The righteous, the Bible says, is taken away ahead of evil day. And so, my Boss, my brother and my friend Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke has gone to sleep with the Lord. His sudden departure from this sinful world even in times of peace as we are in is a warning to heaven bound individuals that we should be prepared at all times to meet with our creator. The circumstance of his death is still shrouded in mystery. His entourage to both Kuta and Iwo venues of the last events he attended on Saturday, April 22, 2017 and who were with him until 2am Sunday, April 23 are still confounded.
They insist, if it was poison, the entire entourage should have been dead by now because they all ate from the same food. One of them even insisted that the piece of fish from which the Senator ate a little was eaten by one of them. Senator Adeleke seldom ate at parties. Members of his entourage always passed his plates round to share amongst those that cared for more. Such, they said was the scene at the Kuta party where the Deputy Governor, Chief Mrs. Titi Laoye Tomori who sat close to the Senator wondered aloud if there was anything left for the Senator to eat. Although the person who gave a first aid to the Senator is allegedly being quizzed for alleged overdose of drug; another school of thought wonders if the autopsy report from a hospital under the control of APC administration could be relied upon given the controversial nature and manner of the Senator's death?
That Senator Adeleke passed on in the early hours of Sunday, April 23 and buried on Monday, April 24, 2017 is no longer news. What is important here now is the gathering of hundreds of thousands of Senator Adeleke supporters in his country home awaiting his remains. They were made up of a diversity of people including politicians, journalists both print and electronic, men, women, artisans, drivers, Okada riders, business men and women, school children, friends, family members and sympathisers from across the country and beyond.
The atmosphere was pervaded with rancorous and recriminatory utterances as the ambulance carrying Senator Adeleke 's remains neared his country home. It slowed almost to a crawl as it moved through the crowd of sympathisers outside the compound in to the gate that led to the compound. Getting his remains down from the hearse was a big task, as the crowd surged and would not allow those doing it, especially as throngs of additional people arrived every minute. Efforts by the police to ask the crowd to order failed. Amidst wailing and crying, I could hear voices saying, 'We want to know what killed our mentor. The APC had failed the people. Senator Adeleke is the answer to the party’s failure. This fact the APC leaders know. And that is why certain elements within decided to kill him'.
There was sorrow, there was wailing, there was anger, there was fury and there was fear. There were tears on many faces. I could not look into the face of Mrs Dupe Adeleke Sani-Arewa, neither could I look into the face of the First Lady, Mrs. Faridah Adeleke. There was expression of loss of hope on the faces of the people that had gathered and there was distress. Sympathisers asked variously why their mentor should be killed? What for? Who did this? When would there be another Isiaka Adeleke? Who amongst his haters and killers could be as generous as Adeleke? Who amongst them could take over the payment of School fees of students they do not know? Who amongst them could pick up hospital bills or give food to people they do not know? These were some of the questions they asked openly from nobody in particular and for which no answers came. Some concluded that what put Senator Isiaka Adeleke on the verge of APC corroding hatred was his ambition to be governor in 2018. Senator Adeleke who was not given to violence or to hiding his feeling, interest or ambition made it public and went about it systematically and stylishly. Vehicles had even been branded towards the attainment of that goal. This precisely was what allegedly brought about the viciousness of those who wanted Adeleke dead if indeed there was any individual or group like that.
Yes, Adeleke had an ambition to be governor come 2018, an ambition that only death could stop.
I was badly shaken and wept uncontrollably when a friend called from Ede to confirm his death to me on Sunday, April 23. My relationship with him started way back in 1990/1991 when I was put in charge of the News Desk of the Nigerian Tribune. I must say this relationship was indirect and from a distance through Mr. Femi Falana who was in charge of his publicity and who was in constant touch with me at the end of each campaign day with the account of what happened on the field.
The relationship blossomed full-fledged in 1996 after I had left the Tribune finally.
Otunba Adeleke sent a friend and colleague, Prince Diran Odeyemi, then of the Vanguard Newspaper who, when he saw me at the Press Centre, Iyaganku said: 'Egbon, I was at Ede yesterday and Governor Adeleke expressed a strong desire to see you. If you can make it there tomorrow, I think that would be fine. I think it is urgent.' So, the following day, I went off to Ede. Although I did not meet Governor Adeleke when I arrived Ede, he had left a message for me with his younger brother, Mr. Ademola Adeleke, now Dr. Ademola Adeleke. He showed me round the premises of Tadel Investment Company factory where I was to take charge as Public Relations Manager, he, the Managing Director and Otunba Adeleke himself as the Chairman. Otunba Adeleke returned to Ede in the evening of that day. And so, started our relationship- a relationship that lasted 15 solid years. Association with him for 15 years of his life, 1996-2011 was one of the joys of my own life.
