On Tuesday, April 10, the ebony black, handsome, youthful and energetic Chief Samuel Ayodele Adebanjo, one of the grandees of Nigerian politics turned 90. It is no exaggeration to say that he could be taken for 20 years younger than his age, maybe more. Nature has been so kind to this king of the boys who takes delight in being very friendly with young people, the age of his grandchildren. While many of his age mates are on their wheel chairs or are bedridden, the spritely Chief Adebanjo is still to be seen on the Ikoyi Bridge regularly jogging and walking in the mornings! It is a rare privilege.
Yet, this vigorous man, one of the oldies of Nigerian politics who has seen so much of its happenings for over 70 years, is, undoubtedly,a moving encyclopedia. For him, politics is his first, second and third love. As a young man, he identified Awo, who probably, still under 40, as his mentor and enrolled very early in the Awolowo school of politics. He is still in that school today, may be as a professor emeritus. Chief Adebanjo was with Awo in the formative years of the Action Group, the most formidable political machine that this country has ever seen. He is a grassroot political organizer who in the 50s served as the Organizing Secretary of the Action Group in Remo Division, Chief Awolowo’s home base where he cut his political teeth. As the Organizing Secretary, he was Chief Awo’s ear and nose, and obviously, a most trusted ally.
At a stage, in the 50s, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, following the example of the sage, enlisted for law studies in the UK. That was with a view to sharpening his tools for the political career to which he had committed his life. It was at this time that he met and married his most amiable wife, Chief(Mrs.) Christie Adebanjo from the notable Lawson family of Lagos and Togo. At nearly 87 years, she remains a paragon of beauty, a head turner! The duo make quite a pair in good taste, an enduring family life and have been blessed with a beautiful family and accomplished children.
Chief Ayo Adebanjo, it can be said, has been a war lord, a controversial figure, fighting all his life for what he believed in. He is a most predictable person and a conviction politician. If you want his wahala all you needed to do was to criticize Chief Awo and thunder will fall! His faith in Awo, from the beginning to the end, was implicit. He is a general of many wars and he has his scars all over his body to show for it. Even if you don’t like the chief you cannot but respect his doggedness, commitment, bravery and his never-say-die spirit. He is well kitted with his arsenal day and night. To his eternal glory, he was part of Chief Abraham Adesanya’s war cabinet which stood for the actualization of the MKO Abiola mandate which Babangida, recklessly annulled. It’s an infamy from which the general will never recover and for which history will be very hard on him.
In doing this tribute, I have found that it is hardly possible to write on a man who regularly stroked controversy and not get into one. Chief Adebanjo will go down in history as a controversial man, a rebel with a cause, full of sound and fury but always signifying something. And at 90, Chief Adebanjo, is not showing any signs of slowing down. He has, for many years, consistently, canvassed the need for a review of the centrist constitution handed down by the military which is at variance with the federal constitution which the founding fathers negotiated at independence as a basis for Nigerian unity.The military, in its do-gooder style, had imposed a suffocating central hold on Nigeria which prevails to this day. The chief has been in the vanguard for a change of this vestige of military governance. He was on the Nigerian Constitution Review Committee during the Obasanjo presidency. At about 86, he was a member of the Jonathan Constituent Assembly which also looked into the review of the Nigerian Constitution and the restructuring of the polity. He is probably, the most vociferous campaigner for the restructuring of Nigeria to achieve fairness, inclusiveness and proper management of the diversity of the country. With Chief Adebanjo, you always knew where he stands on any issue. He is a dogged fighter and a champion of the Yoruba cause within Nigeria. He is a good friend to have who never denies his friends. He is also a bold and ferocious opponent to contend with. Age has not whittled down his fighting spirit nor dulled his sense of purpose. He is a man of conviction who is totally consumed in any cause he lays his hands upon.
This writeup is meant to be a testimony to the life of this great man while he is still alive. Our history is replete with too many recognitions which came after death the most popular of which is probably that of Chief Emeka Ojukwu of Awo as “the best President Nigeria never had”. It is my pleasure to have the opportunity to congratulate this consummate fighter, this general of many wars during his life time. While I do not necessarily agree with every view and strategy of his, that does not dull my respect for his person in any way. Though, as far as I am aware he has not held any high political office for one day, he has been a Trojan for the good of Nigeria. Some of the greatest politicians of all times, like Mahatma Ghandi never held public office. The least one can say of Papa Adebanjo is that he has been consistent and constant. Indeed, his constancy transcends politics, family and personal relationships. In an environment in which loyalty is treated as a dirty word, Chief Adebanjo has made loyalty a virtue. They just don’t make them like that any more! Our politicians now shamelessly, sleep in one party and wake up in another. This is an era of political prostitution in which it is common for politicians to have a leg in one party and the other and their arms in different parties!
On the Nigerian political terrain he is one of the last men standing, a titan, a prodigy, unmistakably, one of the grandmasters of our politics. He has woken and slept the problem of the Nigerian nation, virtually, all his life. I claim no perfection for him but have no doubt that this man loves Nigeria but insists it will never realize its potentials unless it is structured on a platform of fairness and justice. From his youthful looks, one is tempted to say he can still, conveniently, put in another 20 years of service. But that’s in the hands of God. When the time comes for his epitaph to be written, it will surely be said of him that he ran a good race, that he did his best in the service of his people, and that he served his generation and his God.
For me this is the true mark of the success and accomplishment of any man.
- Adefulu Snr, MFR writes from Lagos.