“Life is a gift, and at 60, I can only bow my head and say, God has been faithful to me and my household,” Gbenga Ajayi said, his voice carrying the gravitas of a man who has seen life in all its turns, yet clothed with gratitude. Those words set the tone for a celebration that was less about age and more about grace, resilience, and the sweet rewards of living fully.
Gbenga Ajayi’s birthday
The day began at the House of Miracles Evangelical Church, Williamstown, New Jersey, a place deeply woven into the tapestry of Ajayi’s life. Pastor Akin Obafemi, speaking with sincerity that resonated across the congregation, said, “The chronicles of this church are incomplete without mentioning Gbenga Ajayi. His handprints are in our foundations, and his heart has stood with us from the start.” The choir then lifted the atmosphere with soulful gospel music, harmonies so rich they seemed to open the very heavens in celebration of the milestone.
From sacred hymns to celebratory drums, the train moved from the church to a grand reception hall transformed into an Owanbe paradise. Gold, Black, and wine-colored décor shimmered across the venue, a visual testament that this was an occasion carved into memory.
Gbenga Ajayi’s birthday
Gbenga Ajayi’s birthday
Guests trooped in, clad in dazzling aso-ebi, women adorned in matching sequined lace that caught the lights with every sway. The celebrant’s wife’s friends dazzled in uniform glamour, their camaraderie amplifying the cultural elegance of the night.
The food spread was nothing short of legendary. Wunmi Ojo Catering, the pride of Nigerian cuisine in North America, laid out a feast that traveled across the United States, even whispered into Mexico. From smoky jollof rice—party-style, basmati, palm oil, and coconut variants—to fried rice, amala, and designer stews, each spoon carried the soul of home. If Plato once said, “Music gives a soul to the universe and food gives life to the body,” then this was an evening where both soul and body were lavishly nourished.
Gbenga Ajayi’s birthday
Entertainment flowed like palm wine. A one-man-band singer with velvet vocals, backed by a live band, had guests swaying between nostalgia and ecstasy. The DJ, dexterous and deliberate, spun records with a mastery that transformed the hall into a Lagos nightclub—classic highlife met Fuji, Afrobeats kissed soul, and gospel melted seamlessly into evergreen love songs. At the bar corner, the lineup glittered: Hennessy XO, Rémy Martin VSOP, Courvoisier, Martell, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Cîroc, Moët & Chandon, and cognacs aged like wisdom itself.
Gbenga Ajayi’s birthday
The evening’s MC, George Oyewole, was a maestro in his own right, balancing humor, dignity, and rhythm like a skilled drummer at a Yoruba festival. Pastor Ayo Onibuore offered a stirring sermon to usher in the dining, while Pastor Bola Obafemi poured blessings that seemed to wrap the celebrant and his family in a cloak of favor.
Then came the cake-cutting, a moment as symbolic as it was joyous. Surrounded by his wife and three children, Ajayi’s smile was the smile of a patriarch fulfilled, of a man whose legacy was already unfolding before him. Friends joined in, and the flashbulbs immortalized the night: laughter, love, lineage.
Gbenga Ajayi’s birthday
For a man described by his community as a pillar, Ajayi’s 60th was a chronicle of service, a jubilee of faith, and an African Owanbe writ large in New Jersey. Marcus Aurelius once wrote, “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive.” On this night, every guest knew that Ajayi’s life had been that privilege to many.
NAIJA TV witnessed not merely a birthday, but a story of faith rewarded, community celebrated, and culture carried proudly into the diaspora.
