By Segun Ayobolu
My dear Abimbola, I celebrate you as you commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of your birth for a life that has been well-lived, especially in the service of God and humanity.
On this diamond anniversary, it is fitting to acknowledge how, like a diamond, you have sparkled and lit up many lives, including mine and our children’s. Beyond us, the spark of your existence has ignited many other lives from far and near. Like the diamond, you are valued, treasured, and much sought after. Most especially, you wear value and humility with ease. Above all, like the diamond, you possess an inner strength that has been a rock for all of us. I pray for many more years of a very healthy and fulfilling life for you”.
That was the former governor of Lagos State and Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), a man with a coldly logical and clinical legal mind waxing passionately poetic and lyrical in celebrating the 60th birthday, last Sunday, April 6, of his beloved wife, Dame Abimbola Emmanuella Fashola.
Stepping into the large shoes of her predecessor as First Lady of Lagos State (1999-2007), Senator (Mrs) Oluremi Tinubu, CON, now First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs Fashola played the role with uncommon grace, disarming modesty and simplicity as well as quiet dignity. Her NGO, the Leadership Empowerment and Resource Network (L.E.A.R.N) has contributed immensely to enriching, transforming and adding value to lives in pursuit of the common good.
Her wisdom, deep spirituality and emotional support were no doubt a critical factor in the outstanding success of Mr Fashola both as governor and Minister. In his felicitation with Mrs Fashola on the landmark occasion, President Bola Tinubu described her as “a steadfast pillar of support for her husband, offering tremendous help during his tenure as Lagos Governor and Minister of Works and Housing “. The President lauded her contributions as an experienced administrator in education management and as a passionate advocate for health and Socio-economic issues while acknowledging her impact on public awareness and sensitization campaigns on children’s and women’s health. This column joins Dame Fashola’s numerous well-wishers in praying for many more years of good health, continued success, divine wisdom and God’s abundant grace for a woman of immense virtue and value.