Take this for example, sometime in 2008 I needed about a million naira to add to the like sum in my possession which I needed to prosecute a project. He was far away in the United States on his annual vacation. I called him to inform him about my predicament. He in turned asked me to go to his bank and that as soon as I got there I should let him know. When l did, he instructed his Account Officer to make available to me the exact amount I asked for. His brother Dr. Deji Adeleke on his part made available to me equivalent amount in dollars. That is the stuff of which the Adelekes are made. Their generosity and bigheartedness is unequalled. I feel greatly indebted. As I write this piece, Senator Adeleke's hall in Ede is filled to the brim with various items with which he had intended to empower his followers across the entire Osun State. Senator Adeleke was a politician with a very formidable all time political structure on ground. He believed that politics is about people and their development and happiness, a happiness that he often said needed to be nourished and oiled at all times. Senator Adeleke was not comfortable with the fate that has befallen the people of Osun State, especially the workers and pensioners. For them, he felt lightly and cared deeply. As I said earlier, he had an ambition to change the lot of the people through his people oriented policy - an ambition which only death as has befallen him could stop.
Senator Adeleke was a man with a deep understanding of human feeling, no wonder his home was always filled with people of all levels of life who come together to benefit from his milk of human kindness. Though a Muslim, he was versed in the passages and messages of the Holy Bible. He recited some offhand. You did not have to be a big man or a person of means for him to relate with you. He was accessible to all always. No matter the degree of your problem, once you met him your matter was settled. He might not be able to meet all at once, that was why he had a saying in Yoruba that 'Omo to ba nje die die ki yi ru', meaning 'A child who eats little by little does not grow lean'. Senator Adeleke possessed every quality necessary for his success in any or every office into which he seeks election. Never will there be another Isiaka Adetunji Alani Adeleke. Even if they are as rich as he was, they could not be as generous as he was. Alani Adetunji Adeleke will be remembered for his generosity, humility, admirable, glamorous and flamboyant political style. He committed the journey of his life to his immediate community, the poor around him and the disadvantaged anywhere and everywhere he met them. Senator Adeleke’s humility and large heartedness had no limit.
Today, I recall with trepidation and gratitude how he kindly shared his hotel room accommodation with me at the Owena Motels during Otunba Oyewole Fasawe’s Mum’s burial at Owo. All hotels in Akure, Ondo State had been fully booked and we were only able to secure three rooms for our fairly large entourage coming in from Abuja and there to Ede. He liked to spring surprises. What could he not give out. Many years back, a man came, I think from Eko-Ende, one Eid-El-Kabir festival to celebrate with him. When the man was leaving, he asked that I give the man the key to a Peugeot 505 he had just assigned to me. The reason he gave was that when he was campaigning to be Governor, the man was in his team and after the election was won, he never saw the man till the government was over. The man who was shocked, visibly shaking, burst into tears. That was Senator Isiaka Alani Adetunji Adeleke for you. He, as all humans, do made his own mistakes but I think what he did right outweighed what he did wrong.
The manner of senator Adeleke’s death is an indication of what trouble we are into, especially in Osun State. And I say, Adeleke may not have been Governor again, he outshined all the governors that had ever emerged in that State in terms of political structure, glamour, style, flamboyance, philanthropy, giving and empowering, mannerism, present-ability and even in achievement being the first Executive Governor in a virgin State in spite of scarce resources. I think he received less than a billion Naira for the entire 22 months he was in office before Abacha struck. My only regret is that it was his own Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Governor that demolished out of envy the Five-Star Hotel he built, that was nearing completion as at the time he left office as the First Executive Governor of Osun State. Chief Bisi Akande, a progressive Governor who came immediately after him did not touch the Hotel. Whoever killed Senator Adeleke for his ambition is a failure and a coward afraid of competing with him.
I commiserate with his immediate younger brother, Dr. Deji Adeleke, whose composure while receiving sympathisers at the burial revealed a formidable Christian of a great faith with reassuring smiles that God is in control. I also commiserate with his younger sister, Mrs Dupe Sani-Arewa, Dr. Ademola Adeleke, the deceased’s wife, and First Lady while he was Governor, Mrs. Faridah F. Adeleke and every member of the family on the sad and irreparable loss.
His friends and associates recalled their happier past while they also despaired of the future with his curious and untimely exit. A large crowd of people swelled the compound but to God be the glory as they never lost control while the burial lasted. I thank you today as always for being there for me when it mattered most. I remain, like a couple of his friends that I know, a great admirer and devoted aid of Senator Adeleke who would be locked in a private grief for a long time to come. I would like to conclude this tribute by saying in the words of Arthur M. Schlensinger, JR. that, “What he (Senator Adeleke) had in the way of weakness was an essential part of his strength”. Good night my boss, my brother and my friend. May his soul rest in peace.
Wale Ojo, was his Media Consultant & Adviser.
