The Apostle of Harmony: The Biography of Chief D.O. Adetunmbi 1919-1990

The Apostle of Harmony is a special purpose publication. The pictorial book is primarily the biography of the Chief David Opeyemi Adetunmbi, the father of the author. He was a teacher by profession, a devout Christian, an outstanding family man and a community leader. He was active in the Nigerian Union of Teachers between 1942 and 1979 and was elected the national leader of the association in 1976.He left an impeccable record as a honest man and as a distinguished man of integrity which endeared him to his community and members of his various constituencies. In every setting that Chief Adetunmbi was involved, his advocacy was for the people to live together in harmony. Where he needed to make personal sacrifices through various self denials, he was inclined to let everything go for peace to reign. Also as a distinguished church organist, he played nothing but complete harmonized notes which made his organ recitals to be rich and soothing while at it. Unequivocally, organ music was his forte. He was indeed an Apostle of Harmony which informed the title of this book.Various factors were responsible for publishing his biography. In the course of carrying out the assignment he gave the author, to conclude and publish his well researched book on the history of his hometown, Ifaki-Ekiti in Ekiti-State of Nigeria, the author felt that the effort would be complementary if the biography of the man with such a foresight, and distinct vision was made available for posterity. He also had a very humble background, it was the grace of God and personal positive disposition through dint of hard work that saw him through. A book on his lifetime will not only document his commendable exploits but should inspire people who read it and the coming generations.Consequently, the author structured this book into three sections. The first part constitutes of a detailed history of the life and times of Chief D. O. Adetunmbi 1919-1990. The second section documents an abridged life history of his wife and the mother of the author, Chief Mrs Comfort Modupe Adetunmbi 1931-2017 who carried on for over 27 years after the transition of the patriarch..The concluding part of the unique pictorial book is the third section which contains an abridged profile a select few exemplary Ekiti indigenes. In essence, this distinct package is "three-books-one" Relatively, most of these people were his professional colleagues, associates and like minded personalities who distinguished themselves in their respective lifetime activities. The personal admiration of all of them by the author informed his decision to devote the third section of this book for these selected few in this publication because their lifetime dispositions were worthy of emulation. Some of them were his friends and age mates with whom he shared cordial relationship. There was an exception in one of his students that was included because he was a genius and passed-on at a relatively young age. A tribute on the first female graduate from Ifaki-Ekiti was also included. A few of the celebrated distinguished men were younger than Chief Adetunmbi, while others were older and yet they had mutual respect for one another. In essence, what we have in this special publication are three distinct books in one.The accompanying memorable final rites photos of Chief and Chief Mrs D.O. Adetunmbi and other vintage historical pictures make this unique 3-in-1 book an integrated distinct memorabilia for the keeps of family members, friends, associates and those who like to read biographies.