“If you don’t shape in, you’ll shape out.”
He said it often, but it was never casual. Those words carried the weight of expectation, of discipline, of unshakable conviction. They were a challenge, a warning, a compass, and a push all at once. He said it with a calm authority that silenced doubt and left no room for half-measures. To hear him was to understand that life, work, and purpose demanded attention, and that the path to excellence was non-negotiable.
John Ajayi was a man who moved through the world deliberately. Stern in his judgment, unwavering in his principles, yet possessed of a rare warmth that made even the most exacting criticism feel like care. He was rigorous because he believed rigor shaped character. He was exacting because he understood that the smallest details could tilt the balance between mediocrity and mastery. Every conversation with him was a lesson; every instruction, a blueprint; every pause, a moment to reflect on responsibility.
He did not need to assert power to command respect. It flowed from the depth of his knowledge, the precision of his insight, and the honesty of his convictions. To work with him was to feel the gravity of a man who had built a foundation for generations of journalists, communicators, and storytellers to stand upon.
Ajayi was the architect of brand journalism in Nigeria. He did not merely occupy the space; he built it, shaped it, demanded that it rise to a standard that mirrored his own dedication. Marketing Edge is not simply a publication; it’s an embodiment and proof of his belief in integrity, discipline, and the transformative power of ideas. Through its pages, he elevated discourse, spotlighted truth, and nurtured a profession that would otherwise have floundered in ambiguity. He made excellence inevitable.
But to reduce him to achievements would be to misunderstand him. He was a father in the quietest ways, a mentor in the sharpest. He saw potential where others saw inexperience. He corrected without humiliation, challenged without bitterness. And in every lesson, he infused patience, believing that understanding would follow intention. He embodied the paradox of firmness and tenderness, authority and humility, expectation and encouragement.
The phrase “If you don’t shape in, you’ll shape out” was not a rule; it was a philosophy. It was a lens through which he viewed every person, every story, every idea. It was an insistence on accountability, a reminder that the world would not pause for unpreparedness. It was the measure he used, not only of others, but of himself. He shaped in, every day, shaping narratives, shaping careers, shaping a profession, shaping a culture of excellence that will endure long after his voice has quieted.
John Ajayi’s influence cannot be counted in awards, accolades, or columns. It is measured in the lives he touched, the standards he set, the minds he sharpened. He believed that principles mattered more than praise, that clarity mattered more than applause, and that truth mattered more than convenience. To work with him was to be reminded that life could be approached with precision, courage, and integrity, and that every day presented a chance to shape in.
He has left us in presence, but not in impact. His life, his work, and his insistence on purpose remain with us in the stories we tell, the careers we build, and the values we uphold. He once said, and lived, that shaping in was the only way forward. To honor him is to continue shaping, to measure our work against the rigor he demanded, and to carry forward the legacy of a man who believed that excellence was not optional; it was necessary.
Ajayi once said… and those words, that life, that principle, will echo far beyond any of us, shaping generations yet to come.
Signed: Zion Rufus, VP Communications, ADMARP