THE SOLDIER OF GRACE: A TRIBUTE TO ELDER STATESMAN MICHAEL OKUNADE-IGBOHO
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| Elder Michael Okunade-Igboho |
There are some lives that are lived quietly but speak loudly across generations.
There are men whose greatest monuments are not statues erected in their honour, nor streets named after them, but the footprints they leave on the sands of time—the lives they touch, the battles they survive, the sacrifices they make and the stories that remain long after their footsteps have disappeared.
Michael Okunade-Igboho belongs to that rare generation of men whose lives are themselves a testimony.
His is not merely the story of a soldier.
It is the story of a young man who walked through the valley of uncertainty and emerged on the mountain of grace.
It is the story of courage in the face of hunger, determination in the presence of rejection, faith in the midst of darkness and survival when circumstances seemed determined to pronounce failure.
It is the story of a son of Igboho whose journey from the uncertainty of 1969 to the dignity of elder statesmanship reminds us of one enduring truth:
Sometimes, destiny does not announce itself with trumpets. It begins with a difficult road, an empty pocket and a stubborn refusal to give up.
I. THE DUST OF WANDERING — JUNE 1969
In June 1969, the horizon did not look promising.
A young Michael Okunade returned from Ghana carrying little in his hands but carrying something far more valuable in his heart—a determination to survive.
The journey home was not the triumphant return of a man whose fortunes had been made.
It was the return of a young man standing at the intersection of hope and uncertainty.
From the familiar landscape of Kisi, across the historic soil of Igboho, and onward to the bustling streets of Ibadan, he searched for opportunity.
He searched for work.
He searched for a door.
He searched for someone who would say, "Come in. There is a place for you here."
But the doors did not open.
The streets offered no easy answers.
Hunger became a companion. Uncertainty became a shadow. Tomorrow looked like a distant mountain.
Yet there was something inside the young man that refused to die.
He had no guarantee of success.
He had no powerful connection to pull him forward.
He had no fortune waiting for him.
But he had courage.
And sometimes, courage is all destiny needs before it begins to rearrange the pieces.
II. THE OASIS IN WAWA
When the road in Ibadan appeared closed, another road beckoned.
The voice of courage whispered:
"Take the bull by the horns."
And so his journey carried him towards the waters of Kainji, into the Wawa axis.
His pocket was nearly empty.
His future remained uncertain.
But in Wawa, he remembered a friend from childhood—Isaac Adigun, a brother whose life and name carried a message of faith:
"Jesus Never Fails."
There, friendship became shelter.
Love opened a small door.
A shared roof offered temporary refuge.
But even friendship has its limits when the pot is empty.
Feeding became difficult.
Survival became a daily negotiation.
For Michael, remaining there meant becoming a burden to someone who had already opened his home to him.
Leaving meant stepping once again into uncertainty.
It was one of those moments in life when a man must choose between the comfort of temporary shelter and the frightening possibility of a new beginning.
He chose the latter.
And that decision would change his life forever.
III. THE SECRET COVENANT ON KAIMA ROAD
There are moments in history that appear ordinary when they happen but become extraordinary when viewed through the lens of hindsight.
One such moment came on the Kaima Road.
Without ceremony.
Without a farewell worthy of the occasion.
Without announcing his intentions to everyone around him, the young man stepped into the shadows of uncertainty.
He walked towards Kainji Barracks.
Perhaps even he could not have fully understood the significance of the decision he was making.
But sometimes destiny does not wait for a man to understand everything.
It simply asks him to take the next step.
That step took Michael Okunade from uncertainty into discipline.
From wandering into purpose.
From the struggle for survival into service to his nation.
From Kainji, the journey eventually extended to the historic grounds of Abeokuta, where his transformation from an unemployed young man into a soldier of the Nigerian Army took firm shape.
Then came the defining entry in the ledger of his life:
August 25, 1969.
Service Number: 63NA/284870.
A soldier was born.
But more than a soldier was born that day.
A story of courage had begun.
IV. THROUGH THE FURNACE OF WAR
Military service is not a profession for the faint-hearted.
It demands discipline when the body is tired.
It demands obedience when the mind questions.
It demands courage when fear becomes the loudest voice in the room.
And for Michael Okunade, the test would become even greater.
Nigeria was passing through one of the darkest chapters in its history.
The Civil War had plunged the nation into violence, uncertainty and grief.
The young soldier found himself walking through a landscape where death was not an abstract concept.
It was real.
It was close.
It was present in the sound of gunfire, the smoke of battle and the sorrow of men who watched friends disappear before their eyes.
Bullets flew.
Fear surrounded the battlefield.
Young men marched into danger knowing that not everyone who entered would return.
Yet through the furnace of war, Michael endured.
His story is one of survival, but it is also one of faith.
For the man who had once wandered the streets searching for employment now found himself standing in defence of the nation.
