“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” – Nelson Mandela
Opeyemi Adamolekun
My mother, Dr (Mrs) Olukemi Celina Adamolekun, was a rockstar! She was ahead of her time in many ways. With fashion, she rocked ankara suits decades before they became a fad. Aso-oke and adire were also favourites. In her chosen careers, she practically predicted the future. She had a Master’s in guidance & counselling, and was awarded a PhD in the same field in 1992. It was as if she knew that Nigeria would become so traumatic that all of us would need a therapist! Unfortunately, the demand-to-supply ratio remains very low, and we have not been intentional about building capacity, despite how difficult the country has become. But I digress. In addition to degrees in guidance & counselling, she had degrees in nursing, psychology and social work. She was always about people!
A Master’s in Social Work in 2000 was her last degree at age 54. In the 1990s, as she worked on her PhD and took care of my brothers and me, she engaged in volunteer work focused on the weak: the elderly in hospices, the sick in hospitals and HIV/AIDS patients in specialised centres. She saw closely what care looked like when people were vulnerable. She also saw something else. Traditional family structures were changing on the continent. Elderly people would no longer be able to live with their children in old age, as their children now lived abroad or lived in cities that could not provide ideal support. Many would face loneliness, poverty, and neglect. The degree was to help her deepen her grasp of the theoretical and practical aspects of the caring professions.
