“My family and I moved into our home, 31 Opebi Road Ikeja in 1985 when peace and tranquility reigned on the Opebil Allen Avenue axis. There was no Opebi link road at the time and the neighbourhood was majorly a residential area. During this period, the likes of Chief Dele Fajemirokun, the late Asiwaju Femi Somolu, the Awosikas in their sprawling Talabi Towers, the late Chief Augustine Ilodibe, founder of Ekene Dili Chukwu Transport, were some of the prominent Nigerians who resided on that corridor at the time. There was also the popular First Foundation hospital, whose imposing infrastructure, the late Dr Tosin Ajayi, had partly completed.
Sometime in 1986, a small Car Mart opened up two doors from our house at 35 Opebi Road.
There were not more than 2 or 3 cars at the Mart. Out of curiosity that a commercial entity was opening on our Street, I ventured to check what was happening. There I met this dark- skinned, courteous, good looking, cleanly
turned out young man who also spoke eloquently. He introduced himself as Tayo Ayeni, the owner of the car mart. He did say he had only recently returned from either Germany or Italy, I now cannot remember which. I took an instant liking to him. In our very presence, the car mart started expanding and before long we became his customers- my wife and I, and also his big brother and sister. There was no brand of cars that Tayo did not sell at the time. I recall that my wife bought a Datsun Nissan from him while the car for our children’s school run, a Daewoo Racer was also bought from Tayo- amongst our patronage from the early years. Till date we still partonise Skymit Motors.
Needless to say that Tayo was a bachelor when we met him and I remember one or two of his siblings serving apprenticeship under him. Bode was to run the second Skymit Motors branch on Opebi Road some years after.
I saw Tayo mature from his Opebi office to the flat where he lived with one of his brothers in Awuse Estate
opposite, now Royal Father, Ephraimm Faloughi’s residence, getting married to his lovely wife Tutu, raising kids, moving to his Head Office on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, moving to his house in the GRA, Ikeja, where we became neighbours for so many years before we both relocated to our current residences. My greatest joy was seeing Martins, one of his children, born in my presence, growing up, leaving college and serving his NYSC at one of our companies, Insight Communications and becoming my mentee.
Tayo is a hardworking, shrewd Ijesha man whose personal relationship with people is awesome. I have watched him grow his tiny business into an acorn, diversifying and generating multiple streams of income.
And is he lucky to have found a soul-mate in Tutu, his jewel of inestimable value?
As Tayo turns 60, my wife and I join in congratulating him. We wish him a very happy birthday, good health, continued successes and prosperity.
Dr. Biodun & Joyce Shobanjo
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