Mama Comfort Jejejola Ojeniyi: A Legacy of Love, Faith & Service

Mama Comfort Jejejola Ojeniyi: A Legacy of Love, Faith & Service

Background

Mama Comfort Jejelola Ojeniyi was born on September 17, 1933, in Ogunsina Village, Lagelu Local Government Area of Oyo State, to the late Pa Emmanuel Ogunwole and Mama Alice Awero Ogunwole.

She was born into a humble farming family. Her father, alongside his two brothers, later settled in Ile Agbara, Oja-Igbo, Ibadan. He was fondly remembered for riding his bicycle across the village, a simple image that reflected the dignity of rural enterprise and honest labour that shaped her early years.

From modest beginnings emerged a woman whose life would become a testimony of resilience, sacrifice, and unwavering faith.

Mama Comfort Jejelola in her younger age

Educational Experience

Though Mama Jejelola did not have the privilege of formal education, she possessed a rare determination to grow beyond limitation. She could read the Yoruba Bible fluently and followed Yoruba Christian magazines with a keen understanding. She also spoke some English, with a smattering of pronunciation that endeared her to many, all made possible through her attendance at adult literacy classes.

While she lacked formal schooling, she ensured that her children and even relatives in her care were well educated, most of them at the tertiary level. She converted her trading profits into school fees, books, and accommodation for others. She may not have sat in a classroom, but she built generations who did.

Her life proved that literacy of the spirit and wisdom of the heart can sometimes surpass paper certificates.

Business Life

Mama Comfort was industrious and entrepreneurial. She learned kolanut trading from her grandmother and aunts, Mama Ogunyoyin (Mama Oke-Bola) and Mama Oguntade (Mama Oranyan). She later partnered closely with her older sister, the late Mrs Mojisola Olayiwola (Mama Loyola).

Together, they built a thriving interregional trade network. Mama Comfort would buy and process kolanut in the South and send them to Mubi, Adamawa State, where her sister sold them. In return, Mama Loyola supplied her with foodstuffs and fabrics for sale in Ibadan. Their partnership was built not merely on commerce, but on trust, loyalty, and sisterhood.

After years in kolanut trading, Mama Comfort expanded into Portland cement distribution, acquiring two large shops at Gate, Agodi, Ibadan. She became widely respected and well patronised, not just for selling cement, but also for selling with integrity, kindness, and humility.

She was strong in business, yet gentle in spirit. Eventually, as she aged, she was advised to retire from active trading. But her legacy of diligence remained firmly established.

Marriage and Family Life

Mama’s marital journey was not without pain. Before her marriage to the late Elder Samuel Abidoye Ojeniyi, she had previously been married to the late Mr Taiwo Oladepo and the late Mr Joseph Adedeji Ojo. Those earlier marriages did not endure.

When asked about the challenges she faced, she often reflected with spiritual depth, saying her story might have been different if she had known Christ more deeply in her younger years. Rather than grow bitter, she grew wiser. In her later years, she passionately counselled her children and grandchildren on the importance of godly character and Christ-centred marriages.

Her life was not a fairy tale, but a testament to growth, reflection, and grace.

Motherhood: A Rare Gift

Mama Comfort was motherhood personified.

She was sacrificial, devoted, and unwaveringly committed to the well-being of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Their welfare was her daily concern and her constant prayer burden.

She was restrained from selling her landed property to repay a loan for a failed business project by one of her sons. She once insisted on paying for her grandson’s hostel accommodation at a tertiary institution; education was never negotiable in her value system. If there was comfort to be given, she gave it. If there was a sacrifice to be made, she made it.

Within the extended family, she was the “food bank” of Ile Agbara. During celebrations, she effortlessly coordinated hospitality, preparing eran alawo, amala, gbegiri, jollof rice, and more. No one left her presence hungry. Meals were abundant, drinks were served generously, and love overflowed.

She was the mother of Olubisi Olaniyonu (Mrs), Babatunde (Tunde) Ojo, Olufemi Ojo, Ayobami Ojo, Oluyinka Olaleye (Mrs), and Oluseyi Ojeniyi; grandmother of 19; and great-grandmother of 12.

A DIFFERENT CHRISTMAS: A REFLECTION ON BIRTH AND DEATH

Relationship with Neighbours

Every December 31, Mama hosted neighbours, children’s friends, and family members in celebration. It was more than a gathering; it was an annual expression of gratitude and generosity.

Guests often left with tomatoes, yam tubers, palm oil, raw rice, and even cash gifts. She believed that joy should be shared and that blessings multiply when distributed.

Her home was not just a house, it was a centre of warmth and community.

Christian Service

Mama Jejelola was a devoted and committed Christian. Church was not an obligation; it was her life.

On November 23, 2014, she was appointed Matron (Iya Ijo) of CAC Oke Alafia, a position she held faithfully until her passing. She served wholeheartedly as long as her strength permitted. Even when age and health confined her to her home in her final years, her heart remained in the church.

Her body might have grown weak, but her devotion never did.

Prayer Life

Prayer was her lifeline, her oxygen. She held personal vigils, mentioning her children one by one, from the eldest to the youngest, and her only brother, Pastor R. A. Ogunwole, SAN. Singing often flowed between her prayers.

Whenever anyone visited, she would spontaneously pray for them on arrival and before departure, urging them, “E sa a ma se amin”, meaning “Just keep saying Amen.” She believed that as long as she could pray, God could answer.

Her covering over her family was spiritual before it was material.

Her Loves

Mama loved to pray, sing and dance. Her home was always neat and orderly. She enjoyed being hospitable and wearing beautiful clothes.

Her favourite songs included Talale fi e we, Nipa Ife Olugbala, Oba Ayeraye, eto be, eju be lo and Mo da pada s’odo re o Baba. These were not merely songs; they were declarations of her faith journey.

Mama Comfort Jejejola Ojeniyi: A Legacy of Love, Faith & Service

Her Homegoing

Everything that has a beginning has an appointed end.

In the early hours of November 13, 2025, Mama Comfort Jejelola Ojeniyi peacefully passed on after decades of good health and vitality of spirit. She was never known for hospital admission for any ailment or debilitating disease.

Her legacy lives on.

Tunde Ojo

Postscript: The late Mama Comfort Jejelola Ojeniyi was my dear mother. She was buried on February 21, 2026