By Bisi Olawunmi
Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Afenifere leader who died, aged 96, and last of the original Awoists, was a vivacious, joyous soul. He was a zestful political warrior who embraced political combat with gusto.
In his usual ebullience, he embraced death and even humorously cast the news headline for the media on his imminent passage: “Ayo Adebanjo, leader of Afenifere, the controversial man, is gone”. He had added: “He last spoke with his daughter”. It was his last video chat.
For a man who preached fairness, equity and love for a united Nigeria, it was symbolic that he took his last bow on February 14, 2025, Valentine’s Day, a day humanity celebrates love.
I first met Mr. Ayo Adebanjo, then ebony black handsome lawyer, as a village child in Okelamuren, Ogbo community, near Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State when he made a triumphant homecoming on his return from England in 1961.
The then 33-year-old lawyer rode into the village in the same car with Chief (Mrs) H.I.D. Awolowo. It was a glorious day for us villagers. We, the children, crowded the slow-moving car as it waltzed its way to the village square, for a glimpse of this illustrious son of the soil just returned from ‘ilu Oyinbo’ (the White man’s land).
In those days, we village children used to wave at any aeroplane passing over our village, asking the passengers, in Ijebu dialect to help us greet our relations in ‘Ilu Oyinbo’!! A childhood blissful ignorance!
We got heightened excitement when we found out that the lady who rode in the car with him was the wife of the legendary AWO! Mythical Awo!! My maternal grandmother, Olori Adejoke Adebambo, wife of Ilamuren of Okelamuren, Oba Julius Adebambo, referred to Ayo Adebanjo as ‘omo Bada’ (son of Bada), a Lagos-based, successful goldsmith.
Chief Ayo Adebanjo inherited his handsomeness and sartorial elegance from his father, who was always resplendently dressed, with a long gold chain. Chief Ayo Adebanjo was committed to his local Ogbo community, comprising 11 villages (Ogbo mokanla). His country home, a compact, elegant bungalow built on a landscaped expanse of land, in the centre of Ogbo community, straddles Isanya and Okelamuren villages.
He was the Asiwaju of Ibido-Ogbo, the Baba Oba of Okelamuren, Grand Patron of Okelamuren Progressive Union (OPU) and leader of Ogbo Christian community. For decades, he hosted the Ogbo community members in Lagos to an annual new year party in his Lagos residence on the second Sunday of every January. He paid his tithe and regularly packaged money for the local clergy at Saint Phillips Anglican church, Isanya-Ogbo. On one of my visits to the country home, I witnessed him doling out two envelopes of money to the assistant pastor of his home Church. After the pastor left, I asked Baba why at age 95 he was still giving out money. He smiled, pointing out that as Church leader, there were some expectations of him, adding that even his wife, also in her 90s, made similar donations. What a devotion! As is the tradition with Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, as Afenifere Leader, hosted the organization’s meetings at his Isanya-Ogbo country home, usually under a canopy provided for the occasion, with entertainment sponsored by various groups. At such meetings, where he presided, Chief Adebanjo stamped his authority, as the man in charge. Meetings must follow procedure, as laid out in the agenda. If you got up to speak on item 6 while discussion was on item 4, he shuts you up, mid-sentence. Also, you don’t go back to an item that had been treated, he would dismiss you as absent-minded, inattentive and a time waster. Some did not like the brusque manner, but to him, meetings must be ordered business. Whoever interacted with Chief Ayo Adebanjo saw him as a Strong Man! Strong in intellectual articulation and elocution, a strong, robust physique, strong vocally in his emphatic tone and very, very strong in his convictions. With him, there is no ambivalence, no ambiguity – he takes a reasoned stand and sticks with it – his last unequivocal stand being his endorsement of Peter Obi of Labour Party for president in the 2023 presidential election, based on justice and equity. It turned out to be his last political battle. With Bola Ahmed Tinubu as presidential candidate of the All-Progressives Party (APC), a large section of Yorubas went into ethnic mode to pillory the Afenifere leader for supporting an Igbo against a fellow Yoruba. Some members of Afenifere left to form a splinter group that endorsed Tinubu for president. Chief Ayo Adebanjo was the target of a bruising campaign of calumny to which he usually responded with infectious, boisterous aplomb in stoutly defending the logic of his stand on equity among Nigeria’s tripod of North, West and East to the presidency. When Peter Obi, the one they said had no structure on the ground, scored the landmark upset victory of defeating Tinubu, the Lagos Landlord in his Lagos domain, in the presidential election, the opposition went for broke in the virulence of their attacks on Chief Adebanjo. Nothing was spared in the demonization of the old political warhorse. One character, in a social media post that went viral, even claimed Chief Ayo Adebanjo was half Igbo, that his mother was Igbo!!! Imagine the audacity of that blatant lie. Of course, Chief Ayo Adebanjo’s mother was Yoruba, of Ijebu stock. I had raised the issue with Baba at his Isanya-Ogbo country home, that we should counter this big lie. But he had told me, with a wry smile, “Bisi, leave