By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

The Uncommon One: Autobiography of Olatunbosun Akanni Lampejo; Diamond Publications Ltd, Lagos

It is indeed quite remarkable that one has to go back to Samuel Johnson’s epochal History of the Yorubas to encounter the name Lampejo, an immortal man who was shot several times and left for dead only to return home alive! We are, indeed, dealing with a very uncommon man in the gripping autobiography of Olatunbosun Akanni Lampejo, aptly titled The Uncommon One. In keeping with his uncommon life, at age eight while being baptised in church, he spoke up that the name he wanted was that of David the King instead of Isaiah, which had been chosen by his father!

Born on Sunday, October 23, 1932 at Ikija, Abeokuta in present-day Ogun State, the young Olatunbosun gained an early reputation as a demolisher of eba with dry fish and egusi soup. Scorpions always surrounded his cradle while he slept at night only to mysteriously disappear in the morning. It was upon admission to Abeokuta Grammar School in 1946 that he took the decision to abandon his chosen baptismal name of David in favour of the Yoruba names, Olatunbosun Akanni.

His father was a court president who was quite liberal, as opposed to his strict disciplinarian mother. Olatunbosun started exhibiting his leadership qualities quite early in life as the acclaimed leader of the area boys of Ikija that “sacked the Police Station and Customary Court in Ikija in 1950, making the place ungovernable that no policeman was willing to come to work in our area”.

A great influence in his life was his principal, Rev. Canon Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, Fela’s father. He left Abeokuta Grammar School on December 19, 1952 and joined the services of Nigerian Railways as a trainee commercial clerk but could not make a success of the job because of his failure to master telegraphy. He moved on to Bank of British West Africa Limited (which later became First Bank) where, as an activist General Secretary of the Junior Staff Union, he had to leave in 1953 after a labour dispute. He then took up a job with Socony Vacuum Oil Co. Limited, a forerunner of Mobil Oil, only to resign in 1955 for a sojourn in search of the Golden Fleece in the United Kingdom on September 16 that year, barely a day after getting married to his heartthrob, Olusolape. She joined him in the UK a year later.

He earned his GCE A Levels and the coveted Law Degree in Britain, and was called to the English Bar at Grays Inn London on February 6, 1962. By July of that year he was back in Nigeria. He took up appointment with CFAO and was later transferred to White Cross Insurance, a subsidiary of CFAO, as Claims Manager.

Among the many honours he earned over the years are: Apesin of Ikija, Abeokuta on July 7, 1973; Otun Babasele of Ogbonis, Oke-Ona Egba; Babaselu of Erinje, Okitipupa; the Lemo of Egbaland; the Bobajiro of Ishaga Orile; the Bajiki of Gbaguraland etc. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors (UK), a Grand Patron of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Baba Ijo of his home church of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Ikereku, Abeokuta, and he has the honourary doctoral degree of Bradley University of Chicago, Illinois, USA. His insights into life in a multinational company and the politics of school ownership and administration are quite rewarding.

He has had many encounters with danger, and survived unscathed. He was once attacked by local toughs at a meeting in Abeokuta only for him to make a fool of the attackers before his driver shook off the mob. The driver was too shaken by the encounter that he resigned his appointment with the author, stressing that “he was not ready to die young”. In 2009 he bravely scared away some hired hands who visited his Abeokuta home in the dead of night. Some goons who attacked his Ilupeju, Lagos home could not harm him even after heavy gunfire.

Chief Olatunbosun Akanni Lampejo, in his autobiography The Uncommon One, writes quite frankly about his beliefs and life, leaving nothing back, as in the following words: “My search for meaning in life took me through many detours. I dabbled into Rosicrucianism, oriental studies, palmistry, numerology, and freemasonry where I rose to become a Right Worshipful Master in the 1970s. Fortunately for me, I finally found God and Christ and returned to the Anglican Communion of my father after resigning my connections with all those bodies, with which I had been associated.”

The Uncommon One, the autobiography of Olatunbosun Akanni Lampejo has many lessons to teach all of mankind. It is highly recommended especially at this time that Nigeria is in need of great role models.

Uzor Maxim Uzoatu is a renowned poet, journalist and author.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.