The day I met PRIP Jonathan B. Majiyagbe
Today when I logged in to My Rotary to do some unfinished work, I saw the news that Jonathan B. Majiyagbe, past Rotary International president who was passionate about growing Rotary everywhere — especially in Africa — and about eradicating polio, has died at age 88.
Majiyagbe, who died on 27 May at a hospital in Abuja, Nigeria, served as Rotary International president in 2003-04. He was the first and so far the only RI president from Africa. The continent was declared free of wild polio in August 2020, due in part to his tireless advocacy and efforts .
The day I had a chance to interact with him immediately flashed before my eyes. It was during the RI Centennial Convention in Chicago in 2004-05. In 2002 I had an opportunity to go to two countries in African, Zambia and Malawi as a member of intercontinental medicare project. I shared with RI president Jonathan B. Majiyagbe some of my experiences about the mission and he very appreciably listened and reciprocated, which meant that as rotarians we learn to do things with compassion and rational outlook. It was a moment which was very important to me in my early rotary years, I got it captured in camera and today I am sharing it with my fellow rotarians.
Under the presidential theme “Lend a Hand”, RIP Majiyagbe called for alleviating poverty to be the top priority for his presidential term. “As Rotarians, we must open our eyes to see those around us who cannot afford shelter, health care, food, and other essentials," he wrote in the July 2003 issue of The Rotarian. "We must address these problems with compassion and pragmatism."
This memory reminded me that Rotary has a potential and power to take you back in the timeline when you find yourself doing something , somewhere, sometimes for someone, for some communities because you wanted to and not because you had to. And that is a great feeling.
Submitted by Kiran Duggal
Rotary Club of Brampton South