How Cornelius Adebayo suffered in detention for rejecting Abacha’s appointment — Senator Adeyeye

The National Coordinator of President Bola Tinubu’s foremost support group, SWAGA ’23, Senator Adedayo Adeyeye, in mourning the former governor of Kwara State, the late Cornelius Adebayo, called on stakeholders and political leaders in the South-West and the Middle-Belt to emulate the exemplary lifestyle of the deceased, who passed on at the age of 84 years earlier in the week.

He said one incident was how the late elder statesman was detained for 18 days in Calabar, Cross River State, for daring to reject a ministerial appointment under the military regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha.

Senator Adeyeye, who is the Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), praised the late Minister of Transport’s qualities as a bridge builder and a unifying force, noting that he stood for the common good, even at great risk to his safety and security.

Adebayo was at different times a governor, communication minister, and transport minister between 2003 and 2007, when the SWAGA coordinator said the later elder statesman served with dedication.

Adeyeye pointed to Adebayo’s important role in efforts at uniting the Yoruba in the South-West and their kith and kin in the Middle-Belt states of Kwara and Kogi, further promoting enduring peace among them.

He stated, “Chief Adebayo was one of the key players in the pro democracy struggle for which he suffered and made unparalleled sacrifices.

“He was one of the leading lights and bona fide members of the National Democratic Coalition, Nigeria (NADECO), under the leadership of the late Pa Abraham Adesanya.

“He was arrested and held in the Calabar prison for 18 days without any member of his family knowing his whereabouts, for rejecting a ministerial appointment from Abacha.

“After his release from prison, Chief Adebayo was forced into exile, first in Togo, then Ivory Coast and later in Canada, when members of Abacha’s strike force got on his trail.”

He added, “Following Abacha’s death in 1998, he returned to Nigeria and joined other compatriots in shaping the outlines of the new democratic dispensation.

“He was a member of the executive of Afenifere and chairman of its highly influential political committee, which also had as members iconic personalities like Gen Alani Akinrinade, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, Chief Ayo Opadokun, Chief Kola Awodein, SAN, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, Yinka Odumakin, Mr Jimi Agbaje, and my humble self.”

Adebayo had his early career in academia as a lecturer and later in politics, culminating in his appointment as a commissioner in the old Kwara State.

He was elected senator during the Second Republic in 1979 and was elected as governor of Kwara State in 1983, before the December 31,1983, military coup terminated that era.

He also served as Minister of Communications and later of Transport between 2003 and 2007.

The senator said, “Chief Adebayo was a committed Awoist and a great mentor to many of us who drank from his cup of wisdom. His death is a major loss to the Yoruba race, the people of Kwara/Kogi and Nigeria as a whole.

“Chief Adebayo will be sorely missed for his sound intellectual capacity, organisational skill and exemplary leadership qualities.”

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