them alone. It is not worth it”. Days later, I had an appointment with a Professor of Ophthalmology in Lagos who repeated the lie of Chief Adebanjo not being a full-blooded Yoruba because his mother was Igbo. I tried to correct the misinformation, but she was not convinced, telling me why it was not refuted. But my greatest shock was on Saturday, February 15, 2025, the day after the passing on of Chief Adebanjo, when at Ede, where I live, people gathered at the vendor’s place in Oke Gada while discussing the late Afenifere leader’s last political stand also said he supported his kinsman Obi because his mother was Igbo! It then dawned on me, the gravity of the menace posed by the purveyors of fake news, and why it must be tackled by the government, with the urgency and severity of sanctions it deserves. If someone can brazenly peddle such a lie about a national figure like Chief Ayo Adebanjo, what can they not publish about us regular folks? The 2023 elections, which triggered the lie about Chief Adebanjo’s maternal nativity, also drew editorial attacks. Three days to the gubernatorial election, I had written a piece captioned ‘The Igbo & the battle for Lagos’, published in many newspapers, including The Guardian and The Nigerian Tribune, both on March 16, 2023. In that write-up, I had, among others, stated: “Whipping up Yoruba ethnic sentiments against the Igbo portrays the APC as a drowning party seeking any straw to cling on. It is a manifestation of the desperation of Tinubu and the APC, apparently destabilized by the Obidients’ phenomenon. Surprisingly, on the same day the write-up was published, the Tinubu media gladiators published a counter in The Nation newspaper, which did not publish the article itself. Instead of responding to the points raised, the surrogate writer, Ayodele Ola Daniels, described the write-up as ‘’malicious, malevolent analyses’’. However, it was a manifestation of their obsession with Chief Ayo Adebanjo that they implied that he sponsored the write-up by noting that: “After all, Olawunmi’s kinsman, mentor and sponsor, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, endorsed Peter Obi in the presidential election”. Then the clincher: “Pa Adebanjo is not known to have won any election anywhere in his life! ‘’. This is what had confounded critics of Chief Ayo Adebanjo over the years, how despite his not having occupied any of those lofty, aphrodisiac, public offices like minister, senator or governor, he had, by strength of character, attained prominent public visibility and earned respect for his articulate position on issues, from restructuring to a united one Nigeria. He had only been a pioneer organizing secretary of the Action Group in the 1950s. One concedes that Tinubu’s thunder in Abeokuta – the Emilokan battle cry – was seen by many as tantamount to committing political hara-kiri, yet despite the odds he still triumphantly clinched the presidency. But the question arises: after the victory, where is the beef? Back then in 2023, Daniels had assured us that “Tinubu’s presidency will usher in a new, brighter, more prosperous, stable, secure and United Nigeria,’’ and that “The Bisi Olawunmis of this world would have a long, inconsolable winter ahead.’’. Well, almost two years of the Tinubu Presidency, prosperity and security remain elusive and millions of Nigerian Bisi Olawunmis, nationwide, are experiencing inconsolable, harsh economic winter!! Chief Ayo Adebanjo opposed Tinubu’s presidential bid on the principle of equity and often said it was not a declaration of war, which was why he visited Tinubu when he had health challenges before the election. This gesture was lost on the Tinubu boys. However, despite the irreverent Tinubu political gladiators, among the glowing tributes to Chief Ayo Adebanjo, I found the one by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (a.k.a. Emilokan) quite gratifying for the humility in publicly acknowledging the pivotal role of Chief Ayo Adebanjo, as acting chairman of the Alliance for Democracy party, in getting him elected as Governor of Lagos state in 1999, a position that launched his political trajectory. “His (Adebanjo) unwavering commitment to truth and justice extended to my journey as governorship candidate in 1999. Baba Adebanjo’s steadfast support was instrumental in my election as Governor of Lagos State under the platform of the Alliance for Democracy. Tinubu had added: “Until his death, I shared a deep personal bond with Baba Adebanjo; he was like a father figure. Those Tinubu laudatory words about Chief Ayo Adebanjo, “unwavering commitment to justice ‘’ played out in 1999 in commendation but played out in 2023 in condemnation!! Chief Ayo Adebanjo, a man of politics without bitterness, died on February 14 – Valentine’s Day- a day of showing amity, which hopefully may create a pathway to restoring harmony to Afenifere, the umbrella Yoruba body he led with passion and dedication. Chief Ayo Adebanjo lived a frank, unpretentious and fulfilling life. He harped on life’s transient nature and had always jokingly reminded people of his imminent passage. He used to say: Ayo Adebanjo ti se ti e, o ku siyin lowo (Ayo Adebanjo has done his beat, it is left for others to carry on). He ran a good race and ended well. He left a legacy of political fidelity to justice, equity and a principled stand in furtherance of Nigerian brotherhood. Dr. Bisi Olawunmi is a Senior Lecturer, Adeleke University, Ede, and former Washington Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Email: olawunmibisi@yahoo.com.
