HISTORY OF THE OJELEYE FAMILY

History has it that we were all born in Balogun village in the present Atakumosa Local Government of ljesha land many years ago. As at 1960 there were about 20 houses in Balogun village with a population of about 80. Most of the people that lived in the village were farmers. Balogun village was surrounded by other villages such as Aba Ekarun, Ayorunbo, Akeredolu, Lagere, Otagiri and Bale. The closest one being Aba - Ekarun. The funniest thing about the inhabitants of Balogun and other nearby villages was that most of them were Oyos that is they were all from Modakeke. In the present Ife East Local Government area office and Odeomu in Aiyedade Local Government even though owners of the land were the ljeshas.  The head of each family paid yearly tributes (Isakole) to the ljesha land owners in form of cash and farm products such as palm oil. The villagers were intact as they were united in almost all aspects of human life. Both the Christians and Muslims religions were Practised in Balogun Village. It was at this village that we were all born into the OJELEYE Family.

OUR FATHER'S SIBLINGS

The name of our father was Pa Josiah Alabi Ojeleye of Emuoje compound in Modakeke.  We were informed that he was the only child of the mother as his mother died when he was very young, so little was known about our paternal grandmother. The name of our grandfather was Pa Ojebode and his younger brother was Pa Idowu. Both of them were from the same father and mother. Pa Ojebode had three wives. The first wife gave birth to our father (Pa Josiah Ojeleye).
The second wife of our grandfather gave birth to Pa Samuel Coker, Pa Joseph Ojebode Olatunji (Baba Oyewole etc), Pa Aborishade (Baba Isaac) the third wife gave birth to Madam Segilole (who was married to an Ife man) and Pa Isaiah Ojo.
On Pa Idowu's side he too had three wives; the first wife gave birth to Pa James Salako (Baba Abel Olaolu, Janet, Abigail etc) Mama Bola and Pa Adedokun (the Accountant). The second wife gave birth to Pa Gabriel Popoola (Baba Daniel, Gboye, Dupe etc) while the third wife gave birth to Mama Aina (Mama Pa Omilani etc) and Pa Ezekiel Ojewande (Baba Ishola, Philips, Pastor Segun etc).
Our father, Pa James Salako, Pa Gabriel Popoola and Pa Ezekiel Ojewande built their houses close to each other in Balogun village. They also had their farms in Balogun village while other siblings had their houses and farms at Odeomu and Ogudu villages in ife division. As can be deduced above, our father                           Pa (Ojeleye) was the oldest among his half brothers. I Knew my father's siblings very well but I dan't know they were quite close with my father. My thinking when I was young was that we were just villagers. We (Ojeleye family) relates well with our cousins as most of us were age mates. Pastor Titus Kunle Ömilani (the grandson of Mama Aina) is very close to our family. I always see him with our senior brother Pa Adebisi Ojeleye. Also Late Philip Ojewande schooled with us at St. John's Primary School Ayorunbo. He was exceptionally brilliant, our senior brother preferred that he should continue schooling but one of our uncles insisted that he should follow him to his farm outside Balogun village. We youths in the village hide him for two days when our uncle was embarking on a journey to his farm. We had to give up when we could no longer hide him. Eventually he followed our uncle to his farm.
As I was putting finishing touches to the second edition of the history of Ojeleye family. It was reported that one of our cousins Mr. Titus Oyewole Olatunji died on the 18th of December 2017 as a result of a ghastly accident. He was coming from his farm settlement at Alaguntan when a vehicle hit his okada from behind. It was a sad news indeed. He was aged 75 years old. May his soul rest in peace Amen.

OUR MOTHER'S SIBLINGS

The name of our mother was Madam Felicia Gbemisola Ajike Ojeleye (Nee Ifarinade) of Akire compound in Modakeke. She was the third child of the first wife of her father. Her mother's name was Madam Olosunde Ifarinade. She was tall and light in complexion. The names of our mother's siblings were as follows: Pa Awoniyi (Baba Suarau), Madam Morantiade Adeyemo (Mama Lesiki), Madam Felicia Gbemisola Ojeleye (our mother), Madam Jenrade (Mama Lodeomu), Pa David Samakinde (Baba Yeye, Biodun, Segun and Julius Soji, etc), Pa Christopher Adeleke (he had no issue), Madam Funmilade Muniratu Fawole (Mama Lekarun), and Pa James Alawode (Baba Dotun). The second wife our maternal grandfather was Adeunbi. She gave birth to Madam Faninhun who happened to be the first female of our maternal grandfather Pa Ifarinade. Madam Faninhun gave birth to Madam Mopelola Oyebanji.  Madam Mopelola Oyebanji married PaFawole from Aba-Ekarun village where Madam Muniratu Fawole married. She gave birth to cousin Tunji Fawole, He is also very close to the Ojeleye family.

WHY OJELEYE?

The mostly often asked question by our children was why do we bear "Ojeleye" (masquerade has honour). The name that is associated with masquerades. (Our father and all his siblings should have had their surname as Ojebode. I don't know why they dropped Ojebode to bear individual names. Although our father bore the name "Ojeleye" but we never worshipped Egungun or any other gods in our family. The fact that our parents and some of their siblings bore Christian names during their life time meant that they imbibed the Christian religion. Thus, when we were born, all of us were given Christian names and we all remain Christian till date.

