*In Loving Memory of David Olatunde Agbeja September  9, 1920 – July 16, 1974*

50 years ago, you left us while on active service for your Ilesha Community, as Chairman of Otapete Methodist Church Building Committee and Permanent Secretary in the old Western Region. My darling father, you left us all behind, with no goodbyes or even the slightest sign that we would see you no more!! Daddy!!!

Then I was a teenager trying to find my feet in life. Your deep smile and kind but deep philosophical talks still resonate loudly in my ears. You were a man of few words, hardworking, sincere, loyal, trustworthy, honest to a fault, and a great disciplinarian. But who are we to doubt your intentions of leaving behind a name that would be known and associated with “Excellence”?

Daddy, all your children—Dame Erelu Sola Agbeja-Obada, Prof. Ronke Baiyeroju, Chief Babajide Olatunde-Agbeja, Pastor Remi Williams, and I—have followed in your giant footsteps. Did you hear that the Cooperative Bank you established for the Western Region grew bigger, and today its new name is rated high among Nigerian banks? Your legacy lives on, “Ọmọ Agbeja nla Bofa.” I started my banking career at the same bank you helped to establish.

Dear Daddy, for the 50 years you have been gone, my life has felt as if you have secretly been behind all I am today, especially my dress sense. Continue to stay with us. Forever, you will be in my mind. Thank you, “Agba man,” for being a good father.

Otunba (Mrs.) ‘Debola Osibogun (née Agbeja) President, Consumer Awareness and Financial Enlightenment Initiative (CAFEi) & Former President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN)