Night of tribute, as friends, associates, loved ones, attest to Ibiyemi’s goodwill
…Ibiyemi trailed a good path in politics, philanthropy — Political associates
…He was dedicated to philanthropy — Rotary Club
…I fell sick hearing of his departure — Abiara’s PA
Friends far and near, close associates and loved ones could not hold themselves back but to take turn speaking of Publisher of Nigerian NewsDirect, Samuel Ibiyemi’s goodwill on Thursday night.
At the wake-keep service which held at Christ Apostolic Church, Great Grace, in Ota, Ogun State, a mammoth crowd which trooped to the venue were under thoughts of reflections as testimonies of Ibiyemi’s goodwill flowed out from the mouth of testifiers.
To Hon. Rotimi Makinde, former member of the House of Representatives, who represented Ife Federal Constituency, “Ibiyemi represented many things to many people. To me, I will describe him as a good brother, a co partner in politics and he had a landmark achievement.
“I will also describe him as unfulfilled person because he had always loved to retire as a philantropist and he believed having political power would help him. He is did well as a journalist, and he had his landmark. He’s somebody I believe a lot of people would miss in the field of politics and every other endeavours. I can’t but to pray that his soul rest in peace.”
To Hon. Israel Ajibola, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Osun East Senatorial District in the 2023 general elections, Ajibola Famurewa, “Well I don’t know the actual word to use for him, but a complete gentleman, cool headed, and someone that has the fear of God In whatever he did. You can’t help it, we just have to accept the will of God.
“We all know his contribution in the area of his calling, journalism, he’s the Publisher of a newspaper. For one to have risen to that level, he’s not a small man in that industry, and politically he’s one of the forces that strengthened the progressive force in Osun State. He came out sometimes ago to contest for governorship, he came out after that to contest for House of Representatives; it shows the kind of commitment that he put to politics. We are going to miss him greatly.”
To the Rotary Club of Ota, the President, Rotarian Dr. Wole Kukoyi, said: “When we all come to this world, we have a purpose and the most important thing is to discover that purpose and I must say that late Dr. Ibiyemi actually discovered that purpose and he lived that life of purpose. He was a past president of Rotary Club of Ota and he did impact his community when he was alive. It was indeed a real shock, but like who he was and who I am, we all believe that when God says it’s time, yes.”
The Senior General Manager, Media Unit, Dangote Group, Esan Sunday, said, “Dr Ibiyemi was my friend, we were very close. I was at the hospital bed with him. We took pictures and no body expected this. He lived a very fulfilled life. He was a very good man, very good man, very generous, very understanding, even when there are issues you expected him to react in a terrible way, he was always very calm. He showed understanding in all his dealings and we are going to miss him so much. He was a very resilient man; any thing he wants to do, he gets it done. He doesn’t believe in barriers; he breaks barriers to get things done; very forthright man, very determined man, a man of very strong will. That’s the person Ibiyemi was.”
…Testimonies on impact in ministry, family
Giving a tribute message on behalf of the family, Oyindamola Shindara Ibiyemi praised Dr Ibiyemi for his strides in being close to everyone in the family despite his tight schedule.
“Despite how busy Dad was, he still made me feel like I was his favourite daughter and made every other of my siblings feel they were favourites too. He was a loving and present Dad.
“We are sad and not sad as much as people would expect because Daddy prepared us for this. He left us with a legacy in Christ and so we are not mourning like those without hope,” She concluded.
In his words, Pastor Osati Olumuyiwa, Senior Personal Assistant and the Chief Protocol Officer to Prophet, Dr., S.K. Abiara, of Christ Apostolic Church, Agbala Itura, Worldwide, revealed the ministerial posture of Ibiyemi and his care towards family.
“I’ve known Dr. Samuel Ibiyemi for almost 35 years. When he came to Agbala Itura, Ilepo, Oke-odo, Agege, he was one of the people that got trained for interpreter. He’d been interpreting for Papa (Prophet Abiara), interpreted for me most of the time. He’s been a dynamic man of God, very loving, very caring. Like somebody said, he’s a goal getter. Another thing I love him so much is he loved the family so much; he loved the wife and the children, he has a programme for the wife and the children. He is also a wonderful a man that we don’t know what to talk about him. He had a golden heart, a heart of gold.
“He is not a person you can just joke with. He is a man I believed should have spent more than these years. When he died I was shocked myself, I couldn’t carry it. I was just recuperating after being discharged from the hospital. I was in the living room going through my phone. I screamed when I saw it, this is too bad. My sickness started all over again. I can’t cope because it was a great shock to my life. I pray God will take care of his family, his business, because it’s a laudable job he’s doing.”
