IT is exactly two years today that the Patriarch of the Solanke family, the Right Reverend Dr Samuel Kolawole Solanke JP, translated to be with the Lord. Bishop Solanke was born on 28 December, 1936 in Ikorodu, Lagos State. He trained as a teacher before he received the call into the ministry. He was educated at the Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dallas, Texas, USA.He worked in several Methodist-owned institutes and churches, among which were Immanuel College of Theology, Samonda, Ibadan; Agbeni Methodist Cathedral Church, Agbeni, Ibadan; Methodist Dioceses of Ilorin, Kwara State and Remo, Sagamu, Ogun State. His parent were traditional worshippers but he got converted through his maternal grandmother, Madam Clementina Kumapayi of Isara, Ogun state.It was on Tuesday, January 19, 2010. I was getting my children ready for school, when I realised I had all the while been singing a funeral dirge - A o pade lese Jesu (We shall meet at the feet of Jesus.) An attempt to change the song found me singing - O se o po mo ti rokun lo foso, etc.Tears uncontrollably rolled down my cheeks when my brother and friend, Mr Seyi Salako called to enquire after daddy who had been sick. I moved to his school premises at Boluwaji, Ibadan, where his Pastor friend came to pray with us. And the man of God asked: Why not pray for God's will to be done' Not quite 30 minutes after the prayer, my nephew, Seyi, called to announce the passing to glory of my father. I screamed, shouted and I was weeping when my Daddy, my father's bosom friend and confidant, the Most Reverend Ayo Ladigbolu (retd) called to also inform me of my father's passage.My father loved the truth. If it was the truth, he said it, without minding whose ox was gored. He could not senu ku, he said it all, as he meant it without mincing words. His bosom friend affirmed that fact during an Ewi rendition, saluting his courage and boldness at his wake keep, on Thursday, 11th February, 2010, at the Patriarch Bolaji Methodist Cathedral, Ikorodu, Lagos State.But for his inability to senu ku, the Methodist Church, Nigeria, our beloved Church, of which we are very proud, would have committed the error of ordaining as bishop, the husband of more than one wife, whereas the Biblical injunction in Timothy is that whoever aspires for the post of a Bishop should have just one wife.I sincerely hope the Church is still mindful of this Biblical injunction.Words filtered to the family sometime, that the immediate past Prelate of our church, His Eminence, Sunday Mbang, once said that he posted my father to Sagamu, Remo Diocese, his last duty post before he retired in 2006, because he had never lobbied for a post. That was S.K. Solanke, he wasn't a lobbyist. He accepted his postings in good faith, as God's will for his life.Wherever he served, every staff, every Church member, became a member of the family. He shared in their joys and pains. And it was at Sagamu that the Lord brought him in contact with Chief Adebutu Kesington, who picked all his medical bills when he was diagnosed as having a terminal disease and had to undergo a surgery in October, 2009. To him and the Methodist family worldwide, the Patriarch Bolaji Methodist Cathedral, Ikorodu, Lagos State in particular, all our friends, family members and associates in Nigeria and abroad, we will forever be grateful .Bishop Solanke was a rallying point. In spite of his tight schedule, he had time for members of his family - both nuclear and extended, including his many spiritual children and friends of the family. It was through his maternal grandmother, Mama Clementina Kumapayi of Isara, Ogun State, that he got to know the Lord and this wise decision endeared him to the family. Till his transition, his love for his maternal family did not wane. Led by Aunty Yemisi Sawyerr and Brother Deolu Kumapayi, the family did wonderfully well at his funeral. An outstanding reputable Nigerian, I am most grateful to is Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for introducing the GSM during his regime. I had the rare priviledge of bidding our father good night via parting text messages, a few days before his demise.To all relations and friends of the family, who still rally round us, especially our mother, we are indeed, grateful.Indeed, my father was a true child of God, a true Methodist, without guile. Again, on behalf of my siblings, I promise that we won't do what he wouldn't do, as he used to advise us each time anyone of us wanted to leave home. Adieu Daddy! Continue to rest in the bosom of our Lord Jesus till we meet to part no more. Olanrewaju is on the staff of the Nigerian Tribune.
Click here to read full news..
