VP Shettima, Others Extol Philanthropic, Sacrificial Life of Late Gbemisola Olowolafe

FUNSHO AROGUNDADE

Nigeria’s Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima has paid glowing tribute to the late Mrs. Gbemisola Olutayo Olowolafe, describing her as a woman of rare compassion, selflessness, and quiet philanthropy. 

Speaking at her service of songs and Night of tributes held Wednesday at the Eko Convention Centre in Lagos, the Vice President extolled the philanthropic and sacrificial life of the late Mrs Olowolafe, particularly her devotion not to personal gain but concern for the well-being of her community and humanity at large.

According to the Vice President, the late philanthropist “lived not for herself, but for others”, describing her life as “the greatest compliment each of us could ever have, no matter the height we climb in our pursuit of meaning”.

Mrs Olowolafe, wife of the Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, and former Chairman of GZ Industries (GZI), Dr Tunji Olowolafe, passed away on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, after a brief illness at the age of 63.

The VP said the tributes that have amassed since her passing are a reassurance that “she was, in the truest sense, a woman of substance.

Shettima said “Mrs Olowolafe’s life reminds us of the urgent need to live deliberately, to love without conditions, to serve without seeking recognition. She challenges us, even in her transition, to be better, to give more, to live as though we are passing through.”

Describing the late Mrs Olowolafe as a matriarch of grace, a philanthropist without fanfare, and a believer in the sacredness of humanity, Senator Shettima regretted that she is now being described in the past tense, contrary to the spirit she radiated during her lifetime.

“To speak of her in the past tense feels like a betrayal of the very spirit she radiated — so tender and so filled with purpose that even death seems an insufficient closure,” he noted.

To her husband, Dr Tunji Olowolafe and children, the Vice President expressed his heartfelt condolences, even as he prayed to Almighty God to comfort them “not just by her memory, but by the knowledge that she fulfilled the call of her Maker with honour that she ran her race with dignity, and that she has returned home to rest among the saints.”

Also present at the event were Governors Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom; Hyacinth Alia of Benue; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu; Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anita; Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar; Deputy Governor of Lagos, Obafemi Hamzat; former Governors of Ekiti, Niyi Adebayo and Kayode Fayemi; former Governor of Lagos, Babatunde Fashola; Former Governor of Kaduna, Nasir El-Rufai; Former Governor of Ogun, Gbenga Daniel; Former Governor of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, family members and friends of the deceased, amongst others.