Pa John Dada Obafemi acclaimed to be Nigeria’s oldest enlisted soldier has died. Pa Obafemi died in the early of Saturday, November 23rd in his home in Ijaye-Ojokoro LSDPC Estate in Lagos.
Until his death, Pa Obafemi, was a former president of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) and only surviving member, Board of Trustees of the church.
He was also regarded in some quarters as the oldest living Nigerian with recorded date.
Until as recently as the occasion of his 107th birthday in May 2020, when the crew of The Nation first interviewed him, the late Obafemi exhibited sound mind, health and energy, answering questions accurately with dates, time and details for hours.
In that same interview, he told this newspaper that he was arguably the oldest surviving enlisted Nigerian soldier, going by the fact that he enlisted two years earlier than the acclaimed oldest soldier, Pa Adama Aduku, who had passed two years earlier.
“I joined the army on January 13, 1943 and left on July 31, 1946. Today, in the four corners of the world, I am among the oldest enlisted soldier alive,” he declared in that interview.
He also shared the story of how Christianity entered core Yoruba land around 1917; the first crusade of Apostle Ayo Babalola (1930) and the invasion of a swarm of locust (1931) which ate up everything in sight, creating unprecedented famine in the process.
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“The invasion of locust was the type that had never been seen before – at least not in living memory. People said they came from the Gold Coast – the present day Ghana, and ate up all crops. It came around May, when all farm produce had ripened and created a kind of famine never seen before. We called it ‘foworemi’ (use money to buy life) because it was only those who had money who were able to survive it. They would land on a tree and strip it naked, leaving only the stump. I remember how we resorted to hiding yam tubers in (palm-wine) kegs, blocking the mouths with rags and placing them in water to keep them safe from the locusts. Then when it’s time to eat, we’d bring them out, add salt and roast.”
Another interesting story he shared was the advent of cassava and garri in Yoruba land and how, as a student, he led a revolt against adopting it as a school meal.
