Friday 11 August 2023
Celebration of Life and Service of Songs for our precious Great Grandmother, Grandmother, and Mother.
Mama Leticia Laniyonu 1923 – 2023
A service of remembrance was held in honour of the late Chief Mrs. Leticia Ayodele Laniyonu who passed away in August 2023. Fondly known as Mama Leticia, she was 100 years old, and was a founding member of the African Canadian Association Of Ottawa (ACAO) in 2015. The longtime resident of Ottawa was also well known in the African, Caribbean and Black communities for her wisdom and community engagement, attending all community events and meetings. The event was organized by a committee of friends consisting of: John Adeyefa, President, African Canadian Association of Ottawa (ACAO), Mrs. Modupe Williams and Mrs. Ines Beugre.
The celebration of her long life was a Service of Songs held at the Sandy Hill Community Centre on Somerset Street East, Ottawa, Canada. The sermon was preached by Rev. Don Collar of the Bilberry Creek Baptist Church, Orleans.
Among the attendees were: Nigeria High Commissioner to Canada, His Excellency, Adeyinka Asekun with his wife Her Excellency Mrs. Olawunmi Asekun; Elder Yemi Fasoyinu and Mrs. Sola Fasoyinu; African Canadian Association of Ottawa, Senior Director, Hector Addison; Vice President, Black History Ottawa, Jean Marie Guerrier; Black History Ottawa Board members: Sarah Onyango and Joanne Robinson; Former President of the Igbo Association of Ottawa, Elder Emma Ukwu and Ike Ukwu; President of Isokan Yoruba, Basirat Bashorun; South Sudanese community leader Francis Yell; Dr. Richard Lawuyi and Deconess Mrs. Tinu Lawuyi; Pastor Idowu Ladeinde; Chief Bashir Agoro and Mrs. Abiola Agoro; Chief AKD Garber and Mrs. Afolake Olumade–Garber; President of the Northerners’ Association, Dare Abdullahi and Mrs. Abdullahi; and many others whose lives had been touched this most beloved centenarian.
Gallery photos by Joy Osiagwu
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Dedicated to the memory of Chief Mrs. Leticia Laniyonu (née Ricketts)
This site is a tribute to Chief Mrs. Leticia Laniyonu (née Ricketts), who was born in Lagos, Nigeria on January 16, 1923. She is much loved and will always be remembered.
Mummy. Look at me. Feel my heart. See my tears! These are tears of joy and gratitude to The Almighty for your life. A life truly well spent, sharing knowledge, empowering the powerless, mostly women and children. ❤️ Building healthy communities one step at a time, one idea at a time, one instruction at a time! Wow, Mother! You’ve set the bar high. A tough act to follow. I miss you.
Kikelomo Laniyonu Edwards
Biography of Chief Mrs. Leticia Edith Ayodele Laniyonu (née Ricketts)
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall
return unto God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7 (KJV)
Our Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother, and matriarch of the family, Chief Mrs. Leticia Edith Ayodele Laniyonu (née Ricketts), passed away on July 18th, 2023 at her home in Moniya, Eleyele Local Government, Oyo State, at the age of 100. Her passing left a gaping hole in the lives of those of us blessed to have been touched by her influence. The imprint she left on our hearts exceeds what might have been thought possible, but through this, her memory lives on…
Mummy Laniyonu was born on January 16th, 1923 in Lagos, Nigeria, to Mr. Joshua Anderson Ricketts and Mrs. Sophia Otefunke Shobamowo Ricketts. Mummy’s childhood was spent on the family farm in Agbowa-Ikosi, of which she had many stories to tell. From the farm, the family sourced all their needs – rice, cassava, sugar cane, etc. The family also made motorized boats and ferried passengers around Lagos. Mummy’s sense of community and her love of working with the land was evident even back then. In later years, family members and friends alike were treated to stories of times spent with cousins, uncles and aunts, of coming straight to the farm after school, of growing multiple crops and making various foods such as sugar, molasses, and butter, which were supplied to customers far and wide.
After graduating from secondary school, Mummy went on to train as a nurse midwife in Ikare. Her dedication to improving the lot of rural women and their families was obvious from the beginning of her career. She worked tirelessly to empower the powerless, mostly women and children, share knowledge, and worked to build healthy communities, one woman, child or family at a time.
Shortly thereafter, Mummy went on to marry her beloved husband Chief Josiah Oladipo Laniyonu with whom she had her wonderful children. She dedicated that time in her life to building her home and assisting her husband, who was a prominent land surveyor, with his work.
Mummy was talented and adventurous in many aspects of her life. She travelled widely, even late into her later years, shuttling back and forth between Canada and Nigeria. Because of this and because of the many lives she has touched, Mummy’s influence reaches across continents. In Canada, for instance, she contributed to efforts to bring different African communities together, which resulted in the launching, on June 2016, of the African Canadian Association Ottawa, Canada. In Nigeria, she was involved in many community organizations such as Better Lives for Rural Women and multiple local government initiatives. The influence she exerted on the communities around her is evidenced by the three Chieftaincy titles she was given over the years, one each from Moniya, Akinyele and Ijaye.
In addition, Mummy’s entrepreneurial nature was brought to bear in the many projects she started and maintained in Oyo State. She seemed to always be developing new business ideas, mostly with the underlying goal of improving the lot of others. No discussion of her life and work would be complete without a mention of her gari factory in Moniya. This decades-long endeavor has enriched the lives of many women and families in the community. In her spare time, Mummy was a master of knitting and crocheting, making a huge array of memorable objects, which, of course she gave away as gifts to others.
Mummy truly believed in community, service to that community, and connecting to others through time well spent. Her focus was on empowering women, supporting family unity and marital harmony, teaching environmental sustainability, fighting food insecurity, and providing support for the less privileged among us. She believed very strongly in supporting women as they cared for their families, in the idea that women, being the spiritual backbone of their families, could be empowered to provide for these families in multiple other ways, including through subsistence farming. Mummy epitomizes the idea that our world could be improved if everyone simply dedicated a little bit of their time towards the common good.
Mummy, who has been described as “an epitome of strength, courage, and determination”, as being “full of life and robust energy”, even in her later years, is predeceased by her late husband and her son Wemimo Stephens Laniyonu. She is survived by her daughters Kikelomo Edwards, Joké Mayers, and Bisi Hamzat; her sons Gbolahan Laniyonu and Gboyega Laniyonu; as well as multiple grandchildren and greatgrandchildren and countless friends. Her legacy lives on in all the people she has touched. She is very much loved and will be fondly remembered.