His “quiet” death almost passed unnoticed, unannounced. We nearly did not hear about it. And it ought not to be so. Senator Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo, aka C.O, wasn’t just anybody. Neither was he any politician. His politics came with clout.
That made the huge difference. He lived up to his billing to the fullest. A stickler for timekeeping. With strict adherence to rules and regulations. He had humble beginnings. That is given. And should be credited to the pronounced Igbomina elements in him.
He was born on Monday, February 24, 1941. He attended All Saints Anglican School, Oke-Onigbin, Irepodun Local Government, Kwara State; Provincial Secondary School, Ilorin and Barewa College, Zaria, Kaduna State, 1962 to 1963.
He was at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, 1964 to 1967. He continued at the University of Ghana, Legon, 1967 to 1969. He became a lecturer at the University of Ife in 1969.
In 1973, he was appointed Head, Department of English, at Kwara State College of Technology, Ilorin. Between 1975 and 1978, he was, first, Commissioner for Education. Then Information and Economic Development. All in old Kwara State.
Adebayo fell for full-time politics in the Second Republic. He threw his whole heart into it. He teamed up with the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). He represented Kwara South in the Senate between 1979 and 1983. He upped the game in 1983.
His gubernatorial exploit was a bid worthy its worth. His was clearly how to “stake” and win well. An intentional “gamble” it was. He worked his heart out for it. The reason it yielded bountiful result.
The UPN governorship ticket was a tug of war between him and Chief Josiah Sunday Olawoyin, aka J.S. He was another trusted hand and reliable man from Offa. Thrice party primaries were conducted. And thrice Adebayo clinched the ticket. No stories.
His campaign manager then was Architect Tunde Ogunniyi, a rugged, resilient strategist. Tough and calculated. It took the intervention of UPN leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, to put the smoke out. It was timely put off from becoming a wild, weird fire.
Reason prevailed. Olawoyin was pacified. He agreed the interest of the party and the state should be the ultimate. And it was so. Olawoyin flew the party’s flag in 1979. He lost to Alhaji Adamu Attah of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).
By 1983, Attah had fallen out with Dr. Olusola Saraki, the Senate Leader. UPN made good use of the gulf created. They reached out to Saraki. A deal was successfully sealed, signed and delivered. Olawoyin gladly joined forces with Adebayo. They worked on the gulf and occupied it. The result was a resounding victory for UPN.
A near similar scenario played out in the old Oyo and Ondo states. Those ones couldn’t be amicably resolved. The crises tore UPN apart in the two states. The casualties in lives and properties were terrible, horrible to behold.
For Saraki, he dared risk the Herculean task. He openly worked against the system he stoutly represented. It never happened in the Ilorin Emirate. He could have been consumed politically. He was threatened with sanctions by his NPN. But he was upright in his resolve. He was convinced of Adebayo’s capacity and capability.
Unfortunately, he was short changed. Not enough time to prove Saraki’s confidence in him right. His tenure was cut short by the “khaki boys.” The military junta headed by General Muhammadu Buhari truncated the Second Republic on December 31, 1983. They shattered our sweat dream. And derailed the hope we held dear to heart.
Then came a decade of lull in Adebayo’s public life. Or so, it seemed. He was practically in silence for 10 years. He made a classical comeback in 1993. He showcased the tough stuff he was made of. And he did it with uncanny dexterity.
The new tyrant, General Sani Abacha was desperate. His military gang was wallowing in deep, abject distrust and mistrust. Fighting tooth and nail for recognition. It had to free itself from self-inflicted burdens.
Abacha needed to break the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) into pieces to stay afloat. So, he reasoned. And Adebayo was a profitable target. He dangled a bait and threw it at him. He thought he was a man of little mind. He arrogantly dropped a ministerial appointment on Adebayo’s laps.
He expected him to grab it and run with it. Never! He wasn’t brought up that greedy manner. Adebayo was unimpressed, unmoved. He chose to remain himself. He didn’t look at Abacha’s carrot twice. He saw it correctly as poison.
He gave him loud, rousing and outstanding rejection. That succinctly aligned with his spirit. Abacha was pained to the marrow, but still relentless. He wouldn’t give up. He was more attentional moving forward.
