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By Lukman Olabiyi
Zion Akingboye, son of the late businessman and politician, Otunba Bamidele Akingboye (OBA), has dismissed claims by his father’s former aide, Oyeniyi Iwakun, concerning OBA’s medical history, accusing him of spreading falsehoods and deliberately dishonouring his father’s memory.
In a statement yesterday, Akingboye described Iwakun’s recent comments as “a brazen compilation of lies, distortions and deliberate suppression of verifiable facts,” insisting that the denial of his father’s medical condition was reckless and dishonest.
Reacting to Iwakun’s assertion that OBA never suffered from mental illness, Akingboye said the claim reflected “either shocking ignorance or calculated deceit” by someone who claimed to be close to his late father.
“For the avoidance of doubt, my father was medically diagnosed as far back as 2019 with Bipolar Affective Disorder with psychotic symptoms by qualified psychiatrists in Nigeria,” he stated, adding that he was compelled to speak publicly because of what he described as “the reckless weaponisation of lies.”
He disclosed that medical records exist to confirm the diagnosis, noting that Nigerian health facilities, including Southern Gem Hospital, could independently attest to OBA’s condition and treatment history.
According to him, upon his father’s return to Nigeria at the time, he was further assessed at Synthesiz Psychological Health Consultants by Dr. Femi Olugbile, a former Chief Medical Director, who independently diagnosed him with Bipolar Affective Disorder, Manic Phase, a conclusion consistent with earlier medical evaluations.
Akingboye said the family took deliberate steps throughout OBA’s political activities and election campaigns to properly manage his mental health through medical supervision, treatment, rest and controlled public engagements.
He accused Iwakun of hypocrisy, alleging that the former aide was fully aware of OBA’s condition.
He claimed that in July 2019, Iwakun personally brought his father home after a youth meeting where he was experiencing a manic episode while addressing the audience.
He further alleged that Iwakun recorded a video of OBA speaking incoherently during the episode, describing the act as “demeaning and exploitative,” and said the video was only deleted after the intervention of a family friend to prevent its use for blackmail.
Describing Iwakun’s conduct as “wilful and morally indefensible,” Akingboye also alleged that the aide was working with “mischievous and self-serving family members pursuing pecuniary gains” by promoting false narratives surrounding his father’s life and death.
He stressed that acknowledging OBA’s medical condition does not diminish his achievements or legacy, warning that the deliberate falsification of medical facts and public misinformation would not go unchallenged.
“The truth will not be buried, and lies will not stand,” he said, calling on Iwakun to stop “dishonouring my father’s memory with falsehoods.”
