There are some people who should not die, because of their goodness, their humanism, the great impact that they make within the community, family and sometimes, the nation at large. The death of good men or women diminishes us, a part of us leaves with them, but what endures ultimately is the lesson of their example. Two of such good men departed one after the other, within the last two weeks in the South West of Nigeria: Oba Adeleke Adelekan Idowu Basibo, the Alaperu of Iperu, on February 5, 2025, and Pa Ayo Adebanjo, journalist, lawyer, nationalist, politician, activist, Afenifere leader, Awoist, and patriot, on February 14. The respective families have formally announced their transition to the Great Beyond. Both illustrious sons and titans of Ogun State extraction were well known to me. I feel a deep sense of personal loss, and hereby join others in commiserating with their families, the people of Remoland and Ijebuland, the people of Ogun State, the Afenifere, Obidients and everyone in the larger Nigerian community who was privileged to have encountered their person, influence, and benefitted from the grace of uncommon measure which the Almighty bestowed upon both leaders and which they used, at various levels for the benefit of mankind and for the elevation of the human spirit.
There can be no one involved in Nigerian public affairs, politics, and society and particularly activism that would not know Chief Adebanjo.
For more than 70 years, he was an active and colossal presence in Nigerian politics, first at the regional level as a disciple of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, as a chieftain of the Action Group and its successor political parties and at the national level, Adebanjo was one of the strongest advocates for a just, equitable and fair society anchored on the principles of federalism and progressive politics. He shunned elective offices and political appointments, he was however, a loyal party man. He remained loyal to Awoism till the end, and to Awo in life and in death, and the principles that the sage espoused. Such level of loyalty is uncommon in these parts; such single-minded devotion is rare. Pa Adebanjo has told his own story in great detail in an autobiography titled “Telling It As It Is” (Ibadan: Bookcraft, 2018, 257 pp.) which was presented publicly on the occasion of his 90th birthday on April 10, 2018 in his home-town of Isanya-Ogbo in the Ijebu Division of Ogun State. I was the official book reviewer at the occasion. I wrote then, as follows, inter alia:
“Born on April 10, 1928, barely six years after the Clifford Constitution and the first legislative elections in Nigeria, Adebanjo has lived through the finest and ugliest moments of Nigerian history: the constitutional processes, the struggle for independence, party politics leading to independence and after, the civil war, military rule, return to democracy, the struggle for the protection of democracy and civilian rule, and the bigger struggle of ensuring the survival and development of Nigeria. He joined the struggle early in 1943, as a Zikist, as a follower of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe but in 1951, he became a member of the youth wing of the Action Group, and a mentee and political disciple of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. This became the defining moment of his life and 67 years later, he has remained faithful to the ideals of that political party and the ideology/political philosophy of his mentor – that is Awoism.
“As Adebanjo turns 90, what is to be celebrated is not necessarily his longevity, even if there may be lessons to be learnt from his life habits – he maintains a rigorous exercise regimen, a daily routine we are told which includes aerobic sessions, he neither smokes nor drinks, and for more than 60 years he has remained married to the same woman- but there are no hard and fast rules about longevity perhaps – some alcoholics live up to hundred, and some chronic womanisers outlive their own hubris- longevity, if I may essay a religious tone, is a matter of grace. Adebanjo has lived a true life of blessing and amazing grace.
“In 1962, during the travails of the Action Group and Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s trial for treasonable felony, Adebanjo was charged for felony, along with 30 others. He had to flee to Ghana. He has been detained more than once for his political beliefs, but this has not altered his resolve. Following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election, which was won by Chief MKO Abiola of the then Social Democratic Party, Adebanjo was one of the chieftains of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). He joined protests, stood at the barricades and made his voice heard. Members of the democratic coalition and other groups in civil society were shot at, harassed, humiliated and their family members were intimidated. Used to the dangers of a political life in a dangerous society, Adebanjo’s resolve remains unshaken, even in the winter season of his life.
