February 16, (THEWILL) –Chief Ayo Adebanjo, who died on Friday, February, 14, 2025 inherited the mantle of Afenifere leadership on March 16, 2021 from Chief Reuben Famuyide Fasoranti.
While transferring the leadership to Adebanjo, Fasoranti eulogised Adebanjo as, “my good brother and friend, a politician of the Awolowo school of thought who worked so hard to keep Afenifere up in the times of the travails”.
President Bola Tinubu in his tribute on Friday, described Adebanjo “as a lawyer, statesman and politician, standing among the last of a generation of nationalists and independent heroes who shaped the foundation of our country.
“A devoted disciple of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, his contributions spanned political eras, from his role as Organising Secretary of the Action Group in the First Republic to his leadership in the Unity Party of Nigeria during the Second Republic.
“In moments of national crisis, Baba’s courage shone brightest. When democracy hung in the balance after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, he joined the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) as one of the leading voices against military dictatorship, helping to galvanise a movement that became the bedrock of our collective struggle to reclaim democratic governance.
“His unwavering commitment to truth and justice extended to my journey as a 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.
“Although our political paths diverged in later years, my respect and admiration for him never wavered. Until his death, I shared a deep personal bond with Baba Adebanjo; he was like a father figure.
According to former President Obasanjo, Chief Adebanjo had a highly successful career with selfless service rendered to his community, state and indeed, the entire nation.
He said, “Adebanjo’s commitment to enthroning democracy in our dear country, his tenacity in the face of daunting odds and mortal risk to his life is very common knowledge. These qualities mark him out as a courageous political leader and true patriot. Not surprisingly, he had come to be regarded as one of our most notable elder statesmen, who had an enviable track record of purposefulness, honesty and integrity to bear in promoting the cause of national unity.”
“As a democratically-elected President of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007, we both sometimes disagreed to agree to commit to regenerate and reposition our country to meet the hopes and aspirations of the Nigerian people and chart the course to our nation’s glorious future.”
“He had such an unpretentious personality! His thoughts, utterances and deeds were completely devoid of political partisanship. He had patriotism. Not surprisingly, he had come to be regarded as one of our most notable elder statesmen, who had an enviable track record of purposefulness, honesty and integrity to bear in promoting the cause of national unity.”
For the former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, the late Afenifere leader was a formidable force and a fearless fighter for justice, equity and an egalitarian society.
He said, “I can vividly recall the heroic role that Pa Adebanjo played in wresting power from the military and enthroning democratic governance in Nigeria. He was at the forefront of the fight against military dictatorship.
“It is on record that Pa Adebanjo spent his entire youthful days fighting against colonial rule; spent his middle age to fight against military dictatorship and his latter days to ensure that good governance, rule of law and democracy took firm roots in Nigeria.
In a quick tribute, the Ogun State chapter of the pan-Yoruba socio-political group described the late leader as “an indisputable Titan of the Obafemi Awolowo School of Politics.”
Giwa Niyi Osoba, Chairman and Ogbeni Wale Adedayo, Publicity Secretary of the group said, “Adebanjo was not just one of our leaders. He was a pillar of Afenifere, an organisation to which he devoted the better part of his life. Whatever achievements are credited to the government of the defunct Western Region under the able leadership of Awolowo, part of the credit goes to Adebanjo. He was an unwavering disciple of the late sage and dutifully carried out the party’s directives with the required discipline. He was not just a great Awoist, Adebanjo was a Yoruba patriot.
“Adebanjo’s Yoruba patriotism did not blind him to the inequity in Nigeria’s flawed Federal structure.”
Similar eulogies will be paid in the coming days to one of Nigeria’s finest patriots and politicians who had a robust sense of fairness, equity and justice in a country where to be addressed as a politician these days almost amounts to using a swear word.
As a political activist from the First Republic and a protégé of the first Premier of Western Nigeria, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, whose philosophy of progressive politics targeted at producing social and economic benefits for the citizenry, Adebanjo was a devoted ‘Awoist.’ His ideas, thoughts and actions were based on this ‘Awoist’ philosophy. He thus devoted his life to the service of his compatriots.
But how did he acquire all these attributes that stood him out of the maddening crowd of politicians all through his active years in political activism?
In a past newspaper interview, he stated that he had always taken part in politics out of conviction. “When I was in school, I was an avid reader of West African Pilot published by Nnamdi Azikiwe. There were many columnists, including Zik, who fired our zeal.” But all through his political life, Adebanjo never contested for any elective position. Why?
“Well, you see,” he answered in that interview, “ I was the pioneer organising secretary of the Action Group, when Chief Awolowo propounded the theory of good governance. That we could be better than the white colonialists and that if we gained independence, ‘this is what we will do and this is what is required of us.’ I worked so close to Chief Awolowo. I became so attached to his ways.
When he was asked that his critics accused him of being too rigid and uncompromising, he replied that, “the moment you compromise there will be no principle.”
Until his death, Adebanjo canvassed for the practice of true federalism whereby the federating units in the country are allowed to own and manage their resources. In recent political outings, he supported the restructuring of the country on the basis of true federalism.
In the 2023 General Election, for example, he stirred anger in the South-West when as leader of Afenifere, he joined forces with the Middle Belt Forum, the Pan Niger Delta Forum to support the candidacy of Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, whose candidacy, they believed, would redress the perceived political marginalisation of the South-East geopolitical zone in the current democratic dispensation.
It was for this same principled stand that he also supported the presidential ambition of Muhammadu Buhari in 2007, who promised to restructure the country if elected.
“We soon realised that the moment you established this country on purely federal principles as we had before independence, if they do federalism today, I do not care who is the president of this country,” he said, “But we soon learnt Buhari was not a man of his words. Nobody can take us for a ride again.”
When asked if he was ever tempted to change camps, he said, “There was no cause for it because there was a reason I was in Awos camp.” That camp he remained in thought, words and deeds until he breathed his last on Friday.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
