franchise.

Then, relying on our discussions and meetings with our supposed partners, we were feeding our well-wishers with information on when we would hit the newsstands, a development which turned us to liars and less serious set of people at the end of the day. We were taught a bitter lesson! Happily however, we (I and my dedicated team) have put all these behind us and are more than ready to forge ahead. In full realization of the fact that God is the ultimate Decider, we have taken our destiny in our own hands. We are now working at our own pace. We are no more tied to the apron strings of anybody. When we set our time table, it will be held sacrosanct and sooner than later, we will roll out the time table. As I celebrate my 64th birthday, I thank everybody I have come across, whatever may be their contributions to my life – positive or negative. I acknowledge the fact that their contributions to my life have made me what I’m today – a grateful living soul and a testimony to God’s faithfulness and loving kindness.”