“When he fled into exile in 1962, his father was arrested, detained and rough-handled by the state. Many of Adebanjo’s colleagues have died in the course of the struggle. Some moved to the other side of the fence. Others adjusted in later life. The very essence of Chief Adebanjo’s politics lies in his consistency, his unwavering commitment to ideas rather than opportunism, his courage in the face of fire and intimidation, the life of sacrifice that he has lived, and his loyalty to Awo and Awoism. On this last score, he may in fact be described as the last of the original Awoists.
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“This emphasis on ideology, party politics, and Awoism is important, as an entry point into the interrogation of Chief Ayo Adebanjo’s politics. The kind of post-politics reality that has developed in Nigeria since the early 2000s has been a politics that is not driven by any ideology or principles or core beliefs, but by the desperate search for power by any vehicle possible. For this reason, there are many politicians in Nigeria today who cannot effectively articulate what exactly they believe in or stand for, and there are many of them who in less than a decade have used up to about five political platforms of disconcertingly contradictory impressions. This is probably the reason Chief Ayo Adebanjo has stayed away in the last few years from direct party politics. In 1951, he joined the Action Group, in the Second Republic, he was a member of the Unity Party of Nigeria, in the 90s, he was a member of the progressive democratic coalition; with the return to party politics in 1998, he was a member of the Alliance for Democracy which was more or less an Awoist party. When the AD seemed to have transmuted, or well, to have been compromised and something called the ACN emerged, Adebanjo kept his distance and functioned more as a leader of the Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, which till date seems more committed to the Awoist ideology….”
This principled stand, this consistency, was ever more evident during the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, and also in the politics of the Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-political group. Disagreements within the Afenifere led to Chief Ayo Adebanjo leading his own core group within the body, while Pa Reuben Fasoranti led the other group. Chieftains of Afenifere often insist that the body was never factionalised, but it was obvious that Awo’s group had broken up into two different tendencies. Adebanjo never played pack-politics.
He was never afraid to stand alone. He was a man of courage and he found many admirers and followers for his convictions. In the lead up to the 2023 elections, for example, he supported the candidacy of Peter Obi, Presidential candidate of the Labour Party. He could not be persuaded to support his own kinsman, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (APC) because he was convinced that it was the turn of Igbos to produce a Nigerian President in the spirit of equity and justice. Tinubu won and emerged as President but that did not stop Adebanjo from remaining an Obidient, as Obi’s supporters are known, till the very end of his life.
He could not be intimidated by parochial, ethnic sentiments. Pa Adebanjo was a friend of the media. He was an interviewer’s delight and he was one of our regular go-to resource persons at Arise News. He had many friends among the younger generations. He was everyone’s Papa, always battle-ready to hold robust discussions on national issues, either through phone calls, media appearances or press statements. One of his younger colleagues in politics whom he had criticized frontally in his 2018 autobiography once advised him to go and take a rest from activism. It is to his eternal credit that he remained active on the public stage until his walking stick failed him. It is sad, however, that the Nigeria of his dream did not materialize in his lifetime. His death on February 14, a day devoted to love and loving, is an important message that he has left behind.
