Oluremilekun Stella Abimbola
Oluremilekun Stella Abimbola was born on Monday, 28th August 1939, in Ilesa, Osun State; a princess of the Onibokun Dynasty from the Ologbara ruling house of Iwoye-Jesa.
Mama Isokun, her mother, was from the Famose at Isikin in Ilesa Urban. She gave her the name “Oluremilekun” after ten years of trying to conceive a baby; it means “the Lord has rested my tears”. Her name “Stella” means “Star” in Latin and both names became her outlook on life. Her royal name was Adenike, but she rarely used that name.
She was baptized at a young age in the Anglican Communion and attended missionary schools. She attended St Cyprian’s Primary School in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Then the Archdeacon Crowther Memorial Girl’s Secondary School, Elelenwa Port Harcourt, where she was a school prefect and sports captain and represented her school running the 100 yrds, 220 yrds, and the relay race. It was “the school” for girls in those years in the Eastern part of Nigeria before the civil-war.
She did her A-levels at the City of Westminster College, London. Then, she studied at Bedford College (University of London) in Regent’s Park, London and had honours in Sociology with Economics and Law. There were only two African women in the college of over 1000 students then (1961 –1964). Her second degree was in Social Administration. After which, she undertook advanced courses in Public Administration, Librarianship Documentation and Informatics which took her to Geneva in Switzerland, Budapest in Hungary, Frankfurt and Munich in Germany, Paris France, Washington USA, Moscow and Leningrad in USSR and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Sudan.
She married Lashe Abimbola, who was from Ijebu-jesa, Osun State. They had courted as students in England when he was a law student at Lincoln's Inn, Holborn, London. They would have four children together, three boys and one girl.
Her first working experience was at the Supreme Court Library. She was the first Nigerian woman to work there. Other women then were English employed as Confidential Secretaries to the Judges at the Supreme Court. She spent 9 months there before she left to further her studies.
Her second employment experience was working as a Postgraduate Diploma Librarian in the National Library of Nigeria in 1968. She was one of the first set of qualified librarians. She had been talked into Librarianship by a close friend when the desire in the country was to encourage graduates to take up professional courses in addition to their degrees. It was something new then in Nigeria and they were more highly paid than other graduates. She majored in the technical area of the profession -classification and cataloguing; an area dreaded by most professionals of her time.
She went on to become in charge of the National Bibliography of Nigeria when the National Library took it over from the University of Ibadan (1970 to 1978). Her colleague was Mrs. Ronke Orimolade, who was once the Bookshop Manager UNILAG.
There are testimonies of her being a devoted and dedicated Librarian, whose record in the National Library testifies to the fact that she was one of the foremost Librarians in the country.
She served the Federal Government in two Commissions between 1976 -1978; The National Commission for Youths and Culture. And, The National Task Force on Black Arts and African Civilisation, which came into being after FESTAC (Festival of Arts and Culture) 1977.
Among those who served with her in these two commissions were: Dr Christopher Kolade, the former president of Nigerian High Commissioner in London; the Late Scott Emokpae, the then-Federal Director of Information; Mr. Fred Egbo, the then-Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information; and Mrs. Lolade Oke, who was for many years known as “Mama Youth” in Nigeria.
She was a very creative person and always left her mark in whatever she undertook. Before she left the National Library she introduced into Nigeria the popular lSBN (International Standard Book Numbering), the ISBD (International Standard Bibliographic description) and card services to other libraries.
In 1979, she was sent to ECOWAS as one of the first four professionals representing the Nigerian Government. They were covered by Diplomatic Immunity on swearing an oath of allegiance to no other country but the ECOWAS community.
She was the first female Nigerian to become a full permanent staff of the community. She started as a Senior Officer at the ECOWAS Secretariat but within two years she was promoted to Principal Officer (Library and Documentation). When she assumed the role as Principal Officer, there was no physical office for her and she was tasked with setting up her own division. Within a year, her division went from occupying a single room to occupying a whole floor with a full complement of staff. Three quarters of the collection in the library were free due to her contacts and colleagues in similar institutions around the world.
She worked at ECOWAS for fifteen years and travelled extensively to the West African countries that made up the community. She was popular and sought after for her wealth of information and dedication to excellence. She was referred to as the Madam of ECOWAS, or “Mrs. A” by the younger members of staff.
