Motunrayo Oluwaseun Ololade mi Adunni o
Motunrayo
Oluwaseun Ololade mi Adunni o
I am unsure who came up with this song, probably MAMI
or me but it is one I sang repeatedly to Motunrayo Famuyiwa now Alaka as
well.
I was 2 days short of 8 when she was born on May 25,
1981. Naturally, I became her caregiver, baby sitter and mum in MAMI's absence.
It is challenging to sum up a sister's love or to verbalise it at that age but
the bond we had growing up is such that when an accident occurred with Motun
strapped on my back, I chose to take the hit and got harmed; which left me with
a lifetime mark on my face.
Looking back, had I not taken the hit and taken what I
wear proudly as one of my badges of honour, the world would have been denied this
amazing bundle of encouragement. Could it have been courage that made me do
what I did? At 8, I had no idea what courage was. But from very young, my
parents fed me with the Bible and God grew in me the heart of empathy, which
welled in me instinct - through the power of the Holy Spirit. I have the
ability to smell rain and see danger. I grew up bold - instilled in me directly
by my parents who gave me “big” responsibilities early in life. It was not
until 2020 I asked, what was a baby doing on my back at 8!
I am blessed to see the strides Motunrayo has made as
a child of the Almighty God, daughter of Ibiyemi and Olukunle, sister of
Bamidele, Omolola, Olurotimi, and Olufikayo, wife of Babjide, mothe beyond her
homer, mentor, preacher, journalist, crusader for daring investigative
journalism beyond Nigeria.
In a dark world, my dear sister has been a light; a
light shining hope into lives that in turn keep the light of emancipation aglow
in a world where men still make it a task to keep women under. From Araromi, to
Abeokuta to Ado-Ekiti, to Akoka to America, her light is shinning so brightly
that humanity sees her good works and glorify Our Father in Heaven (Matthew
5.16). Her husband, friends and children call her blessed, her parents and
siblings call her graced. Graced to preach, graced to teach and graced to reach
the marginalised and underserved with the light of truth.
You are
indeed a graceful gift to humanity!
When I thought of a gift for Motunrayo’s 40th, I didn’t
have to think too had because Holy Spirit dropped the gift of a book in my mind
- one largely written in Motunrayo's hands and packaged confidentially with
love as keepsake for you and yours; a testament of undying love from a sister
who is prayerfully propelling, knowing that you still have much more to give as
heaven pours out renewed and refreshed anointing for you to excel in all areas
of caring, calling and career for the healing of our world.
Happy 40th Dearest Motunrayo!
Motunrayo Famuyiwa-Alaka
Chief Executive Officer ~ Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism
Motunrayo Adunni Alaka is a communications strategist motivated by issues of media development, social entrepreneurship, inclusive governance, gender mainstreaming and value-driven leadership. At present, Alaka leads the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, a pioneering organisation promoting investigative reporting in Nigeria.
She holds a degree in political science from the University of Ado-Ekiti and a Master’s Degree in Diplomacy and Strategic Studies from the University of Lagos. In 2019, Motunrayo joined others for the life-changing John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University in California, USA.
Motunrayo Alaka is particularly excited about issues of communications development, social entrepreneurship, inclusive governance, gender mainstreaming and value-driven leadership. Motunrayo Alaka led the inauguration of the Nigerian Network for Investigative Journalism in 2011. She has developed programmes, strategies, curriculums and harnessed resources in people, competences and funds in the last 10 years to directly train over 730 reporters; mentor at least 86, and influence the publication of about 170 human-angle reports across the Nigerian media on issues about girls and women, education, oil and gas, and electricity. A passion for media excellence has also seen her initiate media monitoring on various issues.
Motunrayo was instrumental to the creation of the Report Women Programme and its Female Reporters Leadership leg that has triggered discourses around gender issues in newsrooms and beyond. She produced a documentary – Report Women: Untold Stories of Girls and Women in Nigeria which is available online. She serves as resource person for various organisations on research, communications, governance and development strategy.
Motunrayo Famuyiwa-Alaka has worked in journalism, media solutions design, communications, investigative reporting, civil society advancement and social entrepreneurship since 2005. She is one of the pioneer advocates for the development of investigative reporting and accountability journalism in Nigeria.
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