Patience As A Golden Virtue: Birthday Tribute To Ife Oyedele
By TRIANGLE News Media
Patience and contentment are two invaluable gifts give to people that God really love. It is truism that only the patient will inherit the world. Patience also represent the ability to exhibit persistency, stay committed to a cause for long and manifest self-control. A patient individual is expected to posses the insight to think about other people and their happiness.
The gift of patience has over the years been helping Engr. Ife Oyedele to appreciate God for His all encompassing faithfulness and for the gift of live. It has pleased God to keep this man of immense patience and humility on the planet earth for six decades and one year in unfailing health, career fulfilments and service to humanity.
Ife Oyedele was born on the 8th day in the month of October and he has always cautiously set the day aside to return appreciations to his creator. Oyedele is of the belief that he is not in any way better than those that have since became food for maggots. He humbly cuts the image of a thoughtful slave that is incurably committed to thanksgiving.
Even while navigating the vicissitudes of life with stoic acceptance, Oyedele has never lost sight of appreciating God. He firmly believes that every challenge of life is a phase that is bound to fade off. This perhaps informed his favourite quote of “This too shall pass”. Faith of the charismatic technocrat turned politician in God and efficacy of prayers have never been in doubt. He is such an embodiment of competence, goal getter and a man of many ideas.
Engr. Ifeoluwa Oyedele is perhaps too honest and integrity cautious to be a politician. However, it has been often posited that politics can only get worse if men and women of integrity abandoned the political space to crooked characters. He is also reputed as an uncommonly brilliant man with amazing analytical skills. Oyedele is undoubtedly a seasoned technocrat and a committed party man who has paid his dues in politics.
He is evidently a man of extreme humility that also shares some character traits with President Buhari as far as integrity and spartan lifestyle are concerned.
Oyedele is a man whose honesty and commendable level of transparency can never be denied. He has so far been able to differentiate himself from an average Nigerian politician that are always eager to capitalize on public offices as opportunities to amass wealth at the expense of the longsuffering masses. Engr. Ife is nonetheless a stickler to integrity, accountability, transparency and orderliness.
The birthday ‘boy’ has over the years undertaken sensitive responsibilities in politics. He was a member of ACN/CPC Merger Committee that negotiated the merger of the legacy parties that eventually metamorphosed into the All Progressive Congress (APC). Prior to the merger talk, he had served as a member of the Board of Trustee of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). He was also a member of the APC Constitution Drafting Sub-committee as well as member of APC Constitution Review Committee.
To the credit of Ife Oyedele is the honour of designing the party logo of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and he was also one of the 15 gentlemen that began plans for the emergence of General Buhari as the presidential candidate of APC in 2014, shortly after the party was registered. Thereafter, he was appointed as the Ondo State Coordinator of the Buhari Campaign Organization when GMB became the APC presidential candidate. It is worthy of note that Oyedele was the first person to open a state campaign office/secretariat for General Muhammadu Buhari in August, 2013.
He was made the Head of Media and Publicity Committee of Buhari Campaign Council in Ondo State in the run up to 2019 presidential election. The political organizing skills of Oyedele as well as his active involvement in Ondo state politics were displayed during the 2019 presidential election in which the APC narrowly lost to the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It is worth stating that Oyedele made substantial donation to all the candidates that contested on the platform of APC in the 2019 general election. APC candidates that benefitted from this substantial donations included the senatorial candidates, House of Representatives candidates and all the House of Assembly candidates of the party. Meanwhile, it is apropos to point out that APC could have woefully lost the same election in Ondo State if not for the active involvement of an unusually committed party man like Ifeoluwa Oyedele.
The Okitipupa born politician has over the years built a robust career that cut across engineering management, manufacturing, construction, governance and engineering consulting from 1982 till date. He has evidently proven his mettle in both the public and private sectors.
The unapologetically detribalized Oyedele is the Executive Director in charge of Engineering and Technical Services at the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited. He was appointed into this position largely on merit in August, 2016. He had earlier been appointed and served as the Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer of Gambil Builders Nigeria Limited and Rikmor International Limited. In his capacity as the Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer, Engr. Oyedele was responsible for mapping out strategic business agenda, negotiating contracts and ensuring that quality as well as standard of jobs were maintained.
The highly respected Ife Oyedele had earlier worked as the Head of the Sales Department of Dynapower Nigeria Limited for two years. He thereafter consulted for Edison Group and Partners where he competently designed electrical engineering projects and services in accordance with clients’ briefs and terms and also supervised the projects execution.
Engr. Oyedele began his career with DAFEC Consultants as an engineer with responsibilities to design and prepare tenders for rural electrification projects. His responsibilities also included the supervision and monitoring projects implementation. He later joined Oyo State Ministry of Works and Transport on the recommendation of the then Governor of old Oyo state, late Chief Bola Ige. He worked at the ministry for two years with similar career responsibilities of his previous jobs.
The fearlessly honest 1982 graduate of Electrical Engineering from the University of Lagos is a member, Nigerian Society of Engineers and a Registered Chartered Engineer. The career feat of Ifeoluwa as an accomplished engineer has been recognized and rewarded by many reputable professional organizations within and outside of Nigeria. Of particular highlight is the Award of 10th Ondo State Man of the Year conferred on him in 2018.
Oyedele has striven to effectively balance his career development with politics and social engagements. He unwinds by getting involved in sporting activities; chief of which is golf. He is a member of Ikoyi Club 1938, Smoking Hills Golf Club, Ilara-Mokin, IBB International Golf Club, Abuja, Lions Club International amongst others. He is a responsible father, loving husband and someone that is ardently committed to family values.
One good thing about Oyedele is the fact that he has quietly; albeit cautiously brought himself into the consciousness of everyone in Ondo state through his open display of honesty, humility and charitable giving.
- Engr. Ife Oyedele is such a jolly good fellow that honestly deserves the best of greetings and goodwill messages on his birthday. Having underscored his outstanding intellectual powers and moral integrity, he still deserves nothing short of continuous service to God and humanity in good health, sound mind and long life.
