Foremost Nigerian engineer and musician, Dr. Funmi Ayinke Waheed-Adekojo has celebrated her 40th birthday in a classy manner with close associates in Lekki, Lagos state.
Similarly, she released the much-anticipated video for her hit single, Chocolate.
The event which took place on Saturday, 27th of May, 2023 had important personalities and celebrities who are friends of Funmi Ayinke. The likes of Gbenga Adeyinka The 1st, Kunle Afod, Fiokee, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, a member of the national assembly, Honourable Phillips, APPON members, Members of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, to mention but a few honoured the Engineer cum musician with their presence.
Funmi Ayinke, who had gotten a huge surprise earlier in the day and two car gifts last month to celebrate her birthday was astonished at the calibre of personalities present at her birthday celebration and the amazing things they had to say about her.
For the former VC of the University of Lagos, Funmi Ayinke was a huge part of his success during his tenure. He revealed that the musician, who is more like a daughter to him, helped him in different ways including saving him from committing a grave error.
‘’I want to return all Glory to almighty God. When I think about my success as Vice Chancellor, I can’t talk about my success without the contribution of Funmi Ayinke. I would have committed an error if not for her intervention. I would have gone into a trap if not because I consulted with her and she warned me about the problems ahead.’’
‘’Some of our funds were locked somewhere, she asked me not to worry and she told me what to do to get it. We put everything together and today we have a testimony .”
‘’Thirdly, the confidence she brings into whatever she’s doing and professionalism. She says it the way it is. I want to thank God for her life, husband and children.’’
Honourable Phillips, who was just elected into the national assembly, extolled the positive contribution of Dr Funmi Ayinke to his victory at the last election. He spoke about the encouragement she gave him during the election and how she made some of his constituents vote for him.
‘’I am glad to be here tonight to celebrate Dr Funmi Ayinke. During my election, she was helpful. She encouraged me through some of her philanthropic gestures, she made some of my people vote for me. If we call her three-faced or four-faced, we will be wrong, I would like to call her many faces. She’s multiple personalities in one person. As busy as politicians are during this period, I deem it fit to be here. We will be inviting her to the National Assembly so that Nigerians will learn from her.’’
The members of APPON who came from Abuja described the celebration as a professional and great woman. They expressed surprise at how easily she combines her thriving music career and profession without both clashing. They also announced that she has been nominated as the matron of the association and will be properly confirmed at an event later in the year.
‘’She’s been a professional, a great woman. If you go to the music industry she’s there, due process and professionalism in public procurement she’s there. She’s done so much for the profession. I bring greetings from all our platforms to celebrate with her. I pray God keeps you and blesses you. I want to announce that she has been approved as the matron of APPON, she will be confined properly at the event.’’
Similarly, the national chairman of the national institute of mechanical engineers described Dr Funmi Ayinke as a fantastic and dynamic woman who has done so much for the profession. She noted that women are few in the mechanical engineering field but Funmi Ayinke is one of the best in the industry.
‘’She’s one fantastic lady, dynamic, beautiful, hard-working and someone dynamic in nature. We are limited as ladies in mechanical engineering but she’s one of the best we have. I was called from Ghana about giving her an award, I told them she deserves it. She’s indeed a change agent God has brought into the industry.’’
Furthermore, Professor Waheed Adekojo, husband to Funmi Ayinke, showered her with praises for all she has been through over the years. The highlight of his testimony about his wife was the fact that she is a prayer warrior who believes so much in God and has taught him to always run to God whenever there are issues.
‘’If I want to talk about my wife it will take a lot of time. She’s someone who so much loves God, believes in God and prays to God and that’s why whenever there’s a disappointment, she’s always run to God.’’
‘’She has taught me to become prayerful and believe that with God there’s nothing one can’t achieve. This motivates her to impact people. She doesn’t want to see people in pain, She doesn’t want people to be in need. She’s ready to spend the little she has for people.’’
‘’She doesn’t want failure, she moves sometimes at night to sort out problems for people. She’s too hardworking and I am not surprised at her success. She believes in quality, if you have quality things it will last. She wants the country to work, she doesn’t think about herself alone. I am not surprised God is doing all these for her.’’
‘’She doesn’t joke with her children, she has taught them to be prayerful. Above all, I love her so much.’’
In her reactions, Engr. Dr Funmi Ayinke appreciated everyone present at the party while speaking about how little she started and how God has tremendously blessed the work of her hands.
She revealed that her major motivation for success was the sacrifices of her mother while she was growing up. She noted that her mother took so many loans to sort some of her bills and this made her motivated for success.
‘’I want to thank everyone here tonight. People who know me when I was much younger know the journey was not easy. To every girl child, we all celebrate success but truly there’s a process to success. I thank my mother and sincerely speaking, each time I see my mother make sacrifices for me back then, I am determined to slap poverty. I pledged to make it and I want to tell every Nigerian girl that they can be successful without losing integrity. What kept me going is believing in God. He is the one that can take you without giving up on you.’’
Funmi Ayinke stated that she once sold Kerosene at a time to add value to society and through this initiative, she empowered many widows in the city of Ibadan.
‘’I believe in a person of value, I pursued value and didn’t care about money. I was selling kerosene as a nursing mother, I repaired pumps for filling stations, and each time I go to my office, people call me ‘Iya Ayo onikerorsene’. I made so many kerosene sellers in Ibadan and that is why whenever I cough in Ibadan, people rise for me.’’
Continuing, Funmi Ayinke encouraged women in society and campaigned against looking down on the ‘girl child’ because women are agents of change in every society.
‘’I notice in life that when you are a goal-getter, the enemy targets you. While I was coming up, I faced so many hurdles. I once received a 36-page petition against me but God saw me through.’’
‘’When you look down on one woman, you kill a society. I want to tell everyone to pick a girl child, don’t give up on them. My kids and I embark on fasting and prayers sometimes. I am a product of God’s grace and what I am today has taken care of thousands of women.‘’
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