Her legacy at ECOWAS includes: the numbering system on all the documents in ECOWAS today; initiating the idea of ECOWAS having its own logo and the journal of ECOWAS called “Official Journal” in both the English and French languages and at the time she left in 1994, the last issue was the 22nd edition. She was the only Principal Officer that was allowed to write letters outside the community without them passing through the Executive Secretary which showed the trust that was placed on her authority.
After retirement in 1994, she started Remstel Nigerian Services, a consultancy outfit for Research, Library and Documentation, and was the Executive Director. She owned a bakery at Ikeja and when asked about it, she would tell you that her major aim was to help God feed His people and not necessarily for profit. She was also a prolific writer and author.
Her passion was her Christianity and charity work. She joined Zonta International, an organisation dedicated to empowering women, in 1984, a few years after she became a widow. She held posts of Directors of Service, United Nations and International Affairs. She was the General Secretary for three years and was a President of her local chapter. She organised a symposium for Zonta at N.I.I.A, which was well attended and contributed articles on most of the editions of her chapter newsletters or journals.
She took Zonta to Lome, Togo, where she introduced it to a friend and colleague, Mrs. D Macaulay, who later became the Charter President of the Lome Zonta club and afterwards, an International Officer who served in District 18 Area 03 (Africa) where she became the Chairman of the International Relations Committee.
She was a lay reader of the Anglican Church and a holder of both the Ordinary and Advanced Diploma in Bible Studies. She loved Bible Studies and Evangelism. She was one of the first set of students at the Lagos Anglican Bible College (LABICO), Ikeja Campus, which started in 1998 and she later became a Bible College Co-ordinator, a role she cherished for many years. Her happiest day in the week was Sunday, when she was in the church singing, dancing and fellowshipping to her heart’s content. She was a valued member of the Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral until her passing on Sunday, 19th July 2020. She was 80 years old.
Mrs. Abimbola will be remembered by her children, grandchildren, family, relatives and friends too numerous to mention, who wish her farewell in her journey to eternity.
Rest in peace.
Oluremilekun Stella Abimbola
Oluremilekun Stella Abimbola was born on Monday, 28th August 1939, in Ilesa, Osun State; a princess of the Onibokun Dynasty from the Ologbara ruling house of Iwoye-Jesa.
Mama Isokun, her mother, was from the Famose at Isikin in Ilesa Urban. She gave her the name “Oluremilekun” after ten years of trying to conceive a baby; it means “the Lord has rested my tears”. Her name “Stella” means “Star” in Latin and both names became her outlook on life. Her royal name was Adenike, but she rarely used that name.
She was baptized at a young age in the Anglican Communion and attended missionary schools. She attended St Cyprian’s Primary School in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Then the Archdeacon Crowther Memorial Girl’s Secondary School, Elelenwa Port Harcourt, where she was a school prefect and sports captain and represented her school running the 100 yrds, 220 yrds, and the relay race. It was “the school” for girls in those years in the Eastern part of Nigeria before the civil-war.
She did her A-levels at the City of Westminster College, London. Then, she studied at Bedford College (University of London) in Regent’s Park, London and had honours in Sociology with Economics and Law. There were only two African women in the college of over 1000 students then (1961 –1964). Her second degree was in Social Administration. After which, she undertook advanced courses in Public Administration, Librarianship Documentation and Informatics which took her to Geneva in Switzerland, Budapest in Hungary, Frankfurt and Munich in Germany, Paris France, Washington USA, Moscow and Leningrad in USSR and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Sudan.
She married Lashe Abimbola, who was from Ijebu-jesa, Osun State. They had courted as students in England when he was a law student at Lincoln's Inn, Holborn, London. They would have four children together, three boys and one girl.
Her first working experience was at the Supreme Court Library. She was the first Nigerian woman to work there. Other women then were English employed as Confidential Secretaries to the Judges at the Supreme Court. She spent 9 months there before she left to further her studies.
Her second employment experience was working as a Postgraduate Diploma Librarian in the National Library of Nigeria in 1968. She was one of the first set of qualified librarians. She had been talked into Librarianship by a close friend when the desire in the country was to encourage graduates to take up professional courses in addition to their degrees. It was something new then in Nigeria and they were more highly paid than other graduates. She majored in the technical area of the profession -classification and cataloguing; an area dreaded by most professionals of her time.
