Nigeria is a nation full of unsung heroes and heroines. In this hustle and bustle that has come to characterize the Nigerian society, it is little surprise that we have neglected some of the most vulnerable ones in the society – the orphans and abandoned kids. But there was one
woman who did the opposite – she dedicated her life to taking care of orphans. Her name is Mama Janet Ekundayo. Ekundayo is a name in the language of the Yorubas of West Africa. It can be translated as ‘tears turned to joy’ or ‘my tears have turned to joy’. And truly, this
wonderful woman turned the hot, steamy tears of many kids into unlimited joy.
Mama Ekundayo has been described as the Mother Theresa of Africa, because she dedicated most of her life to take care of orphans and abandoned children in the society.
In 2007, she adopted her 469th child, and by the year 2008; she had already cared for over 500 children. This act earned her the nickname “Olomo yeye”, which means someone with many children.
Her lifestyle projected the meaning of her name, “Ekundayo,” which is
translated to mean, “tears have turned to joy” in Yoruba language.
Mama Ekundayo, who’s real name is Janet Ekundayo gave birth to five children of her own, but that did not stop her from adopting other kids because of her love for children.
She enjoyed the company of little children, therefore taking care of them came naturally to her.
In 1969, Mama Ekundayo made a decision to dedicate the rest of her life to taking care of orphans and abandoned children.
For over 50 years, Mama Janet Ekundayo ran the
Ekundayo Orphanage Home in Isanlu Makutu, Kogi state. She has been described as one of the most influential Kogi Women of all time.
Among her kids is popular Nigerian Singer and Photographer TY Bello.
Her Famous Words
Emi ko, ishe Oluwa ni (meaning: It is not by my efforts
but by the grace of God).
Agbara mi ko, agbara Olorun ni (meaning: It is not by my power or might, but that of God). This sign is also at the entrance of her orphanage.
Bawo ni mashe jeun nigba ti gbogbo awon omo mi o ri je, ti won rimu? (meaning: How can I eat
when all my children are starving?)
Ayo mikun, gbogbo igbese aye mi, ayo ni. Mi o mo idi ti Olorun fi pe mi be. Into mu inu mi dun ni ti awon omo yii. (My joy overflows, my whole life has been filled with joy. I still don’t know why God chose me thus.
These children give me the greatest joy).
Eje fogo Olorun han, ma se bo talenti mo le rara, eje fogo olorun han. (Let your talent flourish, don’t hide it). For her, her talent was caring for children.
Her Death
In the year 2009, death came knocking.
She was believed to be an octogenarian or a nonagenarian.
Many never heard of her until the Nigerian singer, TY Bello made a video in her honor and even produced a song titled Ekundayo ft Olufunmi for her in 2008. It was part of her popular album, Greenland.
Later, she would also be featured on Mosunmola Folake Abudu (Mo Abudu)’s program, Moments with Mo. One prayer she had was for God to grant her someone to whom she could hand over the project when she is no more. Her prayers were answered.
Her daughter, Grace, has graciously taken upon this task started by her mother.
During slavery, it was illegal for Africans to read any book other than the Bible
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Anyone caught reading philosophy, science, governance, history, economics or any other genre of literature, faced the death penalty.
Why was this so?
The slave masters understood that the Bible was a tool to limit the thinking of black Africans and to keep them perpetually subservient. They knew that to keep them in servitude they had to make them accept their lot as the will of God
and have them thinking about the end of days, these things will keep them in perpetual servitude. They refused to give them anything good but they gave them Christianity and the Bible.
Over five hundred years later, the descendants of the slaves who were whipped, tortured,
There are scores of Yoruba names that are derived from Arabic but which are barely recognizable to Arabs or other African Muslims because they have taken on the structural features of the Yoruba language.
1. Bakare. This is the Yoruba rendition of Abubakar (or Abu Bakr), the nickname of the first Caliph of Islam. As you can see, the “Abu” in the name is dispensed with, and the “Bakar” part of it is fitted with a terminal vowel. Refer to rules one and two above. Perhaps the most
prominent bearer of this name in contemporary Nigeria is Pastor Tunde Bakare, former vice presidential candidate to General Muhammadu Buhari. Pastor Bakare was born a Muslim but converted to Christianity in his teens.
Before the presence of civilization and the British bombardment of Lagos in 1851, the area known today as Ojuelegba was a forest and the consecrated site for the worship of Ẹ̀shù Elegbua
Long time ago, before the presence of civilization and the British bombardment of Lagos in 1851, the area known today as Ojuelegba was a forest and the consecrated site for the worship of Ẹ̀shù Elegbua also referred to as Légba among the Fon people of Benin Republic,
Exu in Brazil, Echu-Elegua in Cuba, Papa Legba in Haiti and to some African-American as Papa La Bas.
It was right under the present-day Ojuelegba bridge that the Aworis who were said to be the first inhabitant of this area used to worship láàlu ogiri òkò - the deity in
Within the macrocosm of spirituality, occult or magic, mysticism or religion, there's no such thing as ‘money ritual’ simply because money is an artificial medium of exchange in form of currency, attainable only through products, services and trade.
While on the other hand, ritual (as a sacerdotal term) is the established or prescribed procedure for a sacred or religious rite...
The term ‘money ritual’ or ‘money magic’ was introduced into the popular culture by the performers of ‘Illusionary Magic’,
an art of fraud, trickery and illusion.
Therefore, the fundamental provision and distribution of money is only effective through the artificial monetary system and not by the methodology of ‘superstitious’ money rituals.
The first Housing estate in Nigeria was the Bodija Housing Estate, Ibadan.
The Ibadan Housing Estate was birthed in 1959 when the regional government decided to increase the number of modern houses available in the city. The Estate was built on a 400-acre of land in the area
known as Bodija. At the time, the location of what is now Bodija was the outskirt of the city of Ibadan.
All the houses in the Estate had all the basic amenities: light, water, garden, etc; however, the difference was in the number of rooms and the quality of materials used to
The finger cutting culture of the Dani People. In a marriage culture, a man must cut off the fingers of his right hand and present them to the bride as a dowry for her.
And if he wants to divorce her,
he cuts off two fingers of his left hand, but if he dies, his wife cuts off the ten fingers of her hand as a sign of her fidelity to him and that she will not marry a man after him. Whether you marry, divorce or die. there are fingers that must be cut off.
The Dani people, also spelled Ndani, and sometimes conflated with the Lani group to the west, are a people from the central highlands of western New Guinea (the Indonesian province of Papua)
Note: They aren't yoruba's at all.