He studied how living things grow. Then he asked how people do.

The story behind the books of Prof. Ayodele Rotimi (Ayo) Fatubarin

The professor

Prof. Ayodele Rotimi Fatubarin was a Professor of Botany with a PhD in Ecology. He spent his career studying what makes living things grow, and his writing life asking the same question of people and of nations.

Merit carried him through every stage of his studies, from scholarships and the University of Ibadan Prize as best graduating Botany student to an FAO Fellowship in Tree Breeding.

Academician. Rotarian. Adviser. Mentor to every age. He supervised projects, lectured on development issues, chaired the board of a science and technical college, and wrote on ecology, character, community and faith for readers of every age and walk of life.

Chief Akin Akinola KSJ, who wrote the Foreword to Patriotic Reflections, described him as “a cerebral and urbane countryman.”

A scientist looks at a seed and sees what it needs: soil, water and light from beyond itself. He looked at a young person, a family, a town and a country the same way, and wrote down what he saw.

In memoriam. Some of these books were already in print; others were found as manuscripts on his desk. His family shares them all now, in his memory and in gratitude for all he gave.

Our story

Keynotes Legacy continues Prof. Fatubarin’s work. His family began it so none of it would be lost, and so it would keep growing. He began Keynotes as his own book business, and its name lives on in Keynotes Legacy.

Our first job is care. Every book is read closely, edited and checked, always in his own voice. We do not change what he meant. We make it plain so the reader can run with it.

Our second job is to grow what he planted. Rooted in his values, we are taking his ideas into speaking, coaching and consulting. Where a service is ready, we say so. Where it is still coming, we say that too.

Who it is for. Leaders and the nations they serve. Families. Young people finding their way. Christians who want their faith to show. Readers of every age and every country. Two books are written especially for the Ijesa people.

Make it plain. Let the reader run.

His question still stands, and it is the reason we exist: what will you leave your nation better for?

Four convictions that run through the books

The first nine books

Keynotes Legacy Group Inc. is preparing his writing as companion books, and the first nine are below. More titles are coming. Each opens here as it is ready.

Start before the books arrive

Every book has a free self-check, a few minutes long, private, and yours to keep. Pick the book that sounds like your season of life and see where you stand.

His question to the reader is plain: what will you leave your nation better for?

What we stand for

Mission. We make wisdom plain, so that whoever reads it can run with it. Through books, speaking, coaching and consulting, we help people of every age turn what they learn into a life that counts.

Vision. A generation whose legacies speak and do not lie: grown in character, led with integrity, and handed on.

Be the first to know