OPINION: GENERAL ADEYINKA ADEBAYO; DEMISE OF AN APOSTLE OF PEACE

The death of General Robert Adeyinka Adebayo father of Richard Adeniyi Adebayo came as rude shock. Why? This baba was a reference point and always ready to lend his voice and render useful and meaningful advice to issues that concern Yoruba in particular and Nigeria in general.

I had my first personal encounter with this sage and military colossus in 1993 when I was the manager in charge of promotions of KSA Holdings. King Sunny Ade was organizing his foundation (KSA foundation) and I was at the same time gathering materials for a book I was writing on him.

General Adebayo was a member of this foundation. I had an interview with him which I copied verbatim below:-

“Sunny is a nice man who respects his elders. He is humble and generous. Though I met him by accident, I have not regretted my association with him.

Ideally, I am not supposed to be a member of his foundation being his elder, because a foundation is supposed to outlive its founder, but as his ardent fan and one of the people that propped up his musical career, I don’t have other choice than to make him realize his dream.

I met him through a friend, Late Chief Adeleke Osijinrin in 1967, few days before the Nigerian civil war. I had just lost my Dad and we were looking for a juju artiste to play at the funeral ceremony after Tunde Nightingale told us of his in ability to play for us, because of his earlier commitments.

This friend of mine enthusiastically told me about this new juju sensation in Lagos called Sunny Ade, we contacted him and he played for us at Iyin – Ekiti and we all enjoyed his music.

Sunny did one thing after the show that I had never experienced before. He came to me with some of his band boys in the morning and offered me all the money they made. He said the money was their own contribution to my father’s funeral!

I was surprised by this generosity, I noticed that he came to this party in a chartered bus, so I called one of my friends who was an accountant with SCOA motors and handed the money over to him. I instructed him to give Sunny a bus when they got back to Lagos. That was how he got his first bus.”

Why did they tag him Owanbe Governor? As could be deducted in this interview, General Adebayo was a socialite and one can hardly blame him on this. The Western Region in which he took over as the second military governor in 1966 had just gone through a political turmoil.

This was the “WETIE” era; the period of bonfire when properties of political rivals were been burnt, when human lives were not worth a dime

Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was the political leader of the region, had been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on charges of treasonable felony by Alhaji Tafawa Balewa led Federal government. This did not go down well with his followers.

The premier of the Region, Sir Ladoke Akintola had been swept off by the first military coup of January 15, 1966. Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi, who came after Akintola was later assassinated along with the military head of state, General Aguiyi Ironsi in a counter coup of July 1966 in Ibadan the capital of Western Region! Tension was high. Some of those who survived the imbroglio were thrown into jail. This was the period of Jackals.

General Adeyinka Adebayo brought hope. He brought joy. He brought peace. He needed to reach out to all the warring parties. This he did successfully in a place hitherto referred to as “Wild – Wild – West”. This made him a regular patron at social ceremonies. The tag “Owanbe” could be translated as “Was he present at the party? And the answer: “Owanbe” he was present!

General Adeyinka Adebayo had played his own role and he is probably giving accounts of his stewardship now. Adieu the ever present Governor; peace maker Baba Niyi, Baba Yoruba, our veteran war hero!

LEAN ON ME: DEAR AUNTY MEG

Dear Aunty Meg,

I want you to help me out of this my present predicament. A couple had just packed to our neighborhood. The wife happened to be my former girl friend whom I lost contact with when I left my home town several years ago. I am happily married but my wife travels a lot. She is an international trader.

This lady took advantage of this and always visited me during my lonely period. I won’t deceive you, I slept with her the last time she came visiting. I don’t want to cheat on my wife again. What should I do?

--- Tee Jay

Tee Jay,

Sleeping with another man’s wife is a sin against God and an offence punishable under the penal code of the land. You should put a stop to this illicit affair. If everyone is sleeping with his/her former lover, what would the world turn to? What would be your reaction if you suddenly catch your wife sleeping with her former lover?

You are the man; let the woman see reasons why you should stop this adulterous act. You need to pray for forgiveness and the courage to stop the illicit affair. God will help you.

---- Aunty Meg

SWIFT DR. LAZARUS

My husband, Lazarus, was an advertisement executive officer in a media house, while I sold provision materials and toiletries in a shop near our house. He lost his job through what I gathered later on to be due to his fraudulent actions. Having nothing to do again, he joined me in the shop.

He was the one that prompted me to join the health team of our church. In this team, we had trained health workers who treated church members and majored in child delivery. I soon learned the nitty – gritty of child delivery.

My husband had mis–informed the people in our area that he was a medical doctor, and that his wife was a nurse. They started bringing their pregnant women for delivery. We became popular and money kept coming in. He later abandoned me in the shop and went to rent a bungalow and erected a clinic signpost in front of the building. He said I was a thorn in his flesh. The reason being that I always taunted him with the fake life he was living. “Dr. Lazarus my foot!”

“Laz, you know, you are not a medical doctor. Why are you deceiving the people? You may end up in jail if the truth is known. Besides, our church members had been grumbling about your deceit…” Jealous woman. I know you are not happy about my progress. It is you and your family members that would go to jail, not me…” We would go on and on. He would shout me down and threatened to beat me up.

The bubble burst when a lady died during child birth in his clinic. Her family did not take it lying low with him. They got him arrested. The police requested for his certificates. He had none; therefore he could not produce any. They milked him dry. He spent close to six months in detention. We eventually rallied round and got him off the hook. He had no other option than to close down the fake clinic.

Shame could not allow him move freely in the community again. He left me and the children and relocated to another part of the city. He established a school and named it “Dr. Lazarus International School”. He sold a dummy to the people that he had PhD in Education. On hearing this, parents started withdrawing their children from the existing schools. They were registering them at Dr. Lazarus International School.

Nemesis eventually caught up with him when it was time to register students for final examination. He had boasted more than what he could handle. Pride could not allow him to approach the schools around him for guidance on the registration procedures. His school was not registered. He was still ruminating on what to do when the registration period expired. Therefore, he could not register the students. Unfortunately for him, an Uncle of one of the students was a top official in the State’s Ministry of Education. This man miffed with what happened did his investigation and realized that my husband was a fraudulent person.

Expectedly, Lazarus could not produce the registration fees he collected from the students. That was how the school was shamefully closed down and my husband ended up in the police net again.

As I am writing this, I have relocated to my home town. The shame was too much. I am thinking of divorcing Lazarus. He had got another woman. It was this lady that came to inform us about his present ordeal. Can you imagine the effrontery!