Celebrating an iconic father: Alhaji Oloruntoba’s Philanthropy and birth of modern Ogbagi.  By Ladidi Al-Hassan

Celebrating an iconic father: Alhaji Oloruntoba’s Philanthropy and birth of modern Ogbagi. 

By Ladidi Al-Hassan

In the quiet town of Ogbagi-Akoko, where modernity once seemed a distant dream, one man dared to change the story. Alhaji Aribisala Abdullah Oloruntoba, son of the Ode-Oransa family of Egako, was not just a wealthy son of the soil, he was a visionary who poured his personal fortune into the growth of his community.

At a time when rural towns across the Western Region were groping in the dark for development, Oloruntoba lit the torch that set Ogbagi on the path of transformation.

Education Pioneer

Perhaps his most enduring legacy was in education. When the Western State government insisted that any town desiring a secondary school must pay counterpart funding and provide infrastructure, Ogbagi seemed destined to miss out.

But Oloruntoba stepped forward. In 1973, with a stroke of bold generosity, he singlehandedly paid £40,000 to secure the establishment of Ahmadiyya Grammar School, Ogbagi’s first secondary school.

In 1973, he singlehandedly paid £40,000 on behalf of Ogbagi, leading to government approval in 1974 and the school’s opening in 1975.

Beyond funding, he donated his land, persuaded family members to part with their cash-crop farmlands without compensation, and provided two of his houses, one as a boys’ hostel and the other for non-indigene day students.

The school quickly earned a reputation as an international institution, attracting students from across the South-West, Bendel (now Edo and Delta), Kwara, and Kogi States, with teachers from different African and Asian countries.

Philanthropy and Community Service

Education was not his only focus. Alhaji Oloruntoba was a refuge for struggling parents who sought help with their children’s school fees. Many times, after offering them interest-free loans or labour exchange, he would cancel their debts, earning their lifelong loyalty and friendship.

He also made landmark donations to the town’s judiciary by releasing family land for the construction of the customary court and judge’s quarters, which served all four Akoko local governments and parts of Ekiti.

When proposals for development projects such as petrol stations, private schools, and other modern facilities were brought to him, Oloruntoba freely gave land, understanding the importance of positioning Ogbagi for growth.

Even after his passing, his family continued this tradition, donating land for government infrastructure and, more recently, supporting the proposed establishment of a private university by the Salvation Army Church.

Religious Devotion

As a devout Muslim, he contributed the largest share in building the old Ansar-u -deen Mosque and went further to establish a personal mosque. He also built and funded an Islamic school (Ile Kewu), employing teachers from Kogi and Kwara to provide Arabic and Islamic education.

In 1947, he became the first pilgrim from Ogbagi and the third from Akoko land to perform the Holy Pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. In a radical move that stirred controversy, he replaced a family deity site with a mosque, demonstrating his deep religious conviction.

Legacy and Inspiration

For his bravery, including the famed hunting expedition where he killed a tiger, an act that earned him the title Ode-Apekun, Oloruntoba was celebrated as a man of courage.

Today, his daughter, Taibat, honours his memory, describing him as the source of her courage and confidence.

Despite pressures to replicate his unmatched generosity, she has charted her own path, rising to the peak of her career in the federal civil service while keeping his name untarnished.

“Service to humanity is the rent that we must pay to the Creator for inhabiting this earthly space,” she said. “Each person must leave behind verifiable legacies that their offspring can proudly showcase, just as I am doing today.”

Indeed, the story of Ogbagi’s modern transformation is inseparable from the sacrifices of Alhaji Aribisala Abdullah Oloruntoba, an icon whose vision, generosity, and devotion remain etched in the annals of the town’s history.