By Sola Lebile
It has been twenty years after her departure but her memories still echo from the distant past. She left her footprints in the sand of time. We remember her outstanding influence, show of love and care for people, the budding energy she put in every of her endeavor, her doggedness and determination to excel even in the face of daunting challenges.
Her story was just touching and inspiring! The display of unquantifiable sacrifice of a mother especially at the home front brings to mind Buchi Emecheta’s Novel, The Joy of Motherhood. Abiyamo a b’oja gboorogbooro!(woman who had a very long girdle for carrying her baby).
In the early 70s, young Omorinola got married to a school teacher, Mr. Abel Lebile but she faced a stormy start as the first child of the union, baby Omoyele stayed a little while and died. Heeh! The child was an Abiku (born-and -die). So by the time the second baby arrived, he was named pronto-Durojaye! (wait-and-rock-the world) and the mother would rather pamper the child to stay.
It is from the personality like Iye Duro (as she was fondly called) that the saying : osise jare ise (hard work is the antidote of poverty) gained its due relevance for she worked hard to break the circle of poverty and deprivations.
She did not have the golden opportunity to run her education to the top ladder, but was desirous of getting quantitative education for her children and would go extra miles to achieve that desire. She was there in the community working assiduously to complement the home, training the children in godly way and helping them to excel in life .
Iye Duro was often seen going beyond the normal limits in whatever she put her hands in. For instance, she and her colleagues (Iye Titi Joto, Iye Foluso Ajimuda and Co) regularly traded in ogogoro (local gin) in the Igbokoda market and through their unique enterprise and hospitality attracted numerous customers far and wide to the market.
While the women became prominent and reference points in the locality, the market also turned out to be the most patronized and populous market in the State.
For years, Iye Duro was a famous name in the locality. I remember vividly how like a compass, uncle Yomi Oduniga (the Senator) simply located and re-united with the family with Iye Duro’s popularity. Our uncle had (over)stayed in Ondo town, acculturated with the egin dialect and way of life such that you could mistake him as ‘egin‘ proper.
By the time he was to come home, heeding the call to return to his root. It was Iye Duro’s name that did the magic. “When you get to the town, just tell anyone you come across that you are asking for ‘Iye Duro”. Uncle Yomi was told. And surely he never missed his way.
Iye Duro’s hard work and dedication were obvious. I remember those days when we would set at dawn and we would heed for the mangrove forest (during the rainy season) to fetch firewood (then the preferred material for fire: remember no gas at the time).
We would paddle canoe down several nautical miles away from home and Iye Duro alone (assisted by her daughter, Funto) would come back with a big canoe brimming firewood and I would be surprised seeing the woman still bubbling with energy.
I had thought that should Iye Duro be paired up to fight with any of her male peers, she would knock them down automatically given her amazing energy. But that never happened.
By and large, the little boy grew up. And not much later, Durojaye was on the verge of completing his studies. The mother was exceedingly happy, anticipating her hard labour would not be in vain after all. The child too was happy and looking forward to the time he would graduate , fetch a job and start giving back to the family in many ways. But the unexpected struck in 1999.
That year, Duro’s mother was knocked down with a strange illness and the once robust and energetic woman had become weak and down. The tormenting hands of the disease ate up her body and drained the family resources and shattered the family’s aspirations . Not long, the woman passed on leaving the husband and six promising children. She was only 49! That was a tragedy!
But it wasn’t until the child’s examinations in the Law School was over that he was told. The sad news was kept from Duro but his performance did not suffer less due to his intellectual prowess. Durojaye came out in flying colours. Meanwhile, the son headed home to flaunt his success before his ailing mother but only to realize his mother was no more.
Too bad! He lost the mother, he missed the funeral rites. He was consoled and comforted. As admonished in Isaiah 57:1(b) “The righteous (woman) is taken from the evil to come.” It wasn’t long when the son fetched a good job. Thank goodness!
Indeed, two decades down the line, her story still evolves a childhood memories in me. Growing up as a child in the then clustered community enjoying the robust relationship among siblings and relations; staying together and doing things in common in that expansive family compound.
Back to Mrs. Lebile Omorinola, the impactful life she lived remained touching. She has a memorial here.
Postscript:. It gladdens one’s heart that the children/family is organizing a memorial thanksgiving service on Saturday 26th January, 2019 at Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje Local government, for this great Amazon. Surely, it is a useful moment to peep into the past and remember her as someone who lived for the future.
The memories of Mrs. Lebile Omorinola (nee Orunto) remain evergreen even till today.
