It was a pour of encomium on Saturday, in the city of Osogbo, Osun State capital as the Executive Secretary of Osun State Agency for Control of Aids, Dr. Adeniji Samuel Oginni, clocked 60 years and retired from active civil service.
Oginni, who was the founding Executive Secretary of the Osun Health Insurance Agency, was described by professional colleagues and friends as a man of impeccable character and lover of excellence and diligence.
In his sermon, the Vicar of St. Matthias Anglican Church, Osogbo, Ven. Olusegun Ojo described Oginni as a person who faced “several battles and persecutions” during his career.
The cleric urged him to continue moving closer to God and serve him diligently, while calling on him to seek more knowledge and impact more lives.
“You fought a good fight throughout your career. The fights were as a result of your uprightness, commitment to excellence and abhorrence of laziness and sharp practices. God was with you throughout those periods and we thank Him for not leaving you. I want to urge you to seek more knowledge. You have time now. Nothing stops you from becoming a Professor and I believe you can achieve it.
“You also need to dedicate more time to mentoring of younger ones and impacting lives. May the Lord continue to be with you,” Ven. Ojo prayed.
Dr. Oginni’s extraordinary achievements in the medical sector and the community were honored at the reception, which was attended by family, friends, colleagues, and well-wishers.
In his remark, Chairman of the occasion, Dr Ojo Ijagbemi said Dr Oginni was one of the most upright and committed persons he has worked with.
He said, “We’re here to celebrate one of the most stubborn people I have known. Always insists on right things to be done. Very committed and upright. He will not allow anyone to cut corners and will not cut corners himself. I congratulate him and his family on his successful landing.”
The retiring Oginni
Oginni could be referred to as the ‘founder’ of the Osun Health Insurance Scheme, the State-owned health insurance project. This is because former Governor Rauf Aregbesola at the twilight of his administration, only gave a letter of appointment to Oginni as Executive Secretary and asked him to start a health insurance agency from the scratch in 2018.
In his five years at the agency, Oginni had built a scheme that could boast of billions of Naira, had hundreds of thousands of enrollees and got recognition as one of the best in the country.
He left the agency as arguably, the richest government agency in the State with over N2bn in its coffers.
Following his transfer to OSACA, Dr Oginni revived then moribund agency and brought it back to life with different programmes.
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“What we were unable to achieve in 12 years were achieved in just few months o Dr Oginni’s tenure as our Executive Secretary”, a staff of the Agency said at the Programme.
Throughout his career, he was a key figure in the advancement of healthcare services, the mentoring of upcoming experts, and the promotion of better medical procedures. With his retirement, an era comes to an end, but a legacy that will inspire generations to come is born.
Dr. Oginni conveyed his excitement for the upcoming chapter of his life, which he plans to devote to charitable activities and spending more time with his family, as well as his gratitude for the support he has had throughout his career.
I thank God for my family – Mrs Oginni
Speaking at the event, the wife of the celebrant, Mrs. Oginni, thanked God for protecting her husband throughout his service as a civil servant, adding that he retired unharmed.
“My husband is a man of God, and God didn’t allow the enemy to rejoice over him. I want to thank God for the life of my husband. He is a man who also goes after whatever course he believes in and will not be deterred by any adversity. Whenever I’m troubled by whatever people say about him, he’ll simply say “I’m sorry, let’s sleep.” Before I know it, he has slept.
“Despite different attempts by enemies on him, to the glory of God, my husband is retiring from the civil service unharmed. I really thank God.”
Families, friends pour praises
Adebayo Oginni, in his remarks, revealed the role the celebrant played in making him a better person, noting that the celebrant is the reason he became a better person in life.
He narrated, “Let me use this opportunity to say this today, Dr. Oginni is the reason why I don’t smoke.
“I was going out one day, and I saw a packet of cigarettes on the floor. On getting home, I lit it, and a Doctor came in, and on perceiving the smell of the cigarette, he beat me, told me the danger surrounding it, and advised me. He later mentored me on why I needed to quit. Ever since, I have never tasted a cigarette.”
Representatives of the Nigerian Christian Corpers Forum (NCCF) described the retiring civil servant as a father figure to all Christian corps members that have served in Osun State.
“We came to Osun State to serve as corps members but we found another father and mentor in Dr Oginni. He is man that really made our service worthwhile and all of us are really appreciating everything he did for us. We thank God for his life.”
Staff from OSACA, OHIS, Mentees Forum, among others took turns to appreciate their former Boss, mentor and role model.
Among guests at the programme are Commissioner for Health, Barr. Jola Akintola; Commissioner for Co-operative and Empowerment, Hon Bayo Ogungbangbe, Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr Akintunde Akindele; Special Adviser to Governor on OSBC, Dr Femi Adefila, among others.
