AN APPRECIATION -:Being the Remarks of the Celebrant to round up the 3-days activities in commemorating the 65th years Anniversary of Senat...
AN APPRECIATION -:Being the Remarks of the Celebrant to round up the 3-days activities in commemorating the 65th years Anniversary of Senator Adegbenga Sefiu Kaka’s Birthday.
Glory! Glory!! Glory!!! be to ALMIGHTY ALLAH, The Most Merciful and the Most Benevolent. That I am witnessing the celebration of 65years on earth is a confirmation that sincere supplications are accepted by Allah. The life expectancy of 65 years was self-imposed way back in the late '60s, in anticipation of my not crossing the 40 years threshold. This was in consonance with my earlier hopeless start in life.
From birth, up to the end of primary school education, it was perennial cast of doubt about survival. The challenges became accentuated, from health vagaries to psychological trauma when my father, of blessed memory, suddenly answered the call of Almighty Allah on October 25,1968, whilst my poor self was just in Form 1 at age 16 years plus- courtesy of additional years in the Quranic School.
As the, now, first child of seven children of my mother (she had lost the first three children, inexplicably to the cold hands of premature death), I put forth a special request for at least 40 years of meaningful existence and, if it pleases HIM, a maximum of 65 years.
I believe, as ever, that God has a purpose for every living being, and the efficacy of prayers of the righteous and unrighteous can be both potent, but to teach different lessons for the benefit of human race. Hence the humble adoption of 'the complete submission to the Will of God' stance.
It is for this reason that I give unqualified glory and adoration to HIM alone for the unexpected unique attainment.
It is marvelous, memorable, fulfilling, humbling, satisfying, actualizing, rewarding and endlessly many more. It is indeed a RARE GIFT, after the seemingly insurmountable vicissitude of life. I regard this gift as a fore-runner to the hereafter, as I begin today, right here, to LIVE TODAY AS IF THERE ISN'T GOING TO BE TOMORROW.
I beseech Allah to continue extending His guidance, grace, mercy, favour and benevolence to my further attempts and resolves at 'COMPLETE SUBMISSION TO HIS WILL'.
As a token of appreciation of Allah’s faithfulness to all that relates to me, you are all gathered, not to just commemorate today's occasion, but to also join in the dedication and commissioning of this 'offering' of a Block of Four Laboratories and an Assembly Hall donated to Ansar-Ud-Deen Model College, a Non-Governmental and Not-for-Profit but Human Capacity Development Venture, by the Ijebu Zone of Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, graciously located in Ijebu-Igbo.
Each of the apartments is dedicated to some of those, of the too numerous personalities, that have contributed in no small measure to what I am today, by being helpers to Allah’s 'KUN FAYAKUN' (Be! And It Shall Be!).
As I begin with the commencement of the would-be seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years of the extra time, it might please Allah to add to this milestone; I crave the indulgence of those I might have offended through acts of omission and/or commission to kindly forgive my shortcomings and iniquities.
I am also seizing the opportunity of this unique occasion to declare remission of all acts of trespasses against my person and/or interests. Thenceforth, it is charity to all and malice to none. May Allah help me to uphold this vow up to the end of my time. Ameen.
These Remarks will be incomplete if I failed to recognize the overt and covert contributions of the following:
My Father: Alhaji Hamzat Olorunnisola Kaka. He laid the foundation of true love, spiritual guidance, family bond and cohesiveness, philanthropy, honesty and fear of God.
My Mother: Alhaja Idiat Adebisi Kaka. She was a Workaholic, unrepentant Disciplinarian, Spiritualist of uncommon faith, cheerful giver and lover, honest to a fault, Philanthropist, even with limited resources and despite being challenged by enormous burden of seven fatherless children.
My Uncle: Engr Popoola Olayinka Okeowo and the wife. He singularly picked up the challenge of my education and those of my siblings, immediately after the death of my father, until I graduated from the University in 1978. He laid for us a solid educational foundation as well as spiritual and moral rectitude.
My Teachers (Formal and Informal): My respect to the informal neighborhood, co-existential moulder of life. The conscious and unconscious individuals, contributing unquantifiable inputs to my phenotypic make-ups.
