The death of Chief Lam Adesina has robbed Nigeria of one its revered elder statesmen. Another of Nigeria’s devoted defenders of democracy is sadly gone.
—Mr Walter Carrington, Former US Ambassador to Nigeria
Alhaji Lam Adesina (20 January 1939 – 11 November 2012)
I never met the former Governor of Oyo State Lam Adesina, but I noticed the fact that *Baba Lam was a prominent newspaper columnist and an erudite Awoist. I read his column years before he became a governor. One day, he made a tiny comment on someone close to me. I was surprised to discover that he knew my extended family by what he wrote.
In those days, one of his predecessors was fond of calling me by my family name, to the extent that I became sheepishly shy with embarrassment in public. I wanted him to be informal and call me by my first name. Somehow, Baba Lam’s predecessor became my senior platonic friend.
Sadly, Baba Lam, 73, died on November 11 and was buried at his Ibadan residence in Oyo State. If I had met him, I would have discussed why Ibadan is too big to remain a state capital since it is the third largest city 'in Africa after Cairo and Johannesburg’. Ibadan should have left Oyo State decades ago.
Of course, the disadvantage of state creation is that most new states do not really develop, but enrich local government chairmen, and state officials while the masses continue to wallow in abject poverty because the local authorities do not work properly in Nigeria. A lot needs to be done at the grassroots level. The local authorities are behind time. We need a collective effort to make them work as they should. The chairmen are not accountable to anybody. If you could count millions of cash every month, and there is nobody to stop you from spending the rest of the money after paying teachers and staff salaries, what would you do?
Nevertheless, I admired Baba Lam for his open door policy. Personally, I did not know of other governors who operated this policy during Baba Lam's tenure. Did you? The truth is bitter. Even with appointments, they were unlikely to attend to you. Who are you? Lawmakers were just as bad. The average legislator saw himself/herself as a demigod who must be worshipped. The amount spent to keep lawmakers in the legislature was enough keep beggars off the streets.
Baba Lam lived a modest lifestyle. He did not crave for material things. He never forgot his roots, and neither was he power drunk with fame and authority. He died after a battle with diabetes. Rest In Peace.
*Baba means father in Yoruba. It could also mean father figure or elder. Culturally, I tend to call Yoruba men who are old enough to be my father ‘Baba’ in order to show respect.
Adieu, Egbon Lam!
Friend of the masses, 'Great Lam' bows out
How Lam prevented second civil war in Nigeria
Oyo Declares Seven Days of Mourning as Lam Adesina is Buried
Dr Olusola Saraki Dies at 79
Dr Olusola Saraki (17 May 1933 – 14 November 2012)
The foremost politician in Kwara State Dr Abubarkar Olusola Saraki, 79, died yesterday after a battle with cancer. Saraki was a medical doctor cum politician and the godfather of politics in Kwara State, Nigeria. He was also a senate leader in the Second Republic.
Saraki aka Baba Oloye formed a political empire in Kwara State. He was the founder of Allied Congress of Nigeria Party (ACNP) in 2011. His son, a senator, Dr Bukola Saraki is the former Governor of Kwara state. His daughter, former senator Gemisola Saraki contested and lost the 2011 gubernatorial election in Kwara State to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed.
My Father Died Of Cancer — Olaolu Saraki
NTA: Late Yemi Ogunyemi
…So, I became a trained announcer, which made it easy for me to be a presenter on television. So, when I went to NTA, I had friends who were inviting me to come and do programmes there. The late Yemi Ogunyemi, was a producer in NTA; he invited me to help him present his programmes. I began presenting programmes like Music Innovations, and Old Soldiers on NTA and I was being paid money.
—Ayinde Soaga
Last October, I was shocked to read veteran newscaster Ayinde Soaga’s interview in The Sun. When did 'Bros' Yemi Ogunyemi die? Not much was said of his demise.
I will remember Mr Ogunyemi as a man who was able to say the truth and damn the consequences because I once interviewed him, and it was an interview that led to a query. He was ‘summoned’ by powerful disgruntled elements.
Luckily, he was not demoted or sacked for revealing too much about NTA in a newspaper interview. I had to thank God. Years later, he became the General Manager of NTA, Oyo. Mr Ogunyemi was the presenter of Enibalaya TV quiz. According to Dictatorship and The Press, he was once 'jailed without trial' by the military government for cracking a joke on Enibalaya.
