'A vivacious amazon' Celebrating Yeye Olufunke Daniel at 58

They say beside every successful man, there is a good woman. This is especially true in the case of the enigmatic former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel. But this piece is not about him; it’s about the strong amazon of indescribable valour beside him. It’s about the beautiful and vivacious Yeye Olufunke Daniel as she inches closer to 60 at 58 years of life on earth.

Olufunke is best said to be a woman of many parts radiating elegance, beauty and poise. Moving a bit closer reveals an ingenious woman of great intelligence, insight and empathy and, at a very close range, you discover a humble, kindhearted, soft spoken and an unpretentious persona.

At 58, the charming Olufunke still maintains her glimmering youthful look and charming beauty. An exemplar of the ideal wife and an exemplary mother, she is one remarkable personality who carved a niche for herself in the polity of Ogun State which is acclaimed across the nation during her husband’s two-term tenure as governor of Ogun State in the activities of the Gateway Front Foundation (GFF); a non-governmental humanitarian outfit which marked her out as a committed caregiver, whose heart loves the hapless and the less privileged in the society. This commitment has not waned but continues till date (though without any hype of sort).

With her deep Christian background, Yeye Daniel had no difficulty in managing the operations of the GFF. With her heart of gold, she ensured that the services of the GFF to better the lives of the people were without barriers of gender, age, creed, ethnicity and socio-political affiliations. With the slogan ‘Rekindling Hope’, the organization gave succor to the needy, hope to the hopeless and a voice to the downtrodden.

She pursued her mission with various empowerment programmes through Trade Establishment Scheme, Microcredit Schemes, Farmers’ Award Scheme, Primary and Mobile HealthCare Services, treatment of people with heart related diseases, oral hygiene services, deworming exercises, Drug Demand Reduction, Child Survival Scheme, Maternal Health Care, Wheels of Hope Scheme, Educational Support Programme, care for the aged, Advocacy against Cultism and Doping, Skill Acquisition, Youth Volunteers among many others.

A personification of humility as attested to by friends, staffers and domestic workers who unanimously agree that she is a paragon of virtue, unobtrusive and accommodating, Yeye Olufunke’s humility is second to none. For her, being a wife has been very wonderful as it gave her the opportunities to take care of her husband and cater for the children. Despite the fact that there were good cooks at the government house during her husband’s reign as the governor of Ogun State, Yeye still finds her way to the kitchen. She revealed in an interview: “Let me point out clearly that there are still some delicacies he would want me to prepare for him. For example, he will never allow anybody to prepare his ‘Ikokore’ (water yam porridge) and ‘Efo riro’ (vegetable soup). So, I still go to kitchen to prepare his meal!”

Like Mama H.I.D. Awolowo, she accompanied OGD on his campaign efforts prior to 2003 election in Ogun State. Together, they visited all the 236 wards in Ogun State as she coordinated all the women groups in the People’s Democratic Party. While in office as the First Lady between 2003 and 2011, she touched the lives of many people, most especially Ogun State indigenes.

She is the matron of Webic Choir and holder of a number of chieftaincy titles among which is the Yeye Fesojoye of Ile Ife, Yeye Fehintade of Omu Ijebu, Yeye Obalofin of Ijebuland, Yeye Asoludero of Makun, Sagamu, Suada of Ifo, Yeye Atunluse of Ogbere and Yeye Akogun of Okun Owa.

Her humanitarian services have also earned her chieftaincy titles including Erelu Olu Nla of Egbaland, Yeye Oba of Imeko, Olua Aememre of Iuluha in Edo State and many others.

Olufunke has also been awarded with numerous awards such as the Best First Lady of the Year Award by Global Excellence magazine, African Pearl Award for Valued First Ladies by African Pearl Projects, Kwame Nkrumah Role Model Leadership Award by Today’s People International magazine, the Defender of the Nigerian Children Award by Centre for Economic and Leadership Development, Kuti Hall Award, Zenith International Award by Zenith International News magazine etc.

She was born into the family of Pa Samuel Ajibola Opawole and (Mrs.) Ibironke Opawole (nee Osoba) on November 27, 1963. She began to show, early in life, unique signs of a quintessential woman of substance. She had her post primary education at the Baptist High School, Iwo, Osun State, where she yielded to the discipline and the scriptural sound Baptist education, which further moulded her vision of life and sharpened her mission of human existence. For her love and success in sports while in the secondary school, she was made the school’s Games and Athletics prefect in her final year.

She enrolled at the School of Basic Sciences at the Ogun State Polytechnic, now Moshood Abiola University of Technology, in Abeokuta for her Advanced Levels course and later proceeded to the nation’s premier University, the University of Ibadan, where she graduated in flying colours with a Bachelors of Science degree in Agricultural Biology. At the University, the school authorities acknowledged her exemplary qualities and made her the Health Minister of Queen Elizabeth Hall in 1985.

After graduating, she observed the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps programme and thereafter worked with Lever Brothers (Nigeria) Limited and, after years of meritorious service, decided to go into private business. She then established Laurel Fashion, a high-riding outfit of which she is currently the Chief Executive Officer. Her fashion sense has won for her many awards including the City People Most Fashionable Woman Award.

Yeye Olufunke Daniel, happy birthday.