i
Beneath the palm where wisdom dwells,
And tales of old wind retells,
There sits a sage, both calm and bright,
Whose pen has long outpaced the night.
Chief Tola, oak of storied age,
A lion wise upon the page,
He wrote with fire, he wrote with grace,
And left his mark on time and place.
Eighty seasons proud and bold,
Your heart remains both warm and gold.
From newsroom ink to village drum,
You’ve shaped the voice we’ve yet to become.
A shepherd with a guiding hand,
You lift the youth to firmer land,
With laughter deep and counsel sure,
Your mentorship will long endure.
You honour roots, you guard the lore,
A Yoruba soul, rich at the core.
Through customs, cloth, and sacred rite,
You kept tradition’s flame alight.
Yet generous as harvest rain,
You share your joy, you ease our pain.
A giver, not in wealth alone,
But in each word that you have sown.
O writer, scribe, and tribal guide,
With nature’s truth, you still abide.
Let drums resound and flutes arise,
For Chief Tola, the good and wise.
Now eighty years, the journey grand,
Still firm you stand, still full you stand.
Long may your days in beauty be,
Our light, our strength, our iroko tree.
Happy 80th Birthday to Chief Tola Adeniyi
a beacon of intellect, culture, and legacy.
ii
Beneath the shade of talking Iroko trees,
where wisdom walks in calm repose,
There lies a man whose pen has danced
On time’s enduring scrolls and prose.
Chief Tola, bard of native song,
With quill in hand and heart so wide,
Today, we chant your name in praise,
As eighty springs and tides abide.
The hills remember when you spoke,
Through ink and thought, a nation stirred,
A truth made bold on printed leaves,
Each sentence is strong, each column heard.
In bustling rooms where presses roared,
Your voice rose like a morning bell,
An editor with eagle’s eye,
where honesty and courage dwell.
You gave the craft its sacred fire,
you taught young minds the writer’s art,
A mentor with a gentle smile,
a lion with a golden heart.
Your pen, a path for those who dreamed,
Your door, an open gate of grace,
And many found their voice through you,
Their light reborn in your embrace.
Through fields of lore and folklore deep,
Your heritage stood proud and tall,
A son of soil, of sacred rites,
You walked in truth and heard the call.
You wore tradition like a crown,
not chained but free within its form,
And sang of gods, of kin, of lands, in prose
and verse both wise and warm.
Your hands were generous as rain,
Your laughter like a ripened drum,
To every child who sought a guide,
Your wisdom flowed, a steady stream.
No hoard of wealth, no vault of fame,
could weigh the love your life imparts,
For what you built with words and will
Now beats within a thousand hearts.
O Chief, today the rivers sing,
The baobab bows with pride anew,
The moon climbs high to toast your name,
The winds compose a hymn for you.
Eighty years of truth and ink,
of sacred lore and sage delight,
Still blazing trails in fields of thought,
still blessing us with inner light.
So, take this ode, O man of grace, of soil,
of story, scroll and seed,
A pastoral from grateful hands
to one who met the nation’s need.
And as you step through autumn’s gold with strength
still blooming in your chest,
May every dawn bring joy and peace,
And every dusk, reward your quest.
Happy 80th birthday, Chief Tola Adeniyi
A towering light in Nigeria’s literary
and journalistic firmament.
By
Taiwo Odumosu Esq
Faculty of Law
School of Postgraduate Studies
University of Nicosia
Republic of Cyprus
Head, Street Law & Community Service Unit
Olabisi Onabanjo University Law Clinic
Department of Public Law
Faculty of Law
Olabisi Onabanjo University,
Ago Iwoye, Nigeria
Website: https://www. alphalawfirm.org
E-mail:Â taiodu@gmail.com
Mobile: +447481437145, +447404829667
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