OLADEJO: Son of a Carpenter

A Life Full of Allah’s Benevolence

By Abdulfattah Abdussalam

In Islam, there are eight fundamental blessings that suggest a person has been honoured in this life and will likely be honoured in the hereafter by Allah (Azawajallah). These were outlined by Imam Abdulmajeed Ayinla, the Deputy Missioner of the Nawair-Ud-Deen Society (NUD) of Nigeria and overseas. He shared these insights during a special prayer organized by the Committee of Friends to mark the 80th anniversary of Alhaji Oladejo Rasaki, the Deputy President-General (South) of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs and President of the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN). According to Imam Ayinla, possessing the following is a testament to a life well-lived: faith in Allah, good health, knowledge, offspring, riches, influence, long life, and contentment. Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo’s personality, he noted, embodies all eight of these attributes.

The benevolence of Allah in his life began in childhood. He was born in Latoyo’s compound, Oritamerin, Ibadan, in what is now Oyo State, Nigeria. He came from a family with multiple mothers, where tradition dictated that the father would only sponsor the first-born male child of each wife for both Islamiyyah and conventional schooling. Rasaki was his mother’s second child. He had an older brother but through the benevolence of Allah, he was chosen over his senior brother to attend both Islamiyyah and a conventional school. At the time, both boys were apprentices in their father’s carpentry workshop. He recounted, “In accordance with my father’s policy, it meant I would not go to school. But when it came to my mother’s turn, instead of picking my brother, my father decided to pick me and that has continued to be my lot throughout my career in life, anywhere I go.”

Truly, that trend continued to the extent that most people thought he possessed supernatural powers. He completed his primary education with flying colors, but could not attend a secondary school due to financial reasons. He opted for a secondary modern school, which was less costly than a secondary grammar school at the time. In 1962, as he was finishing his secondary modern three examinations, his half-brother, Alhaji AbdulAzeez Oladejo, who was attending a Muslim teacher training college in Surulere, Lagos, helped him enroll in the same school for a Grade III teaching certificate. In later years, he returned to the same school for a Grade II teaching certification course, which was an upgrade. In between, he self-studied and passed the necessary General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level subjects for secondary education. By the time he completed his Grade II teachers’ education; he had brilliantly studied and passed three important Advanced Level subjects: Economics, Geography, and British Constitution (Government).

With these qualifications, he applied to the University of Lagos for a degree course. At this juncture, the benevolence of Allah manifested once more. He was admitted for Economics with a Federal Government Scholarship, against his personal wish. He recalls: “I wanted to do Geography because it was my best subject and I wanted to be a professor of Geography, but surprisingly, against my wish, I was admitted to read Economics. So that’s how I became an economist.”

In June 1975, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Economics, achieving a Second Class, Upper Division. Due to his scholarship, he joined the Federal Government of Nigeria Civil Service as a Planning Officer in the Ministry of National Planning, following his Youth Service year in Rivers State. His exceptional performance at the undergraduate level and a promising career in the Nigerian civil service prompted the Federal Government to sponsor him for a special Master’s Degree Course in Developmental Economics at Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He graduated in September 1980 and returned to Nigeria the following month.As a Planning Officer in the Ministry of National Planning, his duties included forecasting government revenue, expenditure, exports, imports, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP), among other tasks. By 1982, he had risen through the ranks to become a Principal Planning Officer and Head of the Research Unit in the Macro-Economic Department of the Ministry. Alhaji Oladejo also represented the Ministry in special projects, such as the construction of econometric models for the Nigerian economy. These projects were undertaken jointly with the Forecasting Unit of the University of Ibadan, the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), and the World Bank.

In addition, as a Senior Planning Officer, he represented Nigeria as a member of the delegation to the Annual Meetings of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Conferences. This achievement was truly benevolence from Allah, as his cadre at that point was rather low compared to his peers from the Federal Ministry of Finance, and the Central Bank of Nigeria. Shortly after, he shockingly resigned from the Federal Government Service. This was another move that suggested his path to greatness was laced with benevolence. Alhaji Oladejo resigned and joined the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) as Head of Research and Business Advisory Services Department. He distinguished himself at the Chamber by preparing well-researched memoranda to the government on various economic issues on behalf of both the LCCI and the Nigerian Organized Private Sector. He was employed by the LCCI for six years before the “whirlwind of benevolence” that followed him propelled him to a platform that brought him bouquets of greatness. There, he shone like a diamond, becoming the face of his new office and a part of the revolutionary ideas that transformed the Nigerian Stock Exchange into what it is today. He assumed duties at the Nigerian Stock Exchange in September 1989.

Indeed, he had spectacular service years at the Nigerian Stock Exchange. He rose from Assistant General Manager/Head of Research and Information System in 1989 to Deputy Director-General/Chief Operating Officer of the dynamic, emergent stock market by the time he exited in June 2003, after 14 years of meritorious service to the institution. In his private life, the graces of Allah are overwhelming. Allah has truly blessed him in every aspect of human endeavours. His marriage, for instance, is a case study for a happy marital life. At a prayer session marking his 80th birthday, Dr. Adebayo Tajudeen, the Imam of Falomo Police Central Mosque Ikoyi, Lagos, had this to say: “Our leader that we are celebrating today, Alhaji Abdur-Rasaki Oladejo, is one of the few privileged servants of Allah to whom plenty has been given in this World. May he be among those that will be given plenty in the hereafter.