Tributes are still pouring in for elder statesman Ayodele Adebanjo following his death. President Bola Tinubu, politicians, governors, and the pan-Yoruba socio-political group Afenifere have all sent in their tributes for the man who died at 96.
Pa Adebanjo as he was fondly called in many quarters died “peacefully” in his Lagos home on Friday aged 96.
In his tribute to the late Afenifere leader, President Tinubu said he received the news of Adebanjo’s passage “with profound sorrow”.
“Nigeria has lost a political leader whose decades of unwavering struggle for justice, democracy, and national unity have left an indelible mark on our nation’s history,” Tinubu said in a statement on Friday.
The president described Adebanjo as a “principled voice, which resonated through decades of political activism, will be deeply missed.
“As a nation, we will miss his regular interventions in national affairs, which enriched our political discourse. Though we mourn his departure, we are also grateful to God for blessing him with a long, remarkable, purposeful life—96 years of unrelenting advocacy for progress and equity.
According to him, in times of national crisis, the late Afenifere chief’s ” courage shone brightest”.
“Though our political paths diverged in later years, my respect and admiration for him never wavered. Until his death, I shared a deep personal bond with Baba Adebanjo; he was like a father figure,” Tinubu said, paying condolence to the family of the deceased.
