When it came to choosing a career after leaving St Gregory’s College, it was his stepmother, Mrs Nora Majekodunmi, who steered him towards architecture. He was sent off to Britain, and he enrolled at the Glasgow School of Art and Kingston College of Art (now Kingston University), Kingston, Surrey, and graduated in 1966.
At that time, the British Council ran a hostel at 58-61 Hans Crescent, Knightsbridge, London (just a stone’s throw from Harrods, the luxury store). Femi was a frequent lodger and guest during vacations.
He was very hip (hipster). He had found freedom and liberation in London, away from parental supervision.
He even acquired a guitar, which he carried all over London and beyond. Perhaps it was inevitable that he would make friends with other Nigerian students who were not entirely saintly: all-night gambling at St Stephen’s Gardens, Ladbroke Grove, with Peter as the chief host; noisy parties at the residence of Western Nigeria’s agent-general at the super-exclusive Kensington Place Gardens; and dodgy escapades too numerous to mention. Femi quickly acquired a reputation, which was captured in his nickname “NB”. This is not the appropriate occasion for full disclosure. If you know, you know!!
I must resist the temptation to spill the beans about Peter. He had rented a basement flat, which he converted into a den. It was a magnet for errant students from various universities – the University of London, Imperial College, Queen Mary’s, Oxford, Cambridge, etc., as well as the dropouts. They mostly had rich Nigerian parents or were on scholarships from the Nigerian federal government. Aside from gambling, booze was available all day and all night. Plenty of girls were at their beck and call. Romance was brief, and sex was casual. Pregnancies were not part of the deal. Hence, abortions were the ultimate consequences. Peter insisted that none of these human frailties were his concern. His business was marathon games of poker. On one occasion, a guy gambled away the car which his father had given him as a present to celebrate his graduation from Oxford University, where he obtained a degree in PPE (politics, philosophy and economics) from Brasenose College.
Peter’s den was always smoke-filled. He would boldly attest that the old boys of King’s College, Lagos, only smoked cigarettes. However, he remained sworn to secrecy regarding what the old boys of St Gregory’s College, Obalende, were smoking!!
Regardless, Femi remained focused, and he completed his studies. This was followed by success in acquiring the requisite professional qualifications to practise as an architect. When he returned to Nigeria, he was still single, and he joined the architectural firm of a British couple, John Godwin and Gill Hopwood (Godwin and Hopwood). That was when he vigorously courted Victoria Afe, who was then a student at the University of Lagos. They got married on 12th August 1972.
Femi set up his own firm, Femi Majekodunmi and Associates, on the 10th floor, St Nicholas House, Catholic Mission Street, Lagos, in January 1973.
For many years, Femi and his wife lived in a flat in a block owned by his father at 52, Odunlami Street, Lagos. It was right on the edge of Campos Square. Hence, Femi could lay claim to being an “Area Boy”.
It would be a great injustice not to acknowledge Femi’s professional accomplishments beyond the confines of Nigeria. Having successfully captured Nigeria, he found the environment too restrictive to accommodate his vast talents. That was what propelled him to venture to South Africa, Botswana and numerous other countries where his professionalism was rewarded with generous amounts of dollars. I believe those offices are still in very good hands, especially with his son Ayodeji (who is also an architect) now at the helm of affairs.
At the pinnacle of his career, Arc (Chief) Olufemi Majekodunmi made his time and talents available to the next generation of architects. He became an associate professor of architecture at the University of Lagos.
Femi was very much what the English would succinctly describe as ‘clubable’. Hence, he was in his element at the Lagos Luncheon Club. I think he eventually became the chairman. He was also a long-standing member of the Lagos Motor Boat Club. I am not at liberty to disclose what he got up to on his yacht (or superyacht). Whatever happens at sea, stays at sea.
Perhaps, I should add that this tribute is at the behest of the Metropolitan Club of Lagos, Victoria Island. Chief (Dr) Moses Adekoyejo Majekodunmi was the president of the club from June 1983 to June 1988. Femi was a member of the club for forty-eight years and of Table 4, where old boys of King’s College, Lagos, are equal in number to the old boys of St Gregory’s College, Obalende.
Let us draw the curtain by adopting the stoicism of the Majekodunmi family. We shall absorb the pain and sorrow over the loss of Arc (Chief) Olufemi Majekodunmi (and all other tribulations) without flinching.
HENCEFORTH, NO NEGATIVITY. JUST POSITIVE VIBES.
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