Prominent Nigerians, including President Bola Tinubu, former presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Olusegun Obasanjo, and the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, have mourned the demise of a leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Pa Ayodele Adebanjo.
Adebanjo, an advocate of true federalism and restructuring, died at the age of 96 at his Lekki, Lagos State residence.
The family confirmed his death in a statement made available to Saturday PUNCH on Friday.
In a statement by him, President Tinubu said Nigeria had lost a political leader ‘whose decades of unwavering struggle for justice, democracy, and national unity left an indelible mark on our nation’s history’.
The President, while praising Adebanjo for his contributions to the entrenchment of democracy in Nigeria, said the elder statesman was one of the leading voices against military dictatorship, helping to galvanise a movement that became the bedrock of collective struggle to reclaim democratic governance.
President Tinubu said, “l’Though our political paths diverged in later years, my respect and admiration for him (Adebanjo) never wavered. Until his death, I shared a deep personal bond with Baba Adebanjo; he was like a father figure’.
On his part, Obasanjo described the deceased as a great man, a committed nationalist, an effective representative of his people, and an unpretentious personality.
Obasanjo, in a tribute made available to journalists by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, lamented that Adebanjo’s death was no doubt a huge loss not only to him, Ogun State but also to the country as a whole.
He said, ‘Looking back, Chief Adebanjo had a highly successful career with selfless service rendered to his community, state and, indeed, the entire nation. As a foundation member of the Action Group party, he will be remembered as a foremost nationalist and patriot who has given his best as an active community leader and an exemplary politician with integrity and one who has demonstrated that politics is an avenue not for mindless enrichment but for rendering faithful service to humanity.
‘Until his death, he fought with courage and tenacity to see to the restructuring of the Nigerian nation through which good governance based on democratic principles and practice and leading to unity in diversity, justice and equity, political stability, nationalism, popular participation, peace and security and socio-economic progress with strong leadership would be enshrined.
‘It is unfortunate that his dream to see this through couldn’t be actualised in his lifetime. Indeed, Chief Adebanjo’s contributions to the strengthening of our fledgling democracy will be missed by the entire nation’.
Also, Buhari described Adebanjo’s death as a loss for the nation.
In a statement by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, on Friday, Buhari said, “Late Chief Adebanjo was one of those rare politicians who straddled the worlds of the legal profession, politics, and socio-cultural activism’.
Obi described Adebanjo as a great pillar in the struggle for a new Nigeria.
He appreciated Adebanjo for supporting his presidential campaign, saying his endorsement was not merely a political gesture but a testament to his belief in the ideals of equity and inclusiveness.
‘His (Adebanjo) death is a profound loss to Nigeria and to all who cherish justice, equity, and truth. As the leader of Afenifere, Pa Adebanjo remained a steadfast advocate for a united and progressive Nigeria. His unwavering commitment to fairness and his relentless pursuit of a better nation have left an indelible mark on our country’s history’, Obi said.
Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his Ogun State counterpart, Dapo Abiodun also mourned the late Afenifere leader, describing him as a promoter of peace, a man of principle, and one of the most prominent and unwavering disciples of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
Aiyedatiwa said, ‘Throughout his lifetime, Pa Adebanjo demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the values of democracy, justice, and equality in Nigeria’.
Governor Abiodun said Adebanjo was ‘one of the few Nigerians whose life embodied the story of Nigeria from the struggle for independence to the post-independence era straddling military rule and the return to democratic rule, together with all the joys and pains of those epochal moments’.
Former governor of Ogun State, Senator Gbenga Daniel said Adebanjo was of the old ‘Awo stock’ in Yoruba ethos, whose ability to stand firm on his convictions and his strength of purpose for whatever he believed in was exemplary.
Similarly, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, likened Adebanjo’s death to the fall of a mighty Iroko tree.
Makinde, who described Adebanjo’s death ‘as the end of an era’, commended the late Afenifere leader for being a great nationalist, federalist, patriot and true democrat, who gave his all for Nigeria to be a better country.
Also, the leader of Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, mourned Adebanjo, describing him as a brother, comrade-in-arms and political associate for upwards of 70 years.
Fasoranti said Adebanjo was ‘a patriot par excellence, his contributions during the struggle for Nigeria’s independence as well as during struggles for the restoration and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria shall remain indelible in the annals of Nigeria’s history’.
He noted that Adebanjo was an unrelenting ideologue who fought for many noble causes under the auspices of Afenifere where he was once the Acting Leader.
‘Chief Adebanjo was a custodian of positive values that define progressive politics in Nigeria. As a disciple of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, he was committed to the principles of good governance, rule of law, and the protection of the fundamental rights of Nigerians. His advocacy for the restructuring of Nigeria was borne out of the conviction that only a truly federal Nigeria, where justice and fairness are supreme, could fulfill the aspirations of the people’, Fasoranti said.
In his condolence message, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams described Adebanjo’s death as a monumental loss, saying the Yoruba leader was an ‘Iroko’, whose voice remained prominent across Nigeria.
On her part, Joe Okei-Odumakin, the widow of the late national publicity secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, said Adebanjo’s absence would be deeply felt, not just within the Yoruba nation, but across Nigeria and beyond.