The same young man who once wondered where his next meal would come from was now entrusted with responsibilities that demanded courage and sacrifice.
Life had taken him from hunger to duty.
From uncertainty to service.
From searching for a livelihood to defending a nation.
And through it all, he held on to the faith that had carried him from one difficult chapter to another.
The God of his fathers, he believed, had not abandoned him.
V. WHEN THE GUNS FELL SILENT
Eventually, the guns fell silent.
The smoke of war began to clear.
The nation slowly turned its face from the battlefield towards rebuilding.
For some, the end of the war meant the beginning of a new civilian life.
For Michael Okunade, it was another chapter in a journey that had already taught him some of life's most important lessons.
He had seen hardship.
He had experienced uncertainty.
He had known the discipline of the barracks.
He had walked through the terrifying corridors of war.
And he had survived.
But survival did not make him bitter.
Instead, it helped shape him.
It gave him an appreciation for peace.
It taught him the value of perseverance.
It strengthened his understanding of duty.
And perhaps most importantly, it deepened his appreciation of Grace.
VI. 1976 — LAYING DOWN THE UNIFORM
In 1976, after years of military service, Michael Okunade stepped away from the ranks.
He laid down the uniform.
He unbuckled the belt.
He left behind the regimented life of the barracks.
But he did not leave behind the values the uniform had taught him.
The soldier retired.
The discipline remained.
The uniform disappeared.
The courage remained.
The battlefield became a memory.
The lessons remained.
And the young man who had once wandered in search of a future now stood as a man who had travelled through one of the most demanding chapters a human being could encounter.
He had not merely survived the journey.
He had been shaped by it.
VII. FROM SOLDIER TO ELDER STATESMAN
Some men retire from service.
Others continue serving humanity long after their official duties have ended.
Michael Okunade belongs to the latter category.
His journey did not end with military retirement.
In many ways, that was only the beginning of another form of service.
With advancing years came wisdom.
With experience came perspective.
With survival came gratitude.
And with age came the honour of becoming one whose story younger generations could look upon and learn from.
Today, the young man who once walked the streets searching for a means of survival stands as an elder statesman, carrying with him memories from another Nigeria—a Nigeria of sacrifice, discipline, struggle and nation-building.
His life reminds the younger generation that greatness does not always begin in comfort.
Sometimes it begins in adversity.
Sometimes the first chapter is written in hunger.
Sometimes the road to greatness begins when every obvious road appears closed.
And sometimes, what looks like rejection is simply destiny redirecting a man towards his appointed path.
VIII. THE MAN BEHIND THE STORY
Beyond the military history, beyond the service number, beyond the years and beyond the title of elder statesman lies a human story.
A story of a man who knew what it meant to start with almost nothing.
A story of a man who knew what it meant to depend on the kindness of another.
A story of a man who knew what it meant to walk into uncertainty without knowing exactly where the road would end.
That experience is perhaps one of the reasons his story carries such emotional weight.
Because many people understand hardship.
Many people have stood before closed doors.
Many people have wondered where their next opportunity would come from.
Many have looked at their circumstances and asked:
"Will tomorrow ever be better than today?"
The life of Michael Okunade answers that question with a resounding testimony:
Yes, it can.
But sometimes, tomorrow becomes better only because a man refuses to surrender today.
IX. THE GRACE THAT FOLLOWED HIM
There is a recurring thread that runs through the story of Michael Okunade:
Grace.
Grace found him when the road was uncertain.
Grace preserved him when circumstances were difficult.
Grace sustained him through military service.
Grace carried him through the horrors of war.
Grace brought him safely out of the battlefield.
Grace accompanied him into retirement.
And grace has continued to decorate his later years.
His story therefore cannot be told merely as a tale of personal achievement.
It must also be told as a testimony of providence.
Because there were moments when human calculation alone could not have predicted the outcome.
A young man returned from Ghana.
He searched for work.
He found rejection.
He travelled towards Kainji.
He walked towards the barracks.
He became a soldier.
He entered a war.
He survived.
He retired.
And decades later, he stands as an elder whose life itself has become a living archive of endurance.
That is Grace.
X. A LEGACY WRITTEN IN HUMAN MEMORY
Every generation eventually passes the baton to another.
The question is not whether a man will grow old.
He will.
The question is:
What will his life mean when the years have gathered around him?
For Michael Okunade-Igboho, the answer is already being written.
His legacy is not simply in the years he spent wearing a military uniform.
It is in the story of the young man who refused to surrender.
It is in the memory of the soldier who served.
It is in the testimony of the man who walked through war and returned home.
It is in the wisdom accumulated through decades of living.
It is in the inspiration his journey provides to younger generations.
And it is in the name Igboho, which remains woven into the identity of a man whose life journey travelled far beyond the boundaries of his birthplace.
