The human spirit never dies. Born in the late 1940s to the Adeyanju family in Okesokun, Ise-Ekiti, a small town in Western Nigeria, Christie, as she was known by her friend group (who later started a club called The Moonlight Sisters organizing social events for their combined families) was smart and energetic. Her friends jokingly called her “Young Shapiro”. She always woke up early to pray and sing praises to a God who saw her through highs and lows, good times and bad. She later instilled this daily routine into her boys. After her secondary education she moved to the bustling city of Ibadan, Nigerian Western Region’s largest city, to pursue employment. It was there she met a promising young scholar, junior brother to her Landlord, Olajide Samuel, who she would later marry and do life together with until he passed in 2012 after 40 years of marriage. They had many adventures together.

She was an enigma. She worked with the Nigerian Telecommunications Company (NITEL) until retirement but still found time to run a farm, poultry, soap-making and clothing businesses, doing what she could to help make ends meet in a lower middle class economy. Her creative side found expression in two Gospel music albums and a band. Her spiritual side inspired her to study Theology and she graduated from the Igbaja Seminary of the (then) Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) church, becoming a Pastor alongside her husband’s youngest sister. She later started a daycare and nursery school, Samchris. which later blossomed into a primary and secondary school with the help of her husband who was by then a Professor and Commonwealth Expert. She started a church in Tanzania with the help of staff and students of Kampala International University. She started a Nigerian Non-Profit with the sole intention of improving the lot of widows and orphans after her husband’s passing. She also registered a foundation in his honor – the Professor Samuel Olajide Owolabi foundation, of which their children are trustees. She is well connected to lifelong friends and family having lived for a time in Ghana, the United Kingdom, The United States, Uganda, and Tanzania, even though she always returned to Ibadan, Nigeria, where she passed in 2026 after a debilitating trifecta of critical health conditions.

To me she was mom, tough talking, no-nonsense, aggressor and protector rolled into one. Her prayers formed what we believe to be a blanket of protection over us, her children and loved ones. She hosted cousins, in-laws, her children’s friends and relatives under her roof, treating us all like one family. She engaged with whatever community she was in at the time and extended her influence wherever she could help. The sadness of seeing her lose her vitality in her later years was tempered by the responsibility of us children taking care of her, a privilege missed by our dad. We were able to protect her, as she has done for us, for a little while. I am a part of her and have inherited her empathy, restlessness, love for the arts, loyalty to family, and straight talk. To her, I say, goodnight mummy. I wish I could have given you more. Give all my love to dad and all the ones we lost. You will be remembered. Your work was not in vain. Rest now, until we meet again.

Your son, Olaniyi Oluwole Owolabi.