Sir Omotosho joined the saints triumphant yesterday having lived a remarkable life.
I met Sir Omotosho in person when I joined the institute of Directors over a decade ago. He was a member of council IOD, but prior to that, I had read a lot about his remarkable professional career in several literature.
I want to highlight just a few of the character qualities that I first thought of when reflecting on Sir Omotosho’s life:
Responsible.
Responsibility was at the core of his being — shouldering the responsibility of leading his family and guiding his children, from childhood through adolescence and into their adult lives; taking responsibility to provide leadership in most of the organizations he was committed to like the Institute of Directors, the Ekiti state Covid 19 Response and Resource mobilization committee where I was privileged to serve on with him in the last two months of his life, and just in general daily life. If Sir Omotosho saw something that needed to be done, he would make sure it got done.
Faithful.
Sir Omotosho was “Mr. Reliable”. If he made a commitment, he kept it. You never had to wonder if he was going to show up; he was always there. He followed through on commitments made — in fact, you would never think of Sir Omotosho not following through. He was rock solid. You wanted him on your team — and he was sought out by organizations because they knew he would help you achieve your goals.
Investing in others.
I’m not sure of the best way to put this, or of a good singular term, but Sir Omotosho gave his life in the service of others. He was not self-promoting. He did not seek positions of leadership — he was seen as a leader and asked to take leadership positions by those around him. After his retirement, he spent much of his time and energy meeting with others — teaching, mentoring, listening and encouraging.
During our last conversation about a month ago, he was in high spirits, and he shared with me an experience he had, a baptism of sort, when he relocated to New York for further studies many years ago, and how the relationships he developed then impacted on his life significantly. Oga was kind, he was a giver, and always wanted to help budding professionals.
He was a man of integrity, who spoke up when he felt the truth had to be reiterated.
Supportive
Sir Omotosho attended our daughter’s wedding 5 years ago, not only as our guest, but as a family friend and neighbor to our in-laws for about 4 decades.
At my Induction as fellow of the institute of directors in 2018, he also played a supportive role, particularly because I was the only Ekiti indigene/woman being inducted as fellow that evening. He was also awarded the highest honor of the institute; Distinguished fellow DFIoD at the same event.
Professional
He believed in structure, process planning and process reviews. He stood up for due process and accountability all the time with a sense of dignity.
Integrity
He was a man of integrity, who spoke up when he felt the truth had to be reiterated.
May God Almighty grant him eternal rest. May God Almighty take care of his beautiful family.
Rest In Peace Sir Omotosho. You have left a worthy legacy for your children.
Folusho Olaniyan.
June 6 2020