I cannot thank enough my formal Teachers, Uztas, Mallams, Lecturers, Colleagues (seniors and juniors) at work places, individual and organizational resource persons. They were the true pillars.
Political Game Masters and Military Strategists: These are managers of intrigues, making unintended imprint on my fertile, innocent and political mind, that inadvertently earned me the tag of a 'politician' despite my shortcomings and reluctance. They unknowingly whipped up the psychological, philosophical, instinctive, principled, tolerable, and enduring motivated behaviour in my day to day dealings with fellow human beings.
Direct Contacts: Seniors and Juniors in different organisations who taught me lessons in induced affinity, acceptance of what is unchangeable and bonded interpersonal/ organisational relationship, resulting in team spirit and forging of synergies .
My Three Governors (Military and Civilian): They contributed immensely to the sharpening of the needed managerial skills required to navigate the murky waters of social, economic, political, cultural and ethical life.
Friends and Acquaintances: i have no best friend, as all friends are special in my eyes and mind, notwithstanding the individual differences. You have all been wonderful in being there for me at all times, especially when it mattered most.
Perceived Foes: It may interest you that I don't have any. I am always guided by divine caution in dealing with those presenting themselves as enemies. Some call it innate quick-wittedness, but I regard it as divine intervention or if you like, the hands of God Almighty.
My Darling Wives: Hmmmmm!!! The more they tried to understand the perpetually itinerant, sometimes erratic, impatient , temperamental, penetratingly minded, but of course very caring and loving husband, the farther away I am to them. All in grim determination to succeed and achieve the best for all. While I sometimes consider them as giving me sufficient doses of distractions, because of my innate characteristics, I most often pitied them for the occasional contradictions between myself and their quiet, simple, tender, kind, and loving dispositions.
Whatever the limitations, we are purposefully and happily married with great children and formidably bonded spiritually to the glory of God and admiration of the people around us. I thank them both for their understanding, tolerance and comportment.
My Loving Children: The golden apples of my eyes, providing me with the needed anxieties and succour that intermittently serve as the needed tonic to energize and rev me to greater heights from time to time. I love you all.
My Siblings: Wonderful companions, initially thought of as unnecessary trailer-burden, while imagining self as overloaded steam-engine. They individually and collectively presented me with fait accompli, varying challenges that made the thinking caps fitted from tender age to date. To God, once more, be the glory.
The 65th Anniversary Planning Committee: I respectfully doff my hat for the great personalities, imbued with uncommon sense of effective planning, organisation, coordination, execution, urgency, humour, intuition, sound judgment, review mechanism and backing of responsibilities with relevant authorities.
To all mentioned above and those inadvertently omitted, my respect, adoration and love to you.
Individually and collectively, you joined nature to nurture and modify my genetic make-up to present whatever I exhibited as Traits in the last 65 years.
Without you and the 'One and only One', Almighty Allah, I am nobody.
Finally, the desire to put up this infrastructure was spurred by the need to give support to our ailing educational system. The collapsing educational pyramid right from the base, at the primary school level, is taking its toll on the Secondary tier in the middle and the Tertiary at the Apex level. In effect the emphasis on the tertiary as epitomized by the surge in the licensing of tertiary institutions may be a misplaced priority, if after all the primary and secondary levels are not adequately reinforced.
Public and private sectors must re-invigorate efforts at giving the deserving support to the feeder foundations to avoid imminent collapse. Parents and other stakeholders must come to terms with the reality, that education is too important to be left alone for motivation from government and other crops of manifest and hidden agenda. The decadence in our society is a reflection of the decay in our educational systems.
Some words to the Students, Teachers and Management of AUD Model College: It is incontrovertible that Science and Technology are the mother of discoveries, innovations and overall human development, hence my choice of Laboratories as my token of assistance to this model school and educational system in general. There is the need to keep the edifice in good condition, as Capital Investment that must be amortised from generated revenue. Such consolidated funds should be used for future development to meet the objective of the school as indeed a Model College.
My appreciation to the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Ijebu Zone, Ogun State and Yorubaland as well as League of Imams and Alias, for the honour of conferment of the title: AFOLASADINI of AUDS across the 3-Tiers.
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