FAMILY LIFE

The marriage between our parents was blessed with seven children, one female and six males, namely: Maria Oyinlola, Emmanuel Adebisi, Jacob Okunola, John Olayiwola, Reuben Oladosu, Rufus Abiodun and Caleb Foluso. We were informed that the first born of the family was a male child but died prematurely (before Oyinlola was born) ad that he resembled Olayiwola (the forth born). Our parents were very prominent and well respected at Balogun village and its environs simply because some of us were educated. Our parents were among the first to send their children to school in Balogun and the surroundings villages. In those days parents struggled on their own to foot the bill. Some villagers and the ljesha land owners fondly referred to our father as "Baba Tisa" (Teacher's Father) and our mother as "Mama Tisa" (Teacher's Mother). The appellation came into being when the second born (Adebisi) became a teacher in the late 1940's. Our father was very humble, easygoing, hardworking and generous while our mother was very hardworking, intelligent, vivacious and highly disciplined. She was a disciplinarian to the core as far as the children upbringing was concerned.
Our parents attended St. John's Anglican Church Ayorunbo, a distance of about one mile from Balogun village. All of us were baptized in the same church and we also attended the same church with our parents. It was no surprise therefore that we were all given Christian names at birth. It was a must for everybody to go to church on Sundays. Our father belonged to the elder's society (Egbe Agba) while our mother was a member of Ebenezer Society. Our parents were very prayerful. This was evident in the daily observation of compulsory morning prayers for all the children. Father did not take it kindly to anybody to sleep or doze off during prayers. Anyone that did not say "Amen" to a prayer being said usually got a dirty slap on the face or got smacked on the bottom them Amen, Amen would rend the air. Our father was a successful farmer and he had his farms at Oke-Odo, Eku, lyana ifona, Aba-Oko, and Egan. He planted both cash and food crops such as cocoa, kolanut, palm trees, banana, yam, maize, cassava, oranges, cocoyam, grapes and vegetables. As at today some of these farms are still in existence while others have been taken over by development, such as the dual carriage ways between Ife and llesha.
Father did not permit eating of cocoyam in our house even though we had plenty of it in the farms. There were two hypotheses to the forbidden of eating cocoyam. He was made to believe (God Knows Who) that it caused malnutrition (Inarun). The second was that cocoyam was too cheap and could be got anywhere even on the refuse ground. Family that made it their main source of food was looked upon as being poor. It is believed that our father did not see any reason for us to eat cocoyam when we had lots of yams to eat However, some of us used to eat it at our friends' or uncles houses (because it was sweet). God save that child if caught, he faced severe beatings. Our father could be in the farm from morning till evening. He did not care much about food but he loved to smoke pipe. Although He looked gaunt but very strong this might be as a result of the work he was engaged on the farms.
As for now some ljesha land owners are making efforts to take over their lands from the Oyos by surveying the farms. They have erected pillars on all the lands being farmed by the Oyos. The Oyos settlers had been on the land for more than 200 years. The 42 villages involved have grouped together to fight their cause to retain their farms. The chairman is Pastor Monisoye Okunade Adeagbo from (Balogun Village) while Mr. Abiodun Ojeleye is one of the executive. The struggle is still going on as this family history is being concluded.
Mother was a petty trader as she was noted for selling Clethes, Eko, Kolanuts and dried preserved beef meat locally known as Tinko. Most of our time was spent at Balogun village helping our father on the farms or helping mother to sell her wares at nearby villages. At the end of each year activities were usually shifted to Modakeke where we spent few days before returning to the village. We usually ate Amala made of Plantain flour in the morning and at times in the evenings. While pounded yam was mostly eaten in the evenings. Rice is reserved for special occasions such as New Year and Easter Periods. Eba was not common on our menu table. We rarely buy meat as we hunted for animals in the bush with our dogs or go into the bush to look for snails.

AT MODAKEKE

Father could not build a house at Emuoje Compound in Modakeke because of family dispute. He left Emuoje completely for Akire Compound where our mother hailed from to build the present family house. It was a four room apartment with two parlours. There was an extension of six rooms added at the back in the late 1970s to cater for all of us. Our parents left Balogun village for Modakeke in 1960 but father went to Balogun occasionally to see his farms. He also had farms at Akire comnound where he planted yams, vegetables, onions and pepper. Our mother was still engaged in selling Clothes, Eko, Cocoa, Kolanuts and dried preserved beef meat locally known as Tinko with the assistance of her granddaughters - Alatede Alawode (of blessed memoryjand Orekitan Adewusi (Nee Olawore). Our parents attended St. Stephen's Anglican Church Itasin Modakeke and they were prominent members of Elders society (Egbe Agba) and Ebenezer Society respectively. On the 20" Oct. 1965 father died after a brief ilness. The political situation in Western Nigeria at the time of his death was tense as a result of the conflict between Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief S. 1. Akintola. It was a period of "Wetie". Nonetheless the burial ceremony was celebrated and it attracted a large crowd from far and near. Drumming and gathering was kept within the compound.
Our mother later attended St. Andrew's Anglican Church Oke Amala when it was established in the 1980s. Mother continued to maintain the family with the assistance of elder members in the family until March 13 1995 where she died after a brief illness. She was 95 years old when she died, he was almost thirty years after the death of our father. She was buried on 20October 1995 at Modakeke. The burial ceremony was delayed until October, 1995 to mark the 30 anniversary of our father's death. The ceremony was well attended and all children were present.
As at the time of writing this history (March 2013) most of the villages at Balogun were no more.    Most of the original inhabitants have either died or relocated to Modakeke and Odeomu. Our family building had been leveled to the ground and overtaken by weeds as a result of disuse. While all of us agreed to rebuild the house in the late 1980's and early 2000's, there were disagreement as to the number of rooms, the house should contain. We thank God for the foresight of one of our children Olushola who spear headed the rebuilding of Balogun house. He was assisted by the head of the family Mr. Biodun Ojeleye and others. The rebuilding had been completed.