A clergyman, Reverend Canon Segun Babatunde, on Wednesday, admonished political leaders to engage in things that will make them be remembered for good, citing late elder statesman, Venerable (Dr) Emmanuel Oladipo Alayande, as worthy of emulation.
The clergyman stated this on Wednesday in his exhortation during the fifth-year memorial foundation service in remembrance of Pa Alayande, organised by the Oluyole Progressive Front ’91 and held at his Ode Aje residence in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Since 2019 when the event was started, it has been marked every January 10 which was the day of the birth of Pa Alayande. The club is an affiliate of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII).
Babatunde said whatever anyone does in life will be remembered after he/she is gone.
He spoke on Pa Alayande’s sacrifice for education, religion and politics as one that is worthy of emulation, adding that his sacrifices had so much effect.
He said the late educationist impacted lives with his way of life and that is why he is being remembered positively today.
He added that while Venerable Alayande was alive, he touched the lives of many “and this is what the club [Oluyole Progressive Front ‘91] found in our revered father for organizing this programme.”
Speaking in the same vein, the immediate past president of the club, Comrade Olu Abiala, charged Nigerian leaders with the need to live selfless, sacrificial lives for the people they serve so that people can continue to remember them long after they have departed this world.
Comrade Abiala described the life of Alayande as worthy of emulation, adding that it preached benevolence, equity and egalitarianism.
He said: “Baba’s life also preached law and order; he lived a life that was an embodiment of community values.
“He was a bundle of politics without bitterness and this came to the fore when the caucus of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) chose him as the gubernatorial candidate of the party in the 1979 election in Oyo State.”
In his opening remarks, the current President of the body, Chief Mukaila Adebayo Opasina, said that the annual event for Pa Alayande was birthed when members were looking for a role model to follow during one of their meetings.
“We deliberated extensively and eventually we decided to choose our Papa because we noted certain attributes of his. He was an educationist, he was a socialist, a Christian to the core and a politician.
“These attributes made us select him as our role model. Since 2019, we have been holding this Programme annually except in 2020 because of COVID endemic to honour him through memorial lecture,” he said.
Among those who graced the occasion included Professor Bolanle Awe; National President of Ibadan Grammar School Old Students Association, Balogun Gaphar Ojetola; Pa Alayande’s daughter, Mrs Bukola Oni; Chief Mrs Aduke Famuyide, Prof. Charles Oguguah Aworh; Oloye Gbola Raji and Prof. Kola Jaiyeoba, among others.
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