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Late Brig. Gen. Babafemi Olatunde Ogundipe

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Command and the first Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters from January 1966 to August 1966, during Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi’s military regime. Later, he served as Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from September 1966 to August 1970 under General Yakubu Gowon’s government.

Early Life
Ogundipe was born on 6 September 1924 to Yoruba parents from Ago-Iwoye, present-day Ogun State in western Nigeria.

Military Career

In 1941, Ogundipe joined the Royal West African Frontier Force and served in Burma during World War II (1942–1945). After re-enlisting in the West Africa Forces, he received a short service commission as a second lieutenant in August 1953. By December 1956, he was commissioned into the regular army and rose through the ranks, becoming a captain in 1955. When Nigeria gained independence on 1 October 1960, he was appointed to a commission in the Royal Nigeria Army, which was later renamed the Nigerian Army when Nigeria became a republic in 1963. By May 1964, he had achieved the rank of Brigadier.

Ogundipe played a significant role during the Congo Crisis, serving as part of Nigeria’s peacekeeping contingent with the United Nations (ONUC) from 1960 to 1963. He held key positions, including Commander of ONUC in Kasai and Kbngolo Sector, and ONUC Chief of Staff. After his service in the Congo, Ogundipe returned to Nigeria and commanded the second brigade of the Nigerian Army in Lagos until September 1964, when he left to attend the Imperial Defence College in London.

Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters

Ogundipe returned to Nigeria following the January 1966 coup and was appointed Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters (de facto Vice President) from January to August 1966. After Major General Aguiyi-Ironsi was assassinated during the August 1966 coup, Ogundipe, the most senior military officer, faced pressure to take power but refrained. Lacking troops and support, especially from northern officers who were reluctant to follow a Christian southerner, Ogundipe chose not to pursue political power and instead accepted Yakubu Gowon, his junior, as the new head of the military government.

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High Commissioner in London

After the 1966 coup, Ogundipe was sent to the United Kingdom, representing Nigeria at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in September 1966. He later took up the role of Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, a position he held for four years. During this time, he played a crucial role in securing British military support for Nigeria during the Nigerian Civil War. He retired from public service in August 1970.

Death

Babafemi Ogundipe passed away from a heart attack in London on 20 November 1971. He was 47 years old.

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Lifestyle

Women Who Love and Listen to Their Pastors More Than Their Husbands Should Be the Pastor’s Second Wife

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This statement may sound funny, provocative, or even offensive, but it raises an important question about priorities in marriage and religion.

A pastor is a spiritual leader, but he is not supposed to replace a woman’s husband. If a married woman consistently values her pastor’s opinions above her husband’s, obeys her pastor while dismissing her husband, or shows greater loyalty and admiration toward her pastor than toward her spouse, then something may be seriously wrong with the balance in that marriage.

Marriage requires communication, mutual respect, trust, and understanding. A pastor can provide spiritual guidance, but that guidance should not become a reason for a husband and wife to lose respect for each other.

At the same time, husbands should not expect their wives to obey them blindly. Both husband and wife should seek God’s wisdom, communicate openly, and make decisions with love and respect.

So perhaps the real question is not whether such a woman should become the pastor’s “second wife,” but why has the pastor become more important in her marriage than her own husband?

Put God first. Respect your spouse. And never allow a spiritual leader to become a substitute for your marriage partner.

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Why is it only in Africa that we hear so much about “generational curses”?

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This is a question worth asking—not to insult African traditions or dismiss anyone’s beliefs, but to encourage honest reflection.

Across Africa, it is common to hear people explain repeated family problems as a “generational curse.” When poverty, broken relationships, addiction, failure, sickness, family conflict or misfortune appears to repeat from one generation to another, some people immediately conclude that an ancestor, spiritual force or past wrongdoing is responsible.

But is every repeated family problem truly a curse?

If a child grows up in poverty, has limited access to quality education, receives little financial support and then struggles as an adult, is that necessarily a spiritual curse—or could it be the result of circumstances that have been passed from one generation to another?

If children grow up watching violence, substance abuse, unhealthy relationships or constant conflict, they may unknowingly repeat those patterns. That does not necessarily mean they are cursed. Sometimes behaviour is inherited through environment, not through supernatural forces.

And Africa is certainly not the only place where people believe in supernatural explanations for suffering or misfortune. Different societies around the world have their own concepts of inherited wrongdoing, family misfortune, ancestral consequences, fate and spiritual punishment.

So perhaps the more important question is not:

“Who cursed my family?”

But:

“What pattern has been passed down to me, and what can I do to stop passing it to the next generation?”

We should be careful not to use the idea of a curse to discourage people from taking action. A family facing poverty may need education, opportunity and financial planning. A family experiencing repeated conflict may need healthier communication. A person struggling with addiction may need professional support and a strong recovery environment. Communities facing injustice may need better institutions, accountability and opportunity.

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Faith and spirituality are deeply meaningful to many people, and everyone has the right to hold their beliefs. But faith should not prevent us from examining the practical causes of our problems.

We cannot change the past, but we can change what we pass forward.

Instead of teaching our children that they are victims of an unavoidable family curse, let us also teach them knowledge, discipline, emotional strength, financial responsibility, education, healthy relationships and the courage to break destructive patterns.

Maybe the greatest “curse” is not something mysterious placed upon a family.

Maybe sometimes it is simply a problem that nobody stopped long enough to understand and change.

And the greatest inheritance we can give the next generation is not fear of a curse—but the knowledge and courage to build a better future.

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You are very proud to speak big English, but yet you cannot speak your own language?

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There is nothing wrong with speaking English fluently. In fact, being able to communicate confidently in different languages is a valuable skill. But we should ask ourselves a deeper question: while learning to speak the language of another culture, are we slowly losing the language that connects us to our own roots?

Your mother tongue is more than just words. It carries the stories of your ancestors, the wisdom of your grandparents, the jokes that only your people understand, the traditional greetings, the names, the songs, the history and the identity of your community.

Imagine being able to speak perfect English, but struggling to have a simple conversation with your own grandmother because you do not understand the language she grew up speaking. Imagine your children knowing foreign languages but being unable to understand the language of their own heritage.

That should make us pause.

Speaking English does not make you more intelligent, and speaking your indigenous language does not make you less educated. One is a communication skill; the other can be a connection to your heritage. We should not have to choose between being educated and preserving our identity.

Learn English. Speak it confidently. Learn French, Dutch, Spanish or any other language that opens doors for you.

But don’t let the pursuit of foreign languages close the door to your own.

Teach your children your language. Speak it at home. Ask your parents and grandparents to teach you the words you never learned. If you have forgotten it, it is never too late to start again.

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Because when a language disappears from a family, something precious disappears with it.

Be proud of your education. Be proud of your ability to speak English. But also be proud of where you come from.

Your language is not something to be ashamed of. It is a part of your story. Preserve it before the next generation only knows it as something their ancestors once spoke.

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