She went on to become in charge of the National Bibliography of Nigeria when the National Library took it over from the University of Ibadan (1970 to 1978). Her colleague was Mrs. Ronke Orimolade, who was once the Bookshop Manager UNILAG.
There are testimonies of her being a devoted and dedicated Librarian, whose record in the National Library testifies to the fact that she was one of the foremost Librarians in the country.
She served the Federal Government in two Commissions between 1976 -1978; The National Commission for Youths and Culture. And, The National Task Force on Black Arts and African Civilisation, which came into being after FESTAC (Festival of Arts and Culture) 1977.
Among those who served with her in these two commissions were: Dr Christopher Kolade, the former president of Nigerian High Commissioner in London; the Late Scott Emokpae, the then-Federal Director of Information; Mr. Fred Egbo, the then-Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information; and Mrs. Lolade Oke, who was for many years known as “Mama Youth” in Nigeria.
She was a very creative person and always left her mark in whatever she undertook. Before she left the National Library she introduced into Nigeria the popular lSBN (International Standard Book Numbering), the ISBD (International Standard Bibliographic description) and card services to other libraries.
In 1979, she was sent to ECOWAS as one of the first four professionals representing the Nigerian Government. They were covered by Diplomatic Immunity on swearing an oath of allegiance to no other country but the ECOWAS community.
She was the first female Nigerian to become a full permanent staff of the community. She started as a Senior Officer at the ECOWAS Secretariat but within two years she was promoted to Principal Officer (Library and Documentation). When she assumed the role as Principal Officer, there was no physical office for her and she was tasked with setting up her own division. Within a year, her division went from occupying a single room to occupying a whole floor with a full complement of staff. Three quarters of the collection in the library were free due to her contacts and colleagues in similar institutions around the world.
She worked at ECOWAS for fifteen years and travelled extensively to the West African countries that made up the community. She was popular and sought after for her wealth of information and dedication to excellence. She was referred to as the Madam of ECOWAS, or “Mrs. A”by the younger members of staff.
Her legacy at ECOWAS includes: the numbering system on all the documents in ECOWAS today; initiating the idea of ECOWAS having its own logo and the journal of ECOWAS called “Official Journal” in both the English and French languages and at the time she left in 1994, the last issue was the 22nd edition. She was the only Principal Officer that was allowed to write letters outside the community without them passing through the Executive Secretary which showed the trust that was placed on her authority.
After retirement in 1994, she started Remstel Nigerian Services, a consultancy outfit for Research, Library and Documentation, and was the Executive Director. She owned a bakery at Ikeja and when asked about it, she would tell you that her major aim was to help God feed His people and not necessarily for profit. She was also a prolific writer and author.
Her passion was her Christianity and charity work. She joined Zonta International, an organisation dedicated to empowering women, in 1984, a few years after she became a widow. She held posts of Directors of Service, United Nations and International Affairs. She was the General Secretary for three years and was a President of her local chapter. She organised a symposium for Zonta at N.I.I.A, which was well attended and contributed articles on most of the editions of her chapter newsletters or journals.
She took Zonta to Lome, Togo, where she introduced it to a friend and colleague, Mrs. D Macaulay, who later became the Charter President of the Lome Zonta club and afterwards, an International Officer who served in District 18 Area 03 (Africa) where she became the Chairman of the International Relations Committee.
She was a lay reader of the Anglican Church and a holder of both the Ordinary and Advanced Diploma in Bible Studies. She loved Bible Studies and Evangelism. She was one of the first set of students at the Lagos Anglican Bible College (LABICO), Ikeja Campus, which started in 1998 and she later became a Bible College Co-ordinator, a role she cherished for many years. Her happiest day in the week was Sunday, when she was in the church singing, dancing and fellowshipping to her heart’s content. She was a valued member of the Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral until her passing on Sunday, 19th July 2020. She was 80 years old.
Mrs. Abimbola will be remembered by her children, grandchildren, family, relatives and friends too numerous to mention, who wish her farewell in her journey to eternity.
Rest in peace.