On this joyous occasion of your advent into the constellation of the world’s septuagenarians, I join the rest of the world to celebrate and felicitate with Asiwaju Yinka Fasuyi; a man in whom excellence finds habitation, in whom industry takes root, and in whom dynamism gains flesh and form.
Like the biblical Solomon, he is not only crowned with wisdom transcendent of hisgeneration, but also adorned with a heart as vast as the Atlantic, this Colossus bestrides the socio-economic spheres like an ancient Titan: his impacts etched on marble, and his deeds.
As the Asiwaju of ljesaland; he is, no doubt, a trail-blazer, a pathfinder, and a strategic navigator whose mantle was merited, having been chiselled through decades of sacrificial commitment to the upliftment of the good people of ljesaland.
Moreso, as the Balógun of ljebu-Jesa, the Bàbá Oba of Iwaraja-ljesa, and the Bàbá Oba of llaa-ljesa, it is not an exaggerated fact to describe him as a living custodian of cultural heritage, and a sublime bridge between the ancient and the contemporary.
Within the hallowed precincts of the Church, he occupies an exalted place in the Sanctuary as the Fourth Balogun ljo of the 129-year-old Holy Trinity Cathedral Church, Omofe, Ilesa, where his devotion is not perfunctory or cosmetic but fervent and consequential.
His commitment to the advancement of the Church of God affirms his enduring legacy as a soul perpetually inclined towards divinity and eternity. With a foresight akin to that of the biblical Joseph in Pharaoh’s Court, Asiwaju Fasuyi birthed the Supreme Management Training and Consultancy Services Ltd, a veritable citadel of intellectual alchemy, a sanctum where knowledge is distilled, and administrators, transmuted into vanguards of excellence.
Not resting on his oars and laurels, he further midwifed the lbadan Business School, which, today, is a beacon of entrepreneurial brilliance, minting transformational leaders, not only for Nigerian enterprises, but for theglobal agora.
Also, like the Good Samaritan whose compassion defied boundaries in the parable of our Lord, he founded the Asiwaju Yinka Fasuyi Foundation (AYFF). A community philanthropy organization, whose manifold interventions have touched, changed and elevated numerous lives across the vast tapestry of our nation, restoring hope to the desolate and the downtrodden.
Also, as the Patron of the lbadan Recreation Club (established In 1902) and the historic ljesa Sports Club, this noble statesman melds stateliness with simplicity, wisdom with warmth. and elegance with empathy.
To say, borrowing the words of Robert Bolt that he is a man for all seasons is not an overstatement. With 108 countries traversed, Aslwaju Fasuyi is a “roubadour” in every respect, particularly in the words Dennis Brutus: “A Troubadour I Traverse”. He is, indisputably. a living scroll upon which ‘Providence’ has inscribed Greatness!. Asiwaju Fasuyl belongs to the finest phylum of Nigeria’s gentlemen.
Now, as you mount the hallowed hill of three score and ten, you are not dwindling into the twilight of retirement; rather, you are ascending into the avalanche of grace and abundance of divine providence. Yours shall be a life typified by the Prophecy of Isaiah, “like a well-watered garden, a spring whose waters do not fail.”
You have danced through the decades with honour and purpose; may the coming years unfold with splendour and demonstrable dividends. From my humble and noble scribe, I rise, with an unrestrained joyous pen and a heart pulsating with delight, to felicitate a dependable compatriot, a staunch statesman, a revered trailblazer, and a quintessential gentleman, whom even time itself honours with deference.
Happy 70th Birthday, Aslwaju Yinka Fasuyl.
Long may.your banner of honour fly aloft.
Long may your steps echo through the corridors of grace, and “as thy days are, so shall thy strength be”.
Signed:CHIEF WOLE OLANIPEKUN, CFR, SAN, LLD, D.LITT, FCIArb., FNIALS
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