Click to watch the podcast about the event: Podcast on Mother Omowunmi Omitiran

Click to view some of the pictures from the event: Beautiful Pictures from the Event

The Shield Convention Centre in Ota, Ogun State, shimmered under bright lights on August 29. From the moment guests stepped in, they were met with a sight both joyous and reverent: people dressed in coordinated pink outfits darting across the hall, guests in their co ordinated Ankara ensembles, a live band filling every corner with layered Yoruba rhythms, chiefs in resplendent agbada, and church elders in white garments moving with quiet dignity.

It was not the somber silence of mourning. It was a jubilant celebration of the life of Senior Apostolic Mother Juliana Omowunmi Omitiran (1923–2025);  a matriarch whose 102 years had left indelible marks on her church, her family, and her community.

The reception, held hours after her interment in Lagos, felt less like the closing of a chapter and more like the continuation of a story. The MC kept spirits high with endless jokes, punctuating prayers and tributes with laughter that rolled across the audience.

The live band anchored the night; drummers striking with precision, guitarists weaving melodies that shifted from hymns to highlife, and voices harmonising in praise. The music wasn’t background entertainment; it was ritual, a means of lifting grief into gratitude.

Every detail carried symbolic weight. The children’s pink attire spoke of joy, renewal, and continuity. The elders’ presence signified stability. The vibrant colours and laughter were intentional, rooted in the Yoruba understanding that a centenarian’s passing is not tragedy, but triumph.

One of the most commanding moments of the night came with the arrival of His Royal Majesty, Oba Samson Adeleke Agunbiade Oke, Agunbiade III, The Ajalaye of Ipetu-Ijesha. He was serenaded by the live band and sprayed a lot of money while his staff bearer danced along.

Guests had travelled not only from across Nigeria but from as far as Canada to be present. Their attendance underscored how far-reaching Mama Juliana’s influence had been.

For the diaspora, the reception was more than a funeral event; it was a reconnection with home, with heritage, and with the living memory of a matriarch whose life had spanned empires, independence, and modern Nigeria.

The Shield Convention Centre itself seemed transformed. Tables overflowed with food, waiters weaved through crowds balancing trays of jollof rice and grilled fish, and laughter mixed with the rhythms of bata drums. Elders swapped stories about Mama Juliana’s firmness and generosity. Grandchildren recalled her discipline delivered with love.

The MC, relentless in energy, kept the hall awake until dawn. At one point, a spontaneous dance erupted when the band broke into a praise medley. Chiefs rose from their seats, hands in the air, and children danced around them. It was more than entertainment, it was the weaving together of generations.

Guests took to the dance floor competing with bundles of naira. For observers outside Nigeria, such a farewell might feel unfamiliar. But to the Yoruba, this is the highest honour: to celebrate a long life with joy, music, and community. The Shield reception encapsulated that worldview; the blending of Yoruba cultural aesthetics with the Christ Apostolic Church’s spiritual discipline.

Mama Juliana’s story, embodied in that single night, carried universal resonance. It demonstrated that legacy is not only remembered in silence but performed in song, laughter, and togetherness.

For her family and members of CAC, the night was more than a send-off. It was a torch-passing; a reminder that values of faith, resilience, and love do not end with death, but continue in those left behind.

Senior Apostolic Mother Juliana Omowunmi’s life had spanned 102 years. But at The Shield Convention Centre, it was clear her influence would stretch far longer, carried forward by the families, church, and diaspora she had nurtured.

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