Happy 75th Posthumous Birthday to Late Governor Adebayo Alao Akala | By Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi
Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III,
Governor Adebayo Alao Akala,
Hon Prince Akeem Adeniyi Adeyemi,
Hon Olamiju Alao Akala,
I was the chairman of Atiba Local Government in 2007 through the instrumentality of the late Governor Adebayo Alao Akala of Oyo State.
Around the year 2009, a crisis brewed between the late Governor Adebayo Alao Akala and my father, late Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, Alaafin of Oyo. My position as the first citizen of Atiba Local Government expected me to be the rallying point of the PDP, but the party had been fractionalized into two. A side pitched tents with Governor Adebayo Alao Akala, while another faction had sympathy with the Alaafin and took instructions without looking back.
The crisis reached a boiling point where the governor had to convene a meeting with a view to settling the matter. Each side of the feud had thirty members to attend the meeting.
The meeting commenced at 2:30 pm, at the Government House, where the spokespersons on the side of the Governor rebuked me profusely for working against the interest of the Governor, as evidenced by anti-slogans outbursts which pervaded the Local Government. All the people on the governor’s side sarcastically bemoaned my stand as being highly audacious. A speaker also affirmed my support for my father and wondered how a chairman appointed by the governor could openly support his father. All the members who aligned with the governor wanted my immediate removal as the chairman of the Atiba Local Government.
At this juncture, Governor Alao Akala rose to give his final decision and disclosed that he had heard all they had said by the various spokespersons.
I wish to quote him.
“The Chairman of Atiba Local Government, Hon Skimeh, is a son to be proud of. I love this guy; working against my interest shows that he is the true son of his father. And I, his father, am not on good terms, and you expect Hon Skimeh to support me? If my son, Olamiju Alao Akala, were to work against me in the same situation, I would disown him. You are a true son of your father, I love you, even though you are against me and support your father. ” The meeting was called off.
The lesson learned:
A just man remains just. Instead of Governor Alao Akala kicking me out as the Chairman, he embraced me and said, “You were a true son of your father.
I recall with nostalgia that the Alaafinate teamed up with the die-hard progressives in the mould of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, late Alh Lam Adesina and defeated Governor Adebayo Alao Akala in the 2011 governorship election.
However, Akala eventually reconciled with the Alaafin and stated that he was misled in confronting Kabiyesi, and Alaafin attended the 70th birthday of late Adebayo Alao Akala in Ibadan, five years ago which completely settled the rift.
Rest on late, Adebayo Alao Akala.
Today, Governor Adebayo Alao Akala would have been 75 years old, but he is no more, as well as my father.
Today, I am an Honourable Member of the House of Representatives and the son of late Governor Adebayo Alao Akala. Hon Olamiju Alao Akala is a member of the House of Representatives.
Happy posthumous birthday to the late Adebayo Alao Akala.
Hon Prince Akeem Adeniyi Adeyemi, Chairman House Committee On South West Development Commission.