Alaperu Idowu Basibo, Apekun-Joye, Odoru V spent nearly 23 years on the throne of his ancestors. By March 30, 2025, he would have spent 23 years as the 21st Alaperu of Iperu Remo in Ogun State. I was his biographer – a book titled “Alaperu: The Crown and The Glory” (Lagos: The Sales Brothers, 2022, 203 pp.). What makes his death even more shocking was that a few days earlier, Kabiyesi and I had spoken on the phone. He wanted me to speak with someone on a particular matter and he had said I was too far away; I should try to keep in touch more often. When I received news of his passing a few days later, I kept asking Prince Bola Basibo, his son, whether this was meant to be a joke, because I had spoken with the monarch recently and he was in very high spirits. It wasn’t a joke. It was true. He was 67. Death is the most treacherous fact of life. Its finality reminds us of the finiteness of our mortality. The late Alaperu was a cosmopolitan man, well-cultured, committed to his people, and progressive. He was a modern monarch who had a Facebook page, and an Instagram page and who most actively supported the younger generation through a group called Iperu Millennials, a network of young men and women of Iperu-Akesan extraction who were encouraged by the town’s royal father to identify with their roots. They include the Sales Brothers, Oyinkan Fawehinmi, Tobi Fletcher (Ofada Boy), Olumide Soyombo, Christina Soname and a host of others. He was also a friend of the elderly members of the community whom he actively encouraged to invest in the town and promote it, notably the Odole Oodua, Sir Kessington A. Adebutu. Prince Dapo Abiodun, Modele Sarafa-Yusuf, and all the friends that the traditional ruler attracted to the community, too many to be counted.
Many Yoruba communities over the years have since added to Ifa consultations, and other considerations, a basic requirement that royal houses can only recommend for the throne, princes that are educated. Oba Basibo was a good example of having a man who can function in a modern setting as a traditional ruler. He was a graduate of The Polytechnic Ibadan, and the University College, London where he studied Marine Economics. He also obtained a Diploma in Shipping and Export Management from the Yaba College of Technology. He had risen through the ranks at the Customs and Excise Department and was an established socialite in Lagos, looking forward to further advancement in his chosen career as a Customs Officer before his family came to drag him to become a traditional ruler. It was an assignment that he eventually accepted with a determination to serve his people. In more than 22 years, Alaperu Basibo transformed the community from a rural settlement into a thriving investment destination, located within 50 miles from Lagos, an intersection between Abeokuta, Shagamu, and other towns such as Ogere, and Ode Remo. Kabiyesi Alaperu leaves behind a legacy of exponential growth and a standard that would be a source of inspiration and a challenge to whoever succeeds him from any of the other ruling houses – Amororo or Agbonmagbe in accordance with the Alaperu of Iperu Chieftaincy Declaration Law of 1958, and Section 20(1) of the Chiefs Law Cap 20 Law of Ogun State of Nigeria, 1978.
The late Alaperu believed that traditional rulers should be given a role to play in the governance process and given their closeness to the people, they can help maintain peace and stability within communities by resolving land disputes or other matters of potential conflict. “The Government may hand over instruments of office to traditional rulers but it is the people who choose their kings”, he said. He did not believe in the idea of traditional rulers getting involved in partisan politics. But he was an apostle of federalism and the restructuring of Nigeria, better still a regional government system as in the 1963 Constitution and a leadership recruitment process that throws up capable and trustworthy persons who can move the country forward. In a society where disco-dancing, oshomo moneybags have found their ways onto traditional stools, and their conduct has become a subject of derision, Alaperu Basibo will be remembered for carrying himself with much dignity and grace. Always well turned out, he had a kind word for every one that came across him. He brought respect to the Alaperu throne. He was a compulsive bridge-builder. He will be greatly missed. It now remains for the kingmakers in council – the Osugbo, Lopere and the Odi – to ensure that succession to the throne is rancour-free, and that the peace and stability that the late Alaperu restored to their “once warring community” and has left behind as part of his legacy is sustained.
Death is a debt that all living things owe, and which they must pay when called to the Celestial Lodge above. We are told in Psalm 89 48: “No one can live forever, all will die. No one can escape the power of the grave.” Ecclesiastes 8:8: says: “None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle.” Knowing this to be true about death, the public’s number one enemy, we must as a people of faith accept the fact of our own mortality, “momento mori”, and take solace in the worthy life of impact and illumination that Pa Adebanjo and Alaperu Basibo lived.
Both men deserve to be celebrated and remembered. Their example should inspire the living. Thank you, sirs, for your friendship.
Goodbye and goodnight….
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