Primary Education

Olugbenga (or Olu/’Gbenga/Babaa as he was fondly called by family, friends and associates) spent his early childhood in Ebute-Metta. He started his primary education at Lagos Street African Bethel School. After his family relocated to Shomolu in 1956, he was enrolled in Wright Memorial School, Pedro Street, Shomolu, in 1957 where he completed Standard 1 in December 1958. He was subsequently transferred to St. Paul’s Anglican School, Idi-Oro, where he completed his primary education in December 1963.

Eko Boys High School (EBHS)

In January 1964, Olugbenga was admitted to Eko Boys High School (“EBHS”), Mushin, Lagos, on a full tuition and books scholarship awarded by the British Canadian Ex-Servicemen League through the Nigerian Ex-Service Men Welfare Association. The scholarship was specifically for children of ex- servicemen who had served during the Second World War, and Olugbenga was eligible because his father had volunteered in the British Army from 1939 until 1945, when he was honourably discharged.

At EBHS, he held various leadership positions, including School Timekeeper, Deputy House Captain and Senior Prefect. Olugbenga was active in the Science Club, the Literary and Debating Society and the Student Christian Movement (SCM). He graduated from Eko Boys High School in 1968 with the best O-levels result in his set.

Federal Government College (FGC) Sokoto

Olugbenga attended Federal Government College (FGC) Sokoto for his Higher School Certificate (HSC) program, where he was an active member of both the Rover Crew and the Army Cadet Unit. He also held notable leadership roles, serving first as Acting Food Prefect and later as School Captain.

In his final year, the then Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, paid an official visit to the school. As part of the commemorative activities, Olugbenga read a speech in English that was translated into the major languages of the twelve States of the Federation at the time, including Gowon’s native Angas language. His speech also included a proposal for the establishment of a Federal Government College in each state of the Federation. The speech and cultural display impressed the Head of State so deeply that he announced a policy decision that there should be a Federal Government College in every State of the Federation

Stint at Holy Child College Obalende.

In the 9-month intervening period between the end of his Higher School Certificate (HSC) program in December 1970 and the beginning of the University Session in October 1971, young Olugbenga took up a temporary teaching appointment as his vacation job at the Holy Child College, Obalende a job where he found immense fulfilment. He taught Physics to students in Forms 3 to 5, Additional Mathematics to students in Forms 4 and 5 and Ordinary Mathematics to students in Form 3. He was not only a brilliant teacher who knew his onions, he was also remembered for the high level of discipline he maintained in his relationship with his students.

Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria.

Olugbenga resumed at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, in October 1971 as an ExxonMobil scholar. He had an active social life on campus and was a member of the prestigious Yelwa Club. He was also a member of the Ijebu Students’ Association and the National Union of Engineering Students Association (NUESA), where he served as Vice-President of the ABU Chapter. In 1973, Olugbenga graduated from ABU in the Second Class (Upper) division and in the same year commenced his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) as part of the second set of the program.

NYSC & Post -NYSC Experience.

He was posted to Rivers State (present day Rivers and Bayelsa States), and his place of primary assignment was the Rivers State College of Science and Technology (RSCST), later known as the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), which eventually metamorphosed to the present-day Rivers State University (RSU). He was one of the pioneer staff and an Assistant Lecturer teaching various Engineering Courses.

Immediately after NYSC, Olugbenga joined the renowned International Consulting Engineering Firm of Ward, Ashcroft & Parkman on 1st August 1975, where he was articled to one of the Firm’s partners, Mr Brian Rogers. He worked in both the Port Harcourt and Kaduna offices of the Firm until 1978. During this time, he qualified as a Corporate Member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers; the Institution of Civil Engineers UK; the Institution of Water Engineers and Scientists UK; was registered with the then Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN), now Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria and became a Chartered Civil Engineer.

Imperial College, London.

During a chance meeting with the General Manager of Ogun State Water Corporation, Olugbenga was invited to work with the Ogun State Water Corporation. While he already had an admission and scholarship for his postgraduate studies, the Water Corporation offered Olugbenga full in-service training, which granted him study leave, covered his tuition and all associated costs with his studies, including a monthly allowance in foreign currency. Three weeks after resuming at the Water Corporation, Olugbenga left for Imperial College London for his Master's program in Public Health Engineering. His association with the Imperial brand is a badge of honour that Olugbenga wore proudly.

Public Service Career

He returned to Ogun State Water Corporation in 1980, where he was until 1983, when he satisfactorily completed the mandatory service bond period in fulfilment of the covenants for the scholarship award. He also worked briefly as a Part -Time Lecturer in the department of Civil Engineering of the then Ogun State Polytechnic (OGUNPOLY) now Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta.

