Eni Ogun – Warrior, leader, fearless, battle tested, survivor  

Eni Ogun – Descendant of Ogun, the god of war and Iron. Hunter, innovator, adventurer, mysterious

Eni Ogun – From the land where the River Ogun flows gracefully as it waters the lands that have produced great sons and daughters from one generation to the next

Eni Ogun – One man who stands as twenty. He calls one and a hundred answer. He speaks and multitudes listen. He writes and nations pore over the meaning

Thank you, Professor Niyi Osundare

For telling us about these four different Oguns all rolled into one

I am taking your permission for granted

That I may explore these Oguns further

What do you say to the indestructible warrior

who has fought nine decades worth of battles

How do you describe the wielder of the flaming pen

 the one with the innocent countenance of a gentle Uncle

who strikes fear into the hearts of many

as he suffers no fool gladly with just a raise of his eyebrows

Where do you begin to describe the breadth, depth, reach

 of one of the greatest sages of all time

What do you say about the son of Mama ‘Wild Christian’

and Papa ‘Essay’

The husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother, uncle, friend

And that is not counting the legion who share no blood

Yet share tutelage, love, affection, respect, loyalty

Stretching across lifetimes, generations and oceans

Come closer and listen

You can never find enough words

Not in any dictionary in any language

So, if we cannot say

We cannot describe

We dare not begin to recount

What do we do?

We first of all say Thank You

As the indestructible Eni Ogun marks 90 years in this realm of existence

There is nothing to give he does not already have

He is richer than Croesus

His wealth is not measured by any of the mundane parameters

 celebrated by those with poor minds and poorer spirits

His riches far exceed whatever number can be found

from the impossible task of counting his luxuriant white mane

Move a little closer and pay attention

After saying Thank You

We show him how grateful we are

How?

We humbly turn to what he has told us over many a season

We reverently learn from the examples he has shown

It really does not matter where you begin or end

Simply read, reflect, learn, pass on, then repeat the cycle

There is so much to choose from

If you are one of the lazy ones who always said ‘His books are too hard to read’

We will not judge you

The one-man battalion has a mind fashioned as a weapon

Do not blame him, he is the sole occupant of his barracks

His imagination has fired bullets, detonated bombs and cut all who should be concerned to size with a sword forged in the furnaces of Ogun himself.

Find one of his many, many, many, many, many, many ‘Interventions’

Surely, there should be something that can be understood

Please don’t move away, there is more

There are those who try to tell us about tomorrow

Yet, they are here with us today

 How do they know?

No one knows tomorrow, right?

Yes, no one knows tomorrow

But we often get signs

So, we can prepare, for better or worse

And when we do, it does not matter where the messenger comes from,

what tongue they speak,

What colour they are

what waters flow through their village

or what can be found beneath their garments

We received messages many decades ago

From the keeper of stories told and untold

He lived it, felt it, starved because of it and shed his blood for it

He was hidden away for two score plus two months

He knew, once they come for one, they eventually come for all

He told of a time when those who we ask to lead us

Will be those who place lashes on our backs

He knew about lashes

He was the recipient of many, both seen and unseen

He warned of a season when worshippers will become the worshipped

And the gate-keepers of the imported faiths

Would guard those gates more fiercely than the original owners

How?

With leashes on our necks

Padlocks on our minds

And bonfires to cruelly erase the memory of our ancestors

He told us

That the rich, great and mighty

Will take from the poor, lowly and downtrodden

He foresaw a time when the guns would boom ceaselessly

Yet the resilience of the people would silence the deafening sound

He lamented the lustful desire to service the guns of war

Rather than swallow the bitter but necessary pills of peace

Be your brother’s keeper, he would preach

Be your sister’s wrapper he would imply

No, we would be too busy Yorubaing, Igboing, Hausaing, Fulanining, Ijawing ourselves

into a morbid frenzy of meaninglessness

Before you move away

Remember

Many men and women have died

Uncountable jewels have been lost

Yet, this man lives on

He is still here

He still speaks

He still writes

He still foretells

He still warns

Is it a coincidence that the abundant white mane reminds you of the lion?

Maybe

Maybe not

As long as the lion roars in his habitat

And the lioness does her thing

Our famous incomparable hunter will continue his journey

Armed with guns both literal and metaphorical

With regular sips from his favoured products of Bacchus

His piercing eyes seeing everything and missing nothing

Sifting prey from predator

Pointing out friend from foe

A task that has taken a lifetime

And even that will never be enough

If you ever wanted to know the true meaning of a life of impact

Look no further

Happy birthday

Thank You

We are grateful

We honour you

We adore you

Eni Ogun

Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is a Gender Specialist, Policy Advocate and Writer. She is the Founder of Abovewhispers.com, an online community for women. She can be reached at BAF@abovewhispers.com