Kunle Adelabu
-As Ilo family, council chairs, political associates storm reception party
It was a grand exit for the mother of Hon. Sesan Dada, the former Vice Chairman of Ikorodu West Local Council Development Area (LCDA), late Mother Celestial Florence Adenike Dada, a.k.a. Iya Cele (nee Akinsanya Dawodu Ilo), as she was buried on Friday, September 29, 2023, in Ikorodu.
The burial service/laying- in -state for late Mother Celestial Dada, who died May 27 this year, took place at the open ground of the lkorodu Musical Village Events Hall, while she was buried at the Haven’s Forecourt Cemetery, Imota, Ikorodu.
Her burial ceremony also put to rest the identity of Hon. Dada, as members of the Ilo dynasty of Ikorodu, his late mother’s family, stormed the burial ceremony to bid goodbye to one of their own.
The Ilo dynasty entourage was led by the Balogun of Ikorodu, Chief Olurotimi Noah Kalejaiye, who arrived at the lkorodu Musical Village reception venue, with the Iyalode of Ikorodu Kingdom, Chief Mrs. Afolake Adebimpe Shonubi, and other chieftains and members of the Ilo dynasty, who were accompanied by the Bombata cultural group.
Also at the ceremony were: His Royal Majesty, Oba (Engr.) Monsuru Abimbola Adekanbi Oladega, Olu Agboyi Ketu, His Royal Majesty, Oba Bashir Shotonwa, Sekumade of Ipakodo, who was represented, as well as traditional chiefs, Baales and the Chief Imam, Ikorodu West LCDA, Sheikh Musediq Kosoko.
The Executive Chairman, Ikorodu West LCDA, Hon. (Otunba) Sulaimon Kazeem Olanrewaju, led other council Chairmen which included Hon. Adeola Banjo of Ikorodu North LCDA, Hon. (Mrs) Motunrayo Gabdebo – Alogba of Ijede LCDA, Builder Sesan Daini of Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA and Mayoress Dada of Ikosi – Isheri LCDA among others. There were also former members, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Saka Solaja and Hon. Lateef Abiru.
Speaking at the burial service, Hon. Sesan Dada thanked the Church for given his mum a befitting burial.
He also said that her mother lived a fulfilled life, and dedicated her life to the service of God.
“I thank the Church for honoring our mother with deserving services. I want to console our mother, who is my mother’s sister, Mrs Shoboyejo”, he said.
“We did not lose our mother. She lived a worthy and fulfilled life. We are only expressing our love for her passage. There is nobody that will live forever, but we are only praying to live a long and fulfilled life.
“Iya Cele did not die; she lives because God has been so wonderful to her. Her life was full of exceeding grace. She was all about glorifying and serving God. Everything about her was about service to God”, the former Council Chairman stated.
“We thank God for what she was able to instill in us, and we pray that we will be able to sustain the discipline and goodness that she trained us with”, he said.
Dada, who clarified that his paternal side is from Shagamu, while his mother hailed from Ikorodu, thanked guests for honouring his late mother’s burial, and also thanked the two families for their support.
“On behalf of the Emmanuel Idowu family of Shagamu, which is my paternal side, and Ilo dynasty of Ikorodu, my maternal family, we thank you all for coming and for your support. We thank the Dada family for allowing us to bury our mother in Ikorodu”, he said.
Mrs Kemi Jokotade, daughter of the deceased, also spoke glowingly about her late mother whom she described as accommodating and God fearing.
“I always love to celebrate my mum. We thank God for her life. She was there for everybody. She treated all the children around her like her own children. While we were growing up, everybody that knew our house at Fadeyi, will know that our house was the convergence point for boys in Fadeyi, to the extent that my father would complained, but my mummy always asked him to leave them alone”, she said.
“She was very close to God, and always give everything that she had to the service of God.
“Since she has left, there is no day that I did not think about her, because I am yet to accept that she is gone, but I usually take solace in the fact that she lived a fulfilled life, and I pray for eternal rest for her.
“Everything started like a play, she got to the Church on a Sunday in February 2023, and everything just changed and from that moment till she breathe her last breath on May 27, we never gave us any trouble.
“She gave us great joy to serve her, because she had served us too while we were growing up. She was there all through the thick and tin”, she said.
A member of the Celestial Church of Christ, Ileri Oluwa Parish, also described the life of late Mother Celestial Dada as a fulfilled one, while stating that she was her birthday mate.
“Mama was a very good woman. She had never been angry, and she was always the one that would go to others to let them know if they had done anything to her. She had never held grudge against anybody”, she said.
“She was accommodating to everybody, and she was my birthday mate and we do celebrate our birthday together. She was a nice woman. She lived a worthy life, and was always committed to the Church”.
Also at the burial reception were chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC), serving and former Councilors in Ikorodu West, youths and community groups among others.
