By Oladapo Sofowora

Scribbling this bibliophile of Deputy Corp Marshall, Dr. Kayode Olagunju, some things remain constant; and they are; excellence, success, brilliance, intelligence, audacity and consistency.

Little wonder, since his foray into service as one of the pioneer committed officers of the Federal Road Safety Commission(FRSC), he has always remained consistent and pragmatic in his approach to issues which has placed him far above his peers on the job. He didn’t just get to the pinnacle of his career by fluke, he was able to attain this enviable height through sheer dint of hard work and purposeful persistence.

Today, Olagunju, who is one of the most popular poster boys in the FRSC, has remained highflying. He has sustained a meritorious career, devoid of blemish, and which ultimately earned him a well deserved promotion from an Assistant Corp Marshall to a Deputy Corp Marshall, recently. This belatedly came several years after his well deserved promotion was needlessly delayed by the immediate past leadership of the commission.

Regardless of the many clichés woven around law enforcement officers, the Ilesha, Osun State-born graduate of Geography from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has remained above board and remained decent while receiving many accolades for his transparency. All these crowned the end of his sojourn in active service as he was given a ceremonial send forth that marked his retirement from service after which he would proceed on leave before his 60th birthday in March 2023.

Unlike several others that experienced mood swing when stared in the face by retirement for fear of what the future holds in stock, Olagunju was so excited to have left an indelible footprints and joyous to have contributed his own quota to saving lives and avoiding death on the highways.

Amidst torrents of ovations, Figaro, as he is fondly called by admirers, also went emotional as he had redolent memories of the good and hard times he faced while in active service even to a point of being shot by assailants in the course of his job.

The golf-loving officer has remained grateful to his creator who watched over him and kept him away from many lurking evils.

Apart from his fine career as an officer, he also had highflying academic records, holding a Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D, in Transport Geography from the University of Lagos, Master of Science, M.Sc in Transport Studies from the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye. He also has other professional qualifications from within and outside the country and is the author of several books.

Credible sources reliably informed this writer that he is working on his professorship and intends to go into academics entirely. Here’s wishing Figaro best of luck as he takes a memorable bow from a fruitful career in the FRSC.

Sofowora lives in Lagos.