Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu, Canada/
Hon. Tunji Bello turns 65 today.
I have never met him face to face. Yet he once responded to a text message from a complete stranger, corrected an injustice, and stood firmly for what was right.
Shortly after I opened my restaurant in Agege, business was booming. One Friday, some officials of the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) Brigade walked in. They introduced themselves, saying they had noticed the new restaurant and simply decided to stop by and say hello.
I welcomed them warmly and entertained them.
The following Friday, they returned. We served them amala, gbegiri, the drinks they requested, and I even gave them some money for the weekend.
They kept coming every Friday, and we kept entertaining them.
On their third visit, they asked to use the restroom. I directed them to the toilets at the back of the restaurant.
That same day, one of the officials advised me to build a urinal over the gutter outside the premises for customers’ convenience. Trusting his guidance, I did exactly that.
On their fifth visit, however, I decided things had gone too far. I instructed my sales girls not to serve them food or beer and not to give them any money. They were served only malt drinks. They drank quietly and left. As always, it was a Friday.
Then, by 10 a.m. the following Monday, they returned, not as friendly visitors, but as enforcers.
Without greeting anyone or asking to see me, they demolished the very urinal they had instructed me to build. They damaged the iron sheets and wooden planks while pulling it down. My workers informed them that I was in my small office beside the kitchen, but they ignored them.
Immediately, I sent a text message to the Commissioner for the Environment, Hon. Tunji Bello.
He did not reply immediately, and I understood why. He did not know me.
But later that evening, a response came. He simply asked me to report to the General Manager of KAI at Alausa the following morning.
When I got there, I discovered the Commissioner had already spoken with the General Manager before my arrival.
The GM received me warmly and requested the names of the officers involved. After listening to my account, he explained that the officials had deliberately misled me so they could continue extorting me. Building a structure on a gutter was against the law. A proper urinal, he explained, should be constructed beside the gutter with a drainage pipe leading into it.
The following day, a senior officer brought the two officials to my restaurant for identification. I confirmed they were the same men.
Immediately, they broke down in tears, pleading with me not to let them lose their jobs.
I asked them one question: “Do you remember how you’ve been seizing traders’ goods, loading them into your truck, and collecting money from them every Friday? Will you stop doing that?”
They promised they would. So I called the General Manager and appealed for mercy on their behalf. I asked him to drop the case.
That incident revealed something remarkable about Hon. Tunji Bello. Here was a public official who had no idea who I was, yet he took the complaint of an ordinary citizen seriously enough to investigate it and ensure justice was done.
Over the years, Hon. Tunji Bello has quietly rendered other acts of kindness to me, despite the fact that we have still never met in person.
Today, as he celebrates his 65th birthday, I pray that God will reward him abundantly.
May your remaining years be filled with unshakable peace, unfailing health, enduring joy, and ever-increasing honour. May God continue to protect you and your family, open greater doors before you, and richly reward every quiet act of kindness you have shown to people who had no means of repaying you.
Happy 65th Birthday, Hon. Tunji Bello.
May you celebrate many more fruitful years in good health and in the land of the living.
© Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu
June 29, 2026
