Nigeria's Historical Throw Back Lane -5

Take a walk down Nigeria's memory lane and see where the path might lead you....

*Flashback*

'Ori e pe'!

Alpheaus Taiwo Olunaike  1915 - 2012 ( aka Alajo Shomolu)

Baba Alajo Shomolu was born in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State. 

He was Born a triplet, at a time such was frowned at and considered a bad omen. One of the triplets was buried alive as was the tradition, leaving Alajo and his Kehinde, who later died. 

He lost his father at age 3, and had part of his primary school education at Emmanuel Primary School, Ijebu –Isonyin. He would later complete his primary education in Lagos where he had gone to stay with an Uncle STA Torimoro. 

While in Lagos Baba Alajo learned tailoring, but found it not appealing to him enough so he followed his Uncle to Cameroon on a business trip and decided to try his hands on quite a few things.

It was while in Cameroon, that the idea of a thrift business occurred to him. His neighbour was successful with the trade  and showed him the ropes. Alajo knew this was exactly what he wanted to do. In 1954 he came back to Nigeria with a sample of the collection card and named his thrift business  “ Popular Daily Alajo”.

In his first visit to the market, he met stiff opposition from the traders who kept saying he had come to defraud them, not one to be discouraged he was persistent and after a while, earned the trust of his clients. Slowly his area of coverage spanned Oyingbo, Sangross, Baba Olosha, Shomolu Market (the area where he lived till his death ) etc.

Reputed to have a very photographic memory he collected and paid back all his clients without any written documents thus the very popular saying  ..“Ori e pe bii ti alajo Shomolu, to fodidi oodun meta gbajo lai ko oruku eni Kankan sile,ti ko si siwo san fenikeni.” Translating to (Your brain is as sharp as that of Alao Shomolu, who collected thrift for three years and paid back all his customers without writing down a single name nor making a mistake), currently used in pop culture as.. .“ori e pe bi Alajo Shomolu”  (Your brain is correct like Alajo Shomolu)

He was loved by many for his industrious and honest disposition no matter the situation. He earned the trust of people far and wide and was always ready to assist with a loan without requesting for collateral, such was the magnitude of his dedication. 

After clocking 75, he was advised by his children to retire from the daily meetings with clients citing age and fatigue, while he had others do the rounds for him he still collected daily savings from those who would visit him at home to make deposits.  

He was a Ray leader in the Anglican Community and a man of very simple means, his tales was told in novels and the singer Brymo has a song aptly named “Alajo Shomolu”

 Baba died on August 11, 2012 at the age of 97, at his 81 Olorunkemi Street, Shomolu, a house built in the sixties and was committed to mother earth on the 22^nd of September 2012, in his native Isoyin, Ijebu, Ogun State.

Sources : 

thenationonline.net  November 11, 2012

google.groups.com October 24, 2012

focuswap.com.ng/music May 10, 2016

Photo Source: Naija Archives