XI. TO THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF IGBOHO
There is a lesson hidden inside the life of this elder that every young person should hear.
Do not despise your beginning.
Do not conclude that because today is difficult, tomorrow must remain difficult.
Do not allow rejection to convince you that you have no destiny.
Do not mistake a closed door for the end of the road.
The young Michael Okunade did not know what awaited him when he walked away from the comfort of Wawa.
He did not know that the road would lead him to Kainji.
He did not know that he would become a soldier.
He did not know that war would become part of his story.
He certainly could not have known that decades later, his journey would become a source of inspiration.
But he took the next step.
And sometimes, the next step is all destiny asks of us.
XII. EBENEZER — THUS FAR HAS THE LORD HELPED US
Today, as we look back across the decades, one word seems to rise above every chapter:
EBENEZER.
Thus far has the Lord helped us.
From the dust of wandering to the discipline of the barracks.
From an empty pocket to a life of dignity.
From the uncertainty of youth to the wisdom of elderhood.
From the battlefield to the peace of retirement.
From soldier to statesman.
From struggle to testimony.
From uncertainty to legacy.
Ebenezer.
The road was not always smooth.
The nights were not always bright.
The journey was not always comfortable.
But he kept walking.
And Grace kept walking with him.
XIII. THE SOLDIER WHO BECAME A SYMBOL OF GRACE
Michael Okunade-Igboho's story is ultimately not a story about perfection.
It is a story about perseverance.
Not a story about privilege.
A story about resilience.
Not a story about a man who never faced adversity.
A story about a man who refused to allow adversity to have the final word.
The young man of June 1969 could not have imagined the elder statesman of today.
But that is the mystery of life.
The seed does not look like the tree.
The beginning does not always reveal the destination.
The first page rarely tells us how the book will end.
And perhaps that is why his story deserves to be remembered.
Because somewhere in the journey of Michael Okunade-Igboho is a message for everyone who has ever felt forgotten, rejected, stranded or uncertain about tomorrow:
Keep walking.
Your present circumstance is not necessarily your final destination.
The road may be rough.
The night may be long.
The door may appear closed.
But there is always another chapter.
XIV. A TRIBUTE FROM THE HEART
Today, we honour not merely the soldier.
We honour the man.
We honour the journey.
We honour the courage.
We honour the endurance.
We honour the memories.
We honour the sacrifices.
We honour the years.
And above all, we honour the Grace that has accompanied the journey.
Dear Elder Michael Okunade-Igboho, your life has become a story larger than yourself.
You have travelled a road that began with uncertainty and arrived at dignity.
You have known the dust of hardship and the honour of service.
You have witnessed the brutality of war and lived long enough to enjoy the blessing of peace.
You have carried memories that younger generations can only imagine.
And today, you stand not merely as an elder by age, but as an elder by experience.
Your life is a reminder that greatness can emerge from the most unlikely beginnings.
Your journey is a testimony that courage can open doors that circumstance keeps shut.
Your survival is a reminder that the darkest chapter does not have to be the final chapter.
And your years are a testimony to the unfailing hand of Providence.
XV. THE FINAL SALUTE
So, from the ancient soil of Igboho to every place your journey has taken you, we raise our voices in honour.
We salute the young man who refused to give up.
We salute the soldier who answered the call of duty.
We salute the warrior who walked through the furnace of war.
We salute the survivor who returned home.
We salute the elder who carries the memories of a generation.
And we salute the statesman whose life has become a testament to endurance, courage and grace.
When history records the lives of those who walked before us, may the name Michael Okunade-Igboho be remembered not simply as the name of a soldier, but as the name of a man who demonstrated what can happen when courage meets opportunity, perseverance meets destiny and faith meets Grace.
The road from Ghana was difficult.
The streets of Ibadan were unforgiving.
The days in Wawa were uncertain.
The road to Kainji was mysterious.
The battlefield was dangerous.
The years were demanding.
But Grace prevailed.
And after all the battles, all the journeys, all the struggles and all the years, one testimony remains:
EBENEZER!
Thus far has the Lord helped us.
From recruitment dirt to the dignity of golden elderhood.
From the battlefield to the quietness of wisdom.
From a young man searching for a future to an elder whose past has become a lesson for generations.
The soldier has become a statesman.
The journey has become a testimony.
The struggle has become a legacy.
And the story has become a song of Grace.
To God alone be all the glory, honour and everlasting praise.
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David Alani Ige (The Scribe)
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Ayekooto MediaDavid Alani Ige is a seasoned journalist, strategic analyst, and the visionary publisher of Ayekooto Media. With a relentless commitment to archiving Nigeria's political realities and delivering the unvarnished truth, he has built a formidable platform for deep-dive reportage and editorial excellence. He is widely known by his readers and peers as "The Scribe".
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