Majekodunmi legacy revived at Lagos Polo Club

The late Chief (Dr.), Moses Majekodunmi’s love for polo and legacies were revived recently at a rare show held at the just concluded polo tournament in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The exhibition, organised by the Lagos Polo Club in collaboration with Moses Majekodunmi Archive (MMA), was a precursor to the ‘Majekodunmi Cup tournament.’

The exhibits were drawn from his archives, which hold about 7,000 images and 11,000 documents around the life and times of Dr. Majekodunmi, telling   the story of Nigeria and individuals whose names are engraved on sands of history. 
 
The exhibits include, personal membership cards, Lagos Polo Club Constitution, three copies of the Lagos Polo Club magazine, Chukka, dated 1974 and 1975, Lagos Polo tournament brochure dated February 1 to 5, 1967, photo of the Majekodunmi Cup when it was donated in 1962, as well as documents from 1950.
 
The show gave viewers a complete history of happenings at the club for over 50 years and the dexterity of the man who made sure he saved all the documents for future purposes.
 
Curated by the Curator and Archivist for the Moses Majekodunmi Archive (MMA) , Oludamola Adebowale, the 13-piece exhibition tells the story of Chief Majekodunmi within the historical context of his contributions to the development of the Lagos Polo Club.
 
“Today’s exhibition is a fraction of the treasure trove we have at the MMA Archive. The exhibition is about the history of the Lagos Polo Club and the journey of one man and his love for Polo which started in 1949, lasting till his death in 2012,” Adebowale revealed in the curatorial statement.
 
The archive preserved by Moses Majekodunmi Foundation would serve as a source of education for generations.  Dr. Desmond Majekodunmi, Chairman of Moses Majekodunmi Foundation revealed how this exhibition reflects the spirit of sportsmanship that Dr. Majekodunmi embodied in his lifetime as a prominent member of the club. “He maintained friendships with different people across the nation and world.

He was an industrious man who stood for equality and fairness. His records reflect the array of friendship created and opportunities built over the years irrespective of race, tribe or creed.   Papa Majekodunmi was not defined by race or culture, he sought to embrace the opportunity for growth and development in his country and society and it is a relationship that his family are honoured to continue.”
“We have continued his legacy of continued support for the club at the yearly tournament and in this vein, we thought it befitting to share documents dating back to 1957 to 2000, relating to the club from his archives, which is the first time we are exhibiting since his demise.” 
 
Reflecting on how the documents were able to survive through five decades, he added: “These historical articles have been preserved over the years, through properly organised and catalogued storage in papa’s house; taking care to ward against  heat and humidity for proper preservation. After his demise in order to ensure that the documents were preserved for posterity, we took the decision to digitize the physical archives.” 
 
The exhibition itself served as a preamble to a looming digital archive in memory of Chief Majekodunmi. The archive is a repository of original documents and other articles of history of the public and private life of the avid polo player, civil servant and astute businessman.