Rev. Canon Daniel Odutayo was born on March 23, 1911 in Aledo Quarters, Odolameso, Ijebu Imusin, to the family of Pa Jacob Odutayo and Madam Sarah Adejoke Odutayo. His parents were among the early converts to Christianity in the community, and were lovers of education. He started his education at St. Mary’s Anglican School, Ijebu Imusin, and moved to Holy Trinity School, Ebutte-Ero, Lagos. As a student, he was nicknamed ‘First Boy’ because he always came first in his class.
He was trained as a teacher at St. Andrew’s College, Oyo, between 1928 and 1931. He taught for some time at Ijebu Ode Grammar School and Eko Boys High School, Lagos, before leaving the shores of Nigeria for further studies. He went on scholarship to Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone, and later to New Castle upon Tyne where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950. He returned to Eko Boys High School and was the Principal of the school until 1954.
During his time at Ijebu Ode Grammar School, he was the Scout Master, House Master, Football Master, Cultural and Agric Teacher. At Eko Boys High School, he was a stickler for proper behaviour and a sports motivator. Because of his oratory skills, he was nicknamed ‘Caesar.’
From 1967 to 1972, he was a chaplain at Igbobi College, Lagos, where he instilled the fear of God, discipline and hard work in both the students and staff of the school. At Awe High School, he built a high sense of discipline, hard work, honesty, integrity and good appearance in the school community, and produced many Grier Cup champions. Both at St. Luke’s College, Ibadan and at St. Paul’s College, Abeokuta, he trained his students on how to be respectable teachers. He assisted and encouraged Imusin sons and daughters to gain admission into secondary schools wherever he worked.
He was co-founder of Ijebu Imusin Progressive Society (IPS), which gave birth to the present Ijebu Imusin Planning Body (IPD). In his time, he was always quick to point out the error often made when pronouncing the word ‘Imusin’. He said the word ‘Imusin’ must be pronounced without the ‘h’ – ‘Imusin’ and not ‘Imushin’.
On one of his visits to Ikala School, much to his chagrin, he discovered that the pupils wrote the address of their school as ‘…Ikala via Isoyin.’ There and then, he asked the head teacher to make sure that the address was changed and written always as ‘…Ikala, Ijebu Imusin’. This awakening prompted him start the essay competitions amongst primary school pupils in Ijebu Imusin. With the inclusion of other events, the competition later metamorphosed into the annual rally.
He was keenly aware of the importance of communication to society. Hence, he set up a committee to work towards the establishment of a post-office station in Ijebu Imusin. He greatly loved Ijebu Imusin and was part of efforts to ensure the return of the Oloko crown to the town. He was the first Imusin indigene to study abroad.
