Francis Ojo (1967-71)

Brother Thomas, all these years have refused to fade away from memory. How can any of us write our memoir without a mention of him, Brother Bernard, Alphonsus, or Mel? His long white catholic robes, signposting his mission in Africa and by extension, on earth, his rustic black locally made rubber sandals, signifying simplicity and humility, his early morning herding of our youthful rebellious members to the Chapel. And oh, that funny ‘judicial intervention in the Zorro versus School case to prevent the rustication of ‘Zoro’ Akinbulumo. It was not until later years, further recollection and reflection that one began to understand, appreciate and marvel at the purpose of the De La Salle order, and the implementation of their mission to rescue minds and morals.
Today, as we celebrate the gift that Brother Thomas meant and still means to us, it is apposite to send the De La Salle a strong message of gratitude. Brother Thomas and the order achieved their purpose and though I do not fully know the mission statement, I am convinced that they achieved their aim substantially. They converted many souls to Christianity, developed minds intellectually and morally, left an indelible legacy in lessons of humility and sacrifice in service
I am convinced he is, today, a very happy man. I hope he finds us part of the source of his fulfillment as he was foundational to the successes we have recorded. I hope we can further his happiness by extending our own personal opportunity to others the way he did his.
St. Joseph alumni have been very successful in leadership and followership positions in Government, Clergy, art, and the professions. Without the early intervention in our lives, one wonders how much of this success we would be discussing today.
On behalf of myself and my other two older brothers, Joseph Ojo, Stephen Ojo and our family, we thank Brother Thomas for his God-ordained service to Africa, we thank God for the gift of long and useful life and wish him many more years of happiness and grace.