By Ojudu Babafemi
In 1967, this modest statue was erected at the cenotaph of Colonel Francis Adekunle Fajuyi in Ado-Ekiti. For nearly six decades, it stood as a quiet reminder of a man whose courage and sacrifice occupy an enduring place in our nation’s history.
The park holds personal memories for me, too. As a primary schoolboy in 1967, I would visit my father there after school while he was working on its construction. It was to that same site that I ran to tell him of the birth of my younger sister, Yemi Dada Akindolire, née Ojudu. For me, this place holds both a nation’s history and a family’s memories.
Now, in 2026, Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji has replaced the original statue with a monumental sculpture, on a scale I have personally not encountered elsewhere in Nigeria. It gives commanding physical expression to the stature Fajuyi has long held in our hearts and collective memory.
Thank you, Mr Governor. I am happy to have collaborated with you in bringing this tribute to fruition.
This is progress with a purpose: honouring sacrifice, preserving memory and giving the next generation worthy examples of courage, loyalty and public service. A society teaches its values partly through the people it chooses to celebrate. In honouring Fajuyi, we affirm that there are principles greater than personal comfort and commitments worth upholding even in the face of death.
The original statue will be preserved, alongside other memorabilia, in the museum being developed within the reimagined park, which is expected to be ready for commissioning early next year. There, generations yet unborn will encounter the story of his life and sacrifice, and learn something of the difficult choices upon which history turns.
The new monument honours his stature; the museum will help explain the life behind it. Together, they will ensure that Fajuyi is remembered not merely as a name on a park, but as a man whose example continues to ask something of us all: sacrifice.
