The late Secretary-General of the National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Dr. Lateef Adegbite, was laid to rest in his Abeokuta hometown yesterday amid eulogies and deep feelings of sense of loss from President Goodluck Jonathan, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saa’d Mohammed Abubakar, Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State and his Lagos State counterpart, Mr Babatunde Fashola(SAN), among others.
President Jonathan in a condolence message called Adegbite a bridge builder while Sultan Abubakar, Obasanjo, Amosun and Fashola described him as an icon and a patriot who invested his time, energy and resources toward uplifting mankind.
Adegbite who ,until his death on Friday, was the Baba Adini and Seriki of Egbaland was buried in his private residence at Onikolobo, Abeokuta, Ogun State, after a brief jannazah (Islamic burial rites) led by the Sultan and the Chief Imam of Egbaland, Alhaji Liad Orunsolu.
His remains encased in a silver colour casket and draped in clothes bearing Arabic inscriptions and designs of the Holy Kabba, arrived his compound at 3:35pm in a Mercedes hearse marked TOS 7.
The arrival of the body elicited a spontaneous chanting of “Allahu Akbar,” from the large number of sympathisers, friends and relations who gathered in and around the compound.
He was lowered into the grave at 3:56pm.
At the burial were Governors Amosun and Fashola, the Sultan of Sokoto and President of the NSCIA, Abubaker Sa’ad, former President Obasanjo, former Head of Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan and former Governor of the old Western State, Brig-Gen Oluwole Rotimi in whose administration Adegbite served as the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and later, Attorney – General and Commissioner of Justice.
Also present were former Ogun State governors, Chief Olusegun Osoba and Gbenga Daniel, Senator Gbenga Kaka, Speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly, Prince Surajudeen Adekumbi, Chief Alani Bankole, former Minister of Mines and Steel, Alh. Sharafadeen Tunji Ishola and a host of others.
President Jonathan in a condolence message said of the deceased: “Dr. Adegbite’s tenure as the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) would forever be remembered for fostering peace and unity among religious groups in the country and for his moderating influence.”
“He was a devout Muslim leader, distinguished lawyer and academic,” the President further noted, adding that the late Seriki Musulumi served meritoriously as Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Public Awareness on Security and Civic Responsibilities.”
President Jonathan urges the Adegbite family, the people of Ogun State, the Muslim community and Nigerians to take consolation in the knowledge that the late renowned Muslim leader made indelible contributions to the development of the country. He prays that God Almighty would grant his soul eternal rest.
The Sultan said :”Words are not enough to express how the Muslims accept the loss of this great servant of Allah. We have worked with him for six years and I know how much he had put his energy and resources to serve the Muslims. The family has not lost any body, the loss is for the Muslim Ummah.
“The Almighty took him for reasons best known to him. Let’s continue to remember Baba Adinni whenever we are praying, because he has paid his dues to Islam. May the Almighty Allah in his own wisdom who knows that we have worked for Him and reward him.”
Other tributes :
Obasanjo: “We know that we are missing an icon. But we take consolation in the fact that he lived a worthy life and legacy worthy of emulation. His place will be difficult to fill within our community, Egbaland. We pray that God will not leave us mourning and groping in the dark for a worthy replacement.”
Amosun: “Another national icon of Ogun State extraction is gone. One by one, the ranks of those whose toils and sweats got Nigeria Independence and nurture the nation is being depleted. His life was an admirable confluence of religion, tradition and civilisation, leaving indelible footprints in the sands of time.”
Fashola: “I am privileged to know that if he puts himself first, he would probably have lived longer, but he spent much more time; Islam came first, community came first, Nigeria came first. And that is the life of service that should be cherished by all of us and perhaps our multi ethnic, multilingual and multi religious gathering here will help us move closer to the unity, the peace and the kind of Nigeria we he lived and died for.”
Oluwole Rotimi : “He was not just my Commissioner but my personal friend. We entered King’s College together in 1950 and left in 1956. I left for the University College, Ibadan and then to the army. He travelled to England to study law and he too became a lecturer at the University of Lagos.
“In 1971 when I became to the Military administrator of Old Western Nigeria, I invited him over to serve his father land. He was my Commissioner between 1971 – 75 first as Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and later the Attorney – General and Commissioner for Justice.”
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) : “Dr Adegbite died preaching religious tolerance and coexistence because he was a true and strong believer in one united Nigeria inhabited by people who are socially diverse, economically empowered and politically active.”
The Jama’atu NasrilIslam (JNI) :”Dr. Adegbite was upright, fearless, committed and an accomplished Islamic worker and a lawyer of high pedigree, alhamdulillah. It is on record, that he was the pioneer National President of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN).
Senate President David Mark: “He was a colossus of sort, a true statesman and a passionate believer in the unity of Nigeria.”
Speaker Aminu Tambuwal: “ the death of Dr. Lateef Adegbite, is a monumental loss to the Muslim ummah and Nigeria. He lived an exemplary life of service, humility, and dedication whose impact would forever be felt by all Nigerians.”
Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State: “Dr. Lateef Adegbite was an illustrious citizen of this country. He was always ready to offer sincere advice to successive governments on peaceful co-existence and religious harmony in the country.”
Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State: “Nigeria has lost a bridge builder between the North and South who worked tirelessly for the unity and progress of the country.”