Thereafter, Olugbenga joined the Federal Civil Service from 1983 until his retirement on 30th of January 2011, having attained the mandatory retirement age of 60. Some of his roles and postings in the civil service include Principal Civil Engineer in the Water and Sanitation Division of the Federal Ministry of Works; Water and Sanitation Engineer-in -charge under the Implementation Committee on Army Projects (ICAP) between July 1991 and November 1993. He also had a brief stint as Estate Manager, 1004 Housing Estate, for a little over a year from July 1994 to June 1995. Olugbenga was the pioneer Federal Controller of Works and Housing in Gombe State just after 2-weeks of the creation of the State from November 1996 until July 2001, when he was moved to the headquarters of the Ministry in Abuja, FCT. He also served as the Head of the Committee responsible for Public-Private Partnership in Housing Development Nationwide for 5 years from 2004 to 2009.

Olugbenga spent the last year of his career in the Federal Civil Service in the Maritime Safety and Security Dept of the Federal Ministry of Transport. This experience was significant for Olugbenga because it gave him first hand exposure to the Maritime industry and allowed him to garner knowledge in the sector through international conferences and new connections in the sector.

Post- Public Service Engagement.

Following his retirement from the Public Service, he was, until his transition, the Principal Partner of Olabenjo and Associates, a firm of Consulting Engineers, MD/CEO of Amarant Global Investments Nigeria Limited and OLTABEN Nigeria Limited and a Director on the Board of ReStraL Limited.

In His Service.

Upon relocating from Abeokuta with his family in December 1983, Olugbenga worshipped at the Chapel of the Healing Cross, where he was actively involved in charity and other church activities until his passing. In service to God and humanity, Olugbenga was one time Chairman, Committee on Disabilities (CODISA) of the Chapel of the Healing Cross, Idi- Araba, a platform through which 37 Homes and Institutions for the disabled are supported. He was also a past Chairman of the Board of Management of the Lagos Cheshire Home, Mushin. Olugbenga was equally a past Chairman of the Technical & Maintenance Services Committee of the Chapel of the Healing Cross Idi-Araba, a post he was constrained to relinquish when his health began to wane.

Until his transition, he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lagos Cheshire Home and a member of the Board of Management of the Anglo-Nigerian Welfare Association for the Blind (ANWAB). He was also the Pioneer Coordinator of the Youth Chapel at the All Saints Anglican Church, Wuse, Abuja. His service in the house of God included being a member of the Anglican Synod Planning Committee of the Diocese of Abuja for five consecutive years. He worked with the Committee to plan some of the best-organized Synods in the Diocese in Abuja within the period, to the glory of God. In it all, he found time before his transition to fulfil his dream of visiting the Holy Land, Jerusalem, as an opportunity to tread the very soil where his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, had trodden and foster an even closer relationship with Him.

Marital Life and Family.

Olugbenga got married to his wife, Mrs. Omotayo Amoke Olabenjo (Mamaa), on 2nd May 1981. They had first met in 1971 when Olugbenga was a young teacher on vacation job at Holy Child College Obalende but then it was purely a platonic teacher-student relationship. However, fate brought them together again eight years later far away in Kaduna state in 1979, where he then worked as an Engineer with the Firm of Ward, Aschcroft & Parkman while Omotayo was engaged in the National Youth Service Corps. He was blessed with 5 wonderful daughters and 4 sons: Nkechi and Babatunde Adelekan, Oluwatosin Olabenjo, Oluwabukola and Olamide Omolaja, Jesutofunmi and Mosopefoluwa Adeyemi, Oluwatofarati Olabenjo and Rita Olabenjo. He was also blessed with seven adorable grandchildren, upon whom he doted: Oluwatobi, Oluwatoni, Oluwatamilore, and Oluwatomisire Adelekan; Oluwadarasimi and Oluwasemiloore Omolaja; and Oluwaseyifunmi Adeyemi.

Hobbies.

Photography was Olugbenga’s core hobby since childhood. He also enjoyed listening to music and reading non-fiction, biographies, historical accounts, and occasionally, Science Fiction.

Life Lessons & Philosophy.

From his life experiences, Olugbenga drew several key lessons that he hoped everyone would carry forward. He learned the value of life and the gift of good health—a truth that became even clearer during the emergence of the COVID19 pandemic. He believed that protecting one’s wellbeing was essential to living meaningfully. He also embraced the idea of “dying empty”—using every talent, every moment, and every resource God had entrusted to Him before answering the final call. In this regard, his earnest prayer had also always been, that he would see Jesus before he would taste death. Above all, Olugbenga discovered the transformative power of forgiveness. He witnessed how it restores, heals, and frees, and he encouraged everyone to practice forgiveness as generously as we seek it from God