SIR: The people of Oyo State woke up yesterday, Wednesday, January 12 to the bad news of the death of Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala, their former governor.
He was everything good to many people in his life time. He ruled the political terrains of Ogbomoso, nay Oyo State from 1996 until he died.
Incidentally, his death came exactly one month after the passing on of the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Jimoh Oladunni Oyewumi and few days after the death of Professor Taibat Bolanle Danmole, the eldest daughter of the late Soun.
Indeed, death has been so cruel to the people of Ogbomoso. Losing three big ‘trees’ in one month is to say the least very sad!
Otunba Alao-Akala was an Ogbomoso man through and through. He would prick his ears on the mention of Ogbomoso. He was ready to stake his life for Ogbomoso’s cause. No wonder he had cultic followers in his home town, Ogbomoso.
He left this world the very day he became governor of Oyo State and the day that Ogbomoso monarch joined his ancestors, that is, the12th day of the month.
Death has been felling many big trees. Oyo State has lost four monarchs in recent times; Soun Jimoh Oladunni Oyewumi, Asigangan of Igangan, Onigbeti of Igbeti and Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji. So also is former Oyo State Commissioner of Women Affairs, Professor Taibat Bolanle Danmole, nee Oyewumi and now, former governor of the state, Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala.
One commiserates with the governor of Oyo State, Oluwaseyi Abiodun Makinde, the good people of Oyo State and the immediate families of the departed.
Every mortal would die even if one is surrounded by weapons but the death of Akala is bad on the eve of general elections in Nigeria because he would have played major roles. Surely, politics in Ogbomoso will not remain the same. We hope it won’t take long to have another political iroko in Ogbomoso. “Dum vivimus, vivimus”.
