My father’s famous last words — Pa Adebanjo’s first son

Obafemi Adebanjo, the first son of the late Afenifere chieftain, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, has shared one of his father’s famous last words before his death.

Tribune Online reports that the elder statesman died at the age of 96 on Friday morning at his residence in Lekki, Lagos State.

In a statement, his family confirmed his passing, noting that he died peacefully.

While speaking to newsmen shortly after his father’s death, Obafemi disclosed that one of his father’s famous last words was that he did not compromise on the agreement he had with the first Premier of the Western region of Nigeria, Obafemi Awolowo.

He noted that his father repeated many times before his death that if he met Awolowo in heaven, he would let him know that he had not departed from their shared agreement during his lifetime.

He said, “One of his famous last words, he said it several times—was that he would be glad when he met Awo, the first thing he would say to Awo was, ‘Baba, I didn’t concede an inch. That was what he always said: “Baba, I didn’t concede an inch on all the principles and everything else you (Awolowo) stood for.’ He insisted that he didn’t concede an inch from what they had both agreed they were going to do.”

Speaking about his father’s last moments, Obafemi revealed that his father had wished for his death to come earlier than it did because of how the illness had affected him in his final days.

“He didn’t have out-of-the-ordinary behaviour throughout the night. He had a normal night. He was wishing he could go earlier because illness had taken a lot out of him. Apart from that, he was his regular self.”

Obafemi further described his father as someone who was firm in his beliefs. He noted that his father, while alive, never bent his ways to please the crowd, adding that posterity would be kind to him.

“He was a very dogged man in his way. Not everybody understood him. If he believed in something, even if he was in the minority of one against 99 others, he would be happy to stand alone.

“He didn’t believe in bending his way just to please the crowd. He stood his ground. He was a man of principles, there is no doubt about that. He lived by what he believed in. History will judge him kindly at the end of the day.”

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