Another golden opportunity came his way to hit back at Adebayo. And he did it with precision. He lashed and cashed on the May 31, 1995, bomb explosion in Ilorin. He explored and exploited it to the fullest.
He unleashed his gestapo police on Adebayo. He was arrested along other NADECO members. Adebayo stood his solid ground, unbroken. Things were getting worse, hotter. It reached the climax in 1996.
Abacha would not take his eyes off him. Until he was done with him. He was pinned down for arrest again. Adebayo got wind of it in good time. He gathered his “cloak.” And ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He fled Nigeria in disguise. He landed safely in Canada for a brief exile.
Adebayo was yet another unsung hero of June 12. He was in the mould of the Ibadan “Prisoners of War” (PoWs); unacknowledged. We can’t be tired, or wearied. We will sing this singsong as far as our breath permits. We’re inspired by every second to sing it the more. Louder than ever before.
Adebayo was on the march again. In June 2003, President Olusegun Obasanjo picked him as his Minister of Communications. In September 2006, he was moved to the Ministry of Works. He replaced Obafemi Anibaba. Perhaps, that was his last public service appointment. He died on June 25, 2025, aged 84.
In real sense. Adebayo first happened to us physically in 1976. All my classmates in Form Five, Esie/Iludun Grammar School (EIGS), were involved. It was an uncanny encounter. Yes, it was. And worth recounting too.
That unpleasant experience nearly derailed our individual destinies in that class. We almost missed it at that very early stage of life. It had varied but telling effects on our diverse lives.
It was a night never to be forgotten in 1976. What started as a quarrel in the day carelessly snowballed into a full-blown crisis at nightfall. Forms Four and Five students were at loggerheads. It was a traditional cut-throat rivalry.
It was institutionalised then. We watched it happen before. But never in this riotous dimension; an all-night affair. We almost didn’t sleep. By dawn, the tables turned against us, Form Five students.
We became the casualties as envisaged. Police were called in, hunting and intimidating us. We asked for it? We were shepherded to assemble on the football field very early that morning. To be addressed by Commissioner for Education, Kwara State.
The commissioner turned out to be Adebayo. We were experiencing him at close range for the first time. He drove down from Ilorin that morning for that purpose. The task to decide our collective fate fell on his laps. But it didn’t happen that morning, something else did.
In a jiffy, we were herded right from that field. On the spot into the world unknown. The authorities claimed to allow peace to reign. And ample time to determine what would become of us. Adebayo held the ace. Time was dangerously ticking against us.
It was just two weeks to write the “almighty” West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE). Here we were. Hurried out of the school premises. Not allowed to take any item with us. Not even our books!
Grief, anxiety enveloped us. We were, to say the least, in disarray. The reason we scattered all over Esie and Iludun towns. Still bonded. We instantly became our brothers’ keepers. Everybody was for all. And all for everybody. The “strange” mantra worked wonders for us. And still does till date.
Indigenes of Esie and Iludun among us stood up to be counted. They strived to fill in the gap. They were marvellous to behold and experience. I am a practical beneficiary of their benevolence at the very time of need. I remain eternally grateful to them.
Fast-forward. The verdict came. Good, they obliged us to write WASCE in the school. But we would do that from outside. That was the heaviest penalty for our “indiscipline and misbehaviour.” The rest is history.
At that our critical moment. Adebayo was there for us as a parent. He obliged us that slim chance of writing that exams. We could have suffered outright expulsion! Heaven wouldn’t have fallen. Nothing would have happened.
But he thought otherwise. He gave us a lifeline that defined our fate and shaped our future. That was a time we were collectively and completely written off. But he gracefully thought otherwise. It was wisdom at its highest height. We jointly offer our deep appreciation. Even in death.
Now. He’s dead and gone. He can’t wear our mortal body again. He had moved past that. He deserved to be celebrated. No matter how.
He came, he saw. And did his very best. He was an old-time commissioner and Senator with no blemish. Even as a latter-day minister, he had no stain. He served diligently.
He ought to be accorded a deserving last respect. He died in silence. Don’t bury him in silence.
Adieu, Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo. May your path be straight, rosy!