Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Thursday said the late former military governor of defunct Western Region, General Adeyinka Adebayo, who died on Wednesday morning, lived a fulfilled life worthy of emulation.
Governor Ambode, who spoke when he paid a condolence visit to the widow, Mrs. Dupe Adebayo, of the late nationalist at the family’s Lagos residence, said though Adebayo passed away on the eve of his 89th birthday, his life and times would continue to be celebrated by Nigerians.
He said the late general was totally committed to unifying the Yoruba nation, urging leaders in the region to strive to sustain his legacies.
Ambode said though his death had brought top leaders of the Yoruba nation together to his residence, it was more than a coincidence, but a greater call for those he left behind to protect the unity of the region.
His words: “On behalf of the people of Lagos State, I bring my deepest condolences to the family of a great leader of the Western Region, of a nationalist, of a part finder, of a God fearing man, a trail blazer that set this new set of Yoruba leaders in the right part, that we are able to come here not by coincidence, but the mere fact that he would ordinarily have been marking his 89th birthday today.
“So while we share with mama, this deep sense of loss, we also say congratulations that on a day like this there is a convergence of those that have gone through the school of General Adebayo to be able to come here and wish you well, wish the family well and also celebrate a life that is exemplary, that the younger ones like us have the joy to follow.”
He expressed optimism that Pa Adebayo’s death would unify the Yoruba nation more than ever before, a course which he spent the greater part of his life fighting for.
“If he had any last wish, he would have wanted this convergence here in his presence, but I know he is present with u here. The only thing we can do for him is to make that fundamental wish they’ve always had together in the last nine decades that he was alive, that people like us and the rest of our leadership will bring to fore the wishes that he ever had for the Yoruba race and the Nigeria nation,” the governor added.
Those present during the visit include chief of general staff, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe; national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu; former interim chairman of the APC, Bisi Akande; former governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba; former governor of Ekiti State and son of the deceased, Niyi Adebayo, and minister of solid minerals, Kayode Fayemi.
