TRIBUTE 49
THE NATION, SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2012
Weep not for Femi Adekanye, he died a fulfilled man
I
T is really difficult for me to do this, but I know that a tribute on Dr. Femi Adekanye is one thing I must do for several reasons. First, because he was a great man. Secondly, he lived a great and fulfilled life. Thirdly, he touched lives, several lives within and outside the shores of Nigeria. Fourthly, he touched my life in the manner he touched several other lives, and I dare say, very, very positively. I recall that as a young student I came across him through his works, his intellectual works that spoke volumes about his innate intelligence and huge brain that helped in shaping our intellectual prowess, particularly on banking matters. I also recall that one of his children, Wale, was my classmate with whom we resumed together on that first day in Ansa-rudeen College Offa way back in 1976. Wale then full of life reflected an image of proper upbringing and the news in the air was that he was a split image of a great father. May I also recall with nostalgic feelings my endeavour as a young bachelor who was engrossed in preparations for my wedding in 1992, realising my humble background as a son of a diligent vulcanizer, I had naturally looked forward to a wedding in which a ‘big man’ would preside over the proceedings as Chairman and who did I think of? It was this same Dr. Femi Adekanye, then Chairman and Chief Executive of Commerce Bank Plc and how would I contact him, knowing that this man did not know me and may probably not think much of a son of a vulcanizer. I, however, summoned courage to write him a personal letter, inviting him to chair my wedding reception. What response did I get? He not only replied me with a polite letter but also made sure that he arrived at the reception venue two solid hours before the proceedings and waited patiently in the hall as guests sauntered in from the Nikkah venue, unaware that the ‘big man’ we thought would not make it had indeed arrived. That was vintage Dr. Femi Adekanye. He was full of laughter throughout the event, and for us as a young couple, his presence alone assured us of a remarkable beginning and that was really, really significant. I was later to know that he was billed to fly out of the country that same night and indeed left to catch his flight from the reception venue. In accepting my invitation to the wedding and arriving on schedule at the event, he showed he was a Gentleman. Simply acting as a gentleman is not enough, it is being a gentleman that is important and that means thinking of others, being there when you are needed and really displaying courteous manners, all of which Dr. Femi Adekanye reflected throughout the proceedings. I was later to have a privileged encounter with him on the board of Owners (Savings and Loans Ltd) Mortgage Bankers, where he was the chairman. I recall that during this period and on rare occasions when he presided over board meetings, he would come in quietly without any airs and conduct proceedings as an experienced professional who understood the nuances of board room procedures. In later years our paths crossed again and this time it was my turn to pay back in some way the previous remarkable gesture of this extraordinary Nigerian when I had the rare opportunity of teaming up with his legal team in ensuring his release from an unjustified incarceration of nearly five years at the pleasure of the Nigerian State. The development may have shaken his confidence in the efficacy of our legal system which he captured in his book satirically in the title as ‘Presumed Guilty’. The book may have revealed the urgent necessity to take a harder look at a legal system that makes mockery of the hallowed principles of presumption of innocence until the guilt or innocence of an accused is established - a practice that is the acknowledged standard in all civilized societies around the world. I recall that the struggle for his