Chief Joseph Folahan Odunjo was the author of the
Yoruba Alawiye; a Yoruba text book widely read in
Southwest Nigerian schools. Chief Odunjo was a brilliant
scholar, a teacher, a poet, a playwright, a novelist, a
historian, a composer, an administrator and a
statesman.
The literary icon was born 111 years ago in 1904 in the
Defunct Western Region of Nigeria. He began his
educational career at the St. Augustine’s Catholic
Primary School, in Abeokuta.
Late Odunjo was the Minister of Lands and Labour in
Western Nigeria in 1952, under the late Premier of the
Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
He held the post until 1956 when he was appointed the
Executive Director, Agriculture, Western Nigeria
Development Corporation between 1957 and 1962. In the
60s and early 70s, he was the President of the Ibadan
Catholic Diocesan Council.
Late Odunjo was a great disciplinarian but he was
always fair to all. His love and commitment to
education prevented him from gaining grounds in the
political space. He devoted his leisure time to writing
series of educational books.
His Alawiye Yoruba Language series books 1-6 were the
approved Yoruba textbooks for the teaching of the
Yoruba Language in primary schools in Western Nigeria.
It is indeed amazing to know that his first Alawiye book
which was published in 1943, Iwe Kini ABD Alawiye, was
what every student who went to primary school in the
Western Region was administered with.
Late Odunjo was a member of a few organisations while
he lived. He was the assistant secretary of the Nigeria
Union of Teachers between 1942 and 1951. He also
founded the Federal Association of Catholic Teachers,
Lagos and Yoruba Province in 1936. He was the
association’s president until 1951. He held the post of
secretary of the Egbado Union, Lagos between 1941 and
1951. He was made knight of St. Gregory by the Pope in
1966.
Apart from the Alawiye books, Odunjo was also the
author of a number of other literary publications. In his
preface to the collection, J.F. Odunjo wrote that it had
become necessary to have such a collection which
sought to document Yoruba poems and wise sayings so
as to promote the Yoruba culture and tradition, with
such popular poems like: Iwa rere li eso eniyan, Ise ni
Oogun Ise, Omo beere Osi beere, Owo Apekanuko, Bi ori
Ijapa se pa, Kini ng o fole se. The collection inspires the
teaching of morals in schools for decades.
Late Odunjo played a pivotal role in bringing Longman
Publishing House to Nigeria. It is also believed that the
success of his books played a significant role in
guaranteeing the presence of Longman in Nigeria.
The Alawiye books have been variously revised and
reprinted over the years. Fifty-seven years after; they
continue to be as relevant in the classroom of various
primary schools as they were in the first days.
Late Chief Odunjo was indeed a great man who made
remarkable contributions to the Yoruba Library. Though
it’s been 35 years (1980) since he passed on, he
continues to be as relevant in death as he was in life.
He will continually be remembered for his laudable
contribution to Yoruba academics, Yoruba Cultural
Heritage and also to humanity.
He was survived by two sons and five daughters. May
his gentle soul continue to rest in the bosom of the
Lord…Amen!
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