Pa Dele Olalekan Ogunbiyi is a retired Community Development worker in Ogun State, a passion he continued after his service. With many books and policy papers on poverty alleviation programmes in Ogun State, but got stalled with an ailment. Tunde Ogunesan brings the report of life after retirement of this selfless septuagenarian.LIFE is a book which page cannot be flipped back whenever one reads through it. Such is the story of Pa Dele Olalekan Ogunbiyi, a selfless community development worker, who retired from Ogun State public service after 30 years. After his retirement, the passion which was running in him made him to engage in various philanthropic services in the state and the neighbouring Lagos State.On leaving the service, Ogunbiyi, with six publications on poverty alleviation to his credit: Poverty Alleviation Phase I and II; Poverty Alleviation Series 1 & 2 which delves into snail rearing and fundamentals of rabbit keeping, a book on how to source for funds for community development and the last 'A guide book to fish farming' which never saw the light of the day.In an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, Ogunbiyi said 'while in service, I discovered that the greatest problem with poverty eradication is taking empowering people with a lively and passionate source of income. So, after my retirement, the passion of being my brother's keeper led me into giving voluntary cum philanthropic services to humanity which became fully operational in 1997 two years after retirement.'Though, it was a passion, it could not however sustain the 73-year-old Ogun State born social worker. Instead of running after money while in service, Ogunbiyi concentrated on serving humanity and refused to cut corners. His meagre income was invested on helping humanity and to the survival of the social work he continued after retirement.'The social work became part of me that I enjoyed it so much to talk to people freely only for them to buy my instructional materials after the seminar. With this, I believed I could reap my investment without stressing the people we claim to set free from poverty unlike some are doing. Or what is the sense in charging people for poverty alleviation programme up to N5,000 or more when in actual fact we knew from the beginning that they're to be freed from poverty. Some class of people in rural areas might not be able to afford it, but to people in the city, it is affordable.'Today, Ogunbiyi's passion has been halted. He is homeless, currently managing a prostate cancer and resides with a family member in Ibadan since 2005, who he said has been taking care of him with love. Though, Pa Ogunbiyi said he never at any time regretted his actions in life, he said he would have been satisfied if the state government could recognise him by nominating him for national award or recognise him at state level or better still, do something else to salvage his present condition.His only house is an uncompleted building in his hometown in Ilaro, Yewa local government area, Ogun State and he currently lives with his wife in a room apportioned to the family by their host since seven years ago.Though, Ogunbiyi said he would have loved to continue his social work, he is incapacitated because of the state of his health. With over seven decades on earth, it clearly reflected in his tone that he wished to sleep in his uncompleted structure in Ilaro, which he said was still at window level and breath.In his appeal to Ogun State government, especially the executive governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Pa Ogunbiyi urge the governor 'not to hesitate to placate me for the provision of a much better accommodation or help in hasten the speedy completion of my building in Ilaro.Also, it inspires me to pray your Excellency not only to consider me with the utmost and sincere objectivity for either a state or award or recommend me for federal government award if you are in anyway impressed by my contribution to poverty alleviation in the state.'For whatever reasons, I never regret all my steps or actions while in service or after, because I believe God knows everything but I will be happier if the state government can make me happy with this request,' he concluded.
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