Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom, so the Psalmist prayed unto to the Lord. The Ekiti State Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Bisi Kolawole surely was well taught by the Lord and he understood. Why won't he praise the Lord and sing hallelujah, he is a man that God has blessed in the true sense of the word.
Honourable Bisi Kolawole hit the diamond age of 60 on the 20th day of September 2016, though you'll want to argue he doesn't look it, far younger than that. The celebration was not a noisy one, it was simple, the type you have in church(special service) with few family members and associates, not with pump and pageantry, that was the type he had in his Efon Alaaye hometown yesterday.
The moment of deep reflection and appreciation of God's goodness continued on Wednesday with a visit to Erelu Adebayo Motherless Babies' home in Iyin Ekiti. It was his first time of visiting such a place and every minute spent there was emotional. The commissioner's team arrived the centre around 10:45am with various gifts, the kids who had been informed that they will be having a visitor moved from their classrooms to their sitting room.
They weren't living to be pitied, they treated the commissioner's team to different tunes, rounding it up with the popular 'Happy birthday to you' song. Mrs. Kehinde Kolawole, wife of Hon. Bisi Kolawole gave them words of encouragement, she prayed and urged them to be of good behaviour.
The celebrant asked that God bless them with long life, wisdom, knowledge and understanding. "You will be doctors tomorrow, you will be lawyers tomorrow, you are the commissioners tomorrow, may you not fall sick, may God be with you, like mummy told you, be of good behaviour, by the grace of God, you will have a better tomorrow, may you not be put to shame, may you not be cut short", the celebrant said.
Hon. Kolawole thanked the social workers in charge of the centre for their care and efforts at making this special kids a better being, he prayed for God's blessings upon them with the assurance that he will henceforth be a regular visitor at the centre. "I have never been with them this way, seeing them this way, one feels...", Hon Bisi Kolawole couldn't complete those words before breaking down in tears, mopping his eyes intermittently with his white handkerchief.
The Assistant Matron in charge of the centre, Mrs Modupe Ajayi thanked Hon. Kolawole for counting them worthy of his visit, she thanked him for the gifts and the words of encouragement. Responding to questions, Mrs. Ajayi said kids didn't get to the centre the same way, she explained that they came in categories, "some were abandoned by the road side, some were dropped in the gutter left to be swept away by flood, some lost their mothers at birth, some were rescued from women with mental challenges while some got there because they were maltreated by their step mums or dads".
While appreciating the state government, churches, societies and individuals for making life worth living for the kids, Mrs. Ajayi called on youths who does not have what it takes to take care of babies to desist from having premarital sex. " My advice goes to the youths, they should abstain from sex, dumping children in gutters, dustbins or by the roadside is a sin unto God and humanity, one doesn't know where and when God will take revenge, youths who are not ready to take responsibility for their actions should practice abstinence", she said.
Hon. Bisi Kolawole thanked God for good health, he appreciated God for making him relevant in the society. "I will forever be grateful to God, he's the Alpha and Omega, he's responsible for whatever happens to us, he's been there for me all along, am grateful to God", he said.
On why he chose to celebrate with the mother less kids, Hon. Bisi Kolawole said " coming here has afforded me an opportunity of knowing that if you are comfortable, if you are wealthy, if you are not experiencing what this innocent kids are experiencing, you may not know what God has done for you, they have not offended God, they have not offended anybody, they are not there on their own volition, it's how God has designed it.
"Coming here has given me another opportunity to know that we are just living by his grace and it could have happened to anybody, I have promised by the grace of God to be here on regular basis whenever I can afford it, I feel very emotional about it, honestly, honestly, I broke down seeing them, I am just trying to pull myself together. God is good all the time, whatever he does is right, so I know he knows that with or without their parents, they will survive, people will take care of them.
"That is what is happening and by the grace of God, I am committing myself to that project, whenever I can afford it, I must remember them. It's been a great opportunity seeing them this morning".
Hon. Kolawole, who is a former Ekiti State House of Assembly member and holder of Chieftaincy titles in Efon Alaaye, Igbara-Odo Ekiti and Odo Owa Ekiti admonished other well meaning indigenes of the state to support the government in making life more meaningful to the special kids. He said: "my advice is that they should first visit this place like me,if you don have anything, visit this place first, you will know there is need for you to give to them, you will know there is a need for us to take care of them, you will know that the fact that you can afford three square meal doesn't make you a super human being, it is not as if you are greater than them.
"It's just that God has given you the grace, we should remember them, they are helpless, God is their help in times of need and I know he's going to be there for them, we are the ones he'll use, those of us that are out there, those of us that are well placed. For example, I was around when Mr. Governor had a project here, when the wife of the governor committed herself to a project here, it is a very kind gesture and those of us out there should think about doing something for them, they can live a better life, I encourage us to pay attention to them".
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