A tribute to General Oladayo Popoola at 80

A day after the 1985 Ileya Sallah, I was abruptly woken up by my younger brother, Lanre Alabi. He stayed with me at my official Press Secretary’s quarters at Agodi GRA, Ibadan, but had gone to spend the holidays with our mum at her rented apartment in Mokola, Ibadan. Lanre’s loud bangs on the entrance glass door signified there was an emergency.

I grudginly crawled out of the bed to answer Lanre’s bangs, only for the young man to yell at me: “Sir, open the door, there has been a coup d’etat led by Major General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. General Buhari has been toppled!” Turning on the nearest radio set to me, I heard a soldier’s voice announcing the change of government. I dashed out of Quarter 848, now the office of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) and in no time, I was in the Government House, Agodi, less than ten minutes drive away. I met the Government House gates flung ajar, unguarded. This indicated that a repeat of the January 15 and July 29, 1966 incidents had happened. The forlorn looks on the faces of the kitchen staff of the government house confirmed my fears.

I had to locate my boss. Where is he? In no time, I got him, then Colonel Oladayo Popoola, at a private residence where I thought he would be in Bodija. At Bodija, I turned the ‘switchboard operator’ and discovered that human beings could turn to whatever suited them in the face of danger. People we took for granted would call the military governor to ask about his safety didn’t call.

By the evening of that day, 27 August, 1985, when the public announcement on the NTA network showed that Colonel Popoola had been posted as the Military Governor of Ogun State, the private lines of his cousin, Engineer Abel Popoola, at Bodija became jammed with messages of congratulations from people who had kept silent earlier in the day! That is life.

Superstar pop singer, Stevie Wonder, in his 1977 chartbuster, “SUPERSTITION” cooes thus: “When you believe things you don’t understand, superstition is in the air”. There have been mystical happenings in the past between Oba (Dr) Kolawole Adegbola, Ashipa Balogun of Ibadanland, a former management staff member at the old Oyo State Housing Corporation (OYSHC), Bodija Estate, Ibadan when retired Major-General Oladayo Popoola was the Military Governor of old Oyo State (1984/1985) and me, the Press Secretary to Governor Popoola.

In the late 1970’s, I used to live at 4, Aperin Close, off Obafemi Awolowo Road, OYSHC Estate, Ibadan. No 2, owned by Mr Edebor, a private lawyer, was next to the Staff Club of the OYSHC Staff Club. Not at all, beers and liquors didn’t flow freely to me! Actually, the Omiyale flood disaster of 30th August, 1980 made us flee for safety from the 2-bedroom bungalow to Bode Wasinmi and later to Ayedun Close, Idi-Ape Bashorun, Ibadan from where we moved to Qtr 848, Agodi GRA, Ibadan on my appointment as the Press Secretary to Governor Oladayo Popoola in March, 1984.

From the foregoing, you would have got the drift of how General Oladayo Popoola, who celebrated his 80th on Monday, Oba Kolawole Adegbola and my humble self, High Chief ‘Lekan Alabi, Maye Olubadan of Ibadanland and the first Culture Ambassador of the National Museum and Monument, Ile-Ife, Osun State got entwined by nature in 1984: -General Popoola was the governor, Oba Adegbola, was a management staff of Oyo State Housing Corporation and my humble self, the Press Secretary to Governor Popoola.

Fast forward time and events, Oba Adegbola clocked 80 years on 27th October, last year and His Royal Majesty selected General Popoola as the Chairman of his 80th birthday reception held at the International Conference Centre of the University of Ibadan. I was selected by Oba Adegbola as the Chairman of the 80th birthday planning committee. Since decades past, Oba Adegbola and I have been exchanging gifts/pleasantries every 27th October, our joint birth month. I consented, with respect, to chair Kabiyesi Adegbola’s 80th birthday planning committee because I clocked 73 years, some distance behind the Royal Father’s, last year.

Sum up the foregoing, and you will sniff the sweet, divine whiff of God’s designs in the lives of General Popoola, 80, Oba Adegbola, 80 and me, the young shall grow, 73. Praise God.

I wish General Popoola, my boss, my friend a happy 80th birthday and pray that he celebrate many more years in good health, honour and joy.

• High Chief Alabi was the Press Secretary to Governor Oladayo Popoola in the old Oyo State (January 1984 to August 1985). He is presently the Maye Olubadan of Ibadanland.