One life, many impacts

HRH Yeye Margaret Kehinde Olatunde Thompson was born a twin on the 10th Day of June 1932 to Chief James OlawaleMajekodunmi (the Sakotun of Egbaland), a renowned tailor and Mrs Frances Solabomi Majekodunmi (Nee Lufowora), a teacher, sewing mistress and trader both of blessed memory. She started her education at Ake Girls School, Abeokuta in 1938 and when the family moved to Ibadan, she continued her education at Kudeti Girls School now St. Anne’s School, Ibadan between 1943 and 1950. While in school she was an outstanding athlete and all her children and grandchildren also inherited this attribute from her. In 1951 after leaving Kudeti Girls School, she decided to pursue a teaching career taking after her mother and got an appointment as a teacher at St James’s Primary School, Oke-Bola, Ibadan. This explains why two of her daughters decided to go into the teaching profession and are successful at it in the USA and UK. In 1952 she was transferred to OritaMefa Anglican Girls School and later to Abadina Primary School in 1956. She was here till 1958 when she decided on a career change with trading in mind.

As an entrepreneur, she traded different wares from 1958 between Ibadan and Lagos and this widened her horizon until she grasped an opportunity to join Kingsway Stores when it opened shop and was excited to be part of an international departmental store from 11th of March 1962 for many years until she retired from the United African Company, UAC the owners of Kingsway Stores on the 16th of May 1983 without any blemish.  Her over 20 years service at Kingsway Stores took her through different developmental courses and training sessions and saw her move around all the departments within the stores at the branch in Dugbe, Ibadan and later Marina, Lagos where she eventually retired as a Senior Supervisor from the Interior Decoration Department. These experiences prepared and equipped her for the future and all endeavours in entrepreneurship and service to humanity.

On retirement from Kingsway Stores, Yeye Margaret Thompson became a full time interior decorator with several clientele from individuals to private and public corporations around the country and was the preferred supplier to Bouygues Nig. Ltd, NNPC, Fougerolle Construction Ltd, Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, ASCON in Badagry just to name a few. HRH Yeye Margaret KehindeOlatunde Thompson dedicated her life to the service of God for the benefit of mankind. She was baptized on the 18th of September, 1932 at St Peter’s Anglican Church Ake and confirmed into the Anglican faith on the 1st of November 1949 at St Anne’s on the Hill, Ibadan. She took her first communion on the 4th of December, 1949 and was a parishioner at St Anne’s Anglican Church, Molete Ibadan. She held onto this faith all through her life with the name of Jesus Christ on her lips till her very last breadth.

In the early years, when her career took her to live in Lagos where she met and got married to Prince Samuel Olajide Thompson also of blessed memory, where they attended St David’s Anglican Church, Lafiaji, Lagos she established the YWCA Society in the parish being an inaugural member of the same society at St. Anne’s Church Molete Ibadan. After retirement from her personal business and the entire family relocated to Ibadan, she returned to St Anne’s Anglican Church, Molete and the YWCA Society and headed the welfare team. She also headed the welfare team of YWCA International Ibadan, was an active member of Mothers Union, Treasurer of Women’s Guild and Patroness to Anglican Girls’ Guide and Boys’ Brigade, YMCA and founded Blessed Society.

In a bid to further her unique form of evangelism and benevolence beyond Lagos and Ibadan, she enrolled as a financial member of Iloro Youth Christian Society, St John’s Anglican Cathedral, Iloro, Ilesa about 4 years ago actively participating in the activities of the society.  HRH Yeye Margaret Kehinde Olatunde Thompson received many honorary awards, meritorial certificates and plaques of appreciation in recognition of her selfless service and contribution to the development and advancement of the work of God in the Anglican Diocese of Ibadan. On Sunday December 8, 2008, to her joy and happiness in gratitude and to the glory of God, her first son was installed the Oloni of Eti-Oni, Osun State at All Saint’s Anglican Church, Eti-Oni by priests of The Anglican Communion, The Apostolic Church and Christ Apostolic Church with the pouring of oil over his head and wearing of the traditional beads and staff becoming the first and only Oba in Nigeria to date to have gone through such installation rites according to the Scriptures.

In 2005, when cultism in universities across Nigeria reached an endemic stage and it appeared there was no solution in sight, Mama Blessed as she was popularly called took it upon herself as a challenge and sacrifice to educate and advice the younger generation to shun cultism and embrace Christ before they get into the universities. She started self-study of the Bible at the age of 72 to help her write messages that would inspire the younger generation and produced these messages as tracts and distributed Bibles on a regular basis. This gave birth to Blessed Society.  Her goal was to contribute her own quota to the re-engineering of the society for love, peace, joy and happiness to reign supreme amongst all peoples particularly the younger generation as the prerequisite to the nation’s progress and development. She dedicated the remainder of her life to this course and sacrificed all she had towards achieving the objectives and vision of the society that smiles may return to homes to the glory of God.

Oba Thompson, is Oloni of Eti-Oni, Osun State.