losses accompanied with Isiaka Adeleke's death
Yes! The people of Osun State and especially Ede town will miss Isiaka Adeleke. Why would they not? He was one of a kind. He loved people and people loved him too. He was a people's person. A buoyant philanthropist. The "Serubawon" himself!
Only death did not fear Isiaka Adeleke. On the 23rd of April, the news of the Senator's death spread across the State. Serubawon was dead!
The late legislator representing Osun West Senatorial district who was the first civilian governor in Osun State died at the age of 62 after he experienced health complications in his residence in Ede town from where he was taken to the hospital.
Adeleke was elected as the first civilian governor of Osun State in 1992 on the platform of the Social Democratic Party after the creation of Osun State which was carved out from the old Oyo State.
The two-time Senator was first elected on the platform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP). He represented Osun West between 2007 and 2011. He was elected again under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.
The Senator was already prepared to contest as a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the next year governorship election in the state. His death came as a shock and a bitter pill for the entire people of the state.
The late Adeleke was born on January 15th, 1955 to the family of Senator Ayoola Adeleke and Esther Adeleke in the city of Enugu where he spent his early years until the break out of the Nigeria Civil War. He started his primary education at the Christ Church School, Enugu before moving to Ibadan. The young Adeleke completed his secondary education at Ogbomoso Grammar School in Oyo State.
Adeleke held a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters degree in Public Administration. He was Chairman, Governing Council, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council, University of Calabar. Until his death, Adeleke was Chairman, Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC).
Unfulfilled dreams
Apparently, the late Senator’s unfulfilled missions and expectations of constituents justified the grief of mourners. Expectations were high around him. While some top politicians were hoping that Adeleke, who was the first civilian governor in the state, would become the governor again, his horde of supporters at the grassroots were waiting for a date for the distribution of empowerment items he had earlier bought for them, only to suddenly hear of his death.
Inside a hall in the home of the late politician were many motorcycles, grinding machines and hair dryers among other items ready for distribution to the people for empowerment, and those that expected to benefit were waiting anxiously for the d-day. But the good news never came, and they found the rather unbelievable news of his death too sad to bear.
Apart from that, hundreds of people depend on the late Adeleke for survival, while many politicians in the state relied on him for relevance in politics. Unarguably, the sudden death of Senator Isiaka Adeleke is seen as a huge calamity for majority of people of the state.
Also, as the month of Ramadan is approaching, Adeleke would have been planning how to distribute food items to the people of his hometown. Surely, Ede has lost one of its prominent sons. The All Progressives Congress (APC) has lost a first class politician!
Another thing that would be missed about the late Senator is the way he fashioned his cap. Only Serubawon designs his cap so.
What about his simplicity, his smile, his generosity, all these and more are what the people of Ede town, the State of Osun and Nigeria as a whole would miss about the late Isiaka Adeleke. Truly, he is a vacuum that cannot be filled.