Skip to main content

Dr. Asimiyu (Sim) Akinade Oyetunji, Adieu!

I lost a dear friend and father figure here in Lexington Kentucky yesterday. He was 87 years young. I have known Baba, as I fondly call him, since 2015. We met at Walmart where he was working as a cashier then. He caught my attention because of his age and posture, and I wondered why an old man was still working at that age. Apparently, it was a choice for him....not that he needed the money parse, he just did not want to be idle nor wait for his well-trained children scattered across to give him handouts..

Dr. Alhaji Sim Oyetunji completed his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University in 1971 and he worked for Shell Corporation Nigeria till 1999 when he finally retired. Baba trained all his seven children through universities across the US. The least educated among them has a master's degree. They are engineers, pharmacists, author, and accountant, working for top companies in the US and UK.
 
With all his personal achievements and investment in his children, he was a humble man to the core. He was well-loved by all because he extended love to everyone he met. Especially if you are a Nigerian. He would want to know you and your family. He visited me many times including when my mom was around in 2018. It does not matter if you are a Muslim or Christian, he extended the same love to all. 
 
He will be missed. May God bless his wife and the children he left behind. May his soul rest in peace.
If you want to hear an interview he gave in 2017 here in Lexington to a group within the University of Kentucky, here is the link: 
 
https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7pnv998z5v?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3bw5X3VMLuTV3QGfSich7r81LYFtX0ZXN5TSJJS3kMXG6IEhErQZtjfms_aem_Oxvkl1bdWg47kFRSetfOfQ
 
 
 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

ISE L'OGUN ISE (WORK IS THE PANACEA TO POVERTY)

Ise ni ogun ise (Work is the panacea to poverty) mura si ise ore mi (Be conscientious my friend in your work) ise ni a fi n di eni giga (Through hard work can we excel) ti a ko ba ri eni feyintin (If there is none to create a pathway to the top for you) bi ole la n ri (It is as if we are lazy) ti a ko ba ri eni gbekele (If there is no one to be your mentor and godfather) a tera mo ise eni, (Work harder then, don't give up, innovate, there is dignity in labor, a way will open up for you soon) Iya re le l'owo (Your mom may be super rich) Baba re le l’esin lekan (You dad could have real estate in choice places) T’oba gbo’ju le won o te tan ni mo so fun oh (If you trust in their riches, your shame is around the corner) Ohun aho j’iya fun kii t’ojo (What you did not labor often does not last, because you might not value them) Ohun ta ba s’ise fun nii pe l’owo eni (It is what you work for that becomes a treasure) Apa lara, Igunpa niye kan (Arms are your f...
  THE GREATEST ASSET EVER – LAND “Every time I make a movie, I buy a LAND” – Tiffany Haddish (Actress, Comedian, Singer, and Producer). If you do not know yet, I announce to you that the greatest asset that will give you an assured return, whose value hardly depreciates, is LANDED property . Reflect on the major wars going on right now in the world that are predicated on the issue of LAND. WHY? It is one of the GEM God endows humanity with that is finite in quantity. While the human population continues to increase, land area remains the same or is diminishing due to climate change. The Russia's war in Ukraine , the Gaza war , the DRC-M23 war/Rwanda , Sudan's civil war , the Cambodia–Thai war , herdsmen-farmers' violence in Nigeria and the Ethiopian civil war … all are predicated on access to land and what is in it – rare earth minerals . So, in 2026 , if you have the opportunity to invest in an asset, think about landed property.

WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO EXTREMELY GOOD PEOPLE

There is a saying in my language, Yoruba , that “Igi to ba to, kii pe n’gbo” – meaning, the good ones do not seem to last or live long. WHY? Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of John F Kennedy (The U.S. President who championed the civil rights movement to end discrimination; one of the greatest U.S. presidents ever) and daughter of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis , passed away today from cancer at a young age of 35. Like her grandfather and many others in the Kennedy family, she dedicated her life to changing the world. She was a passionate environmental journalist for the New York Times and wrote a book titled "Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know You Have” in 2019 that won the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Rachel Carson Environment Book Award in 2020. Her life’s work sheds light on how individuals’ daily activities and choices exacerbate climate change issues . Tatiana Schlossberg's work focused on making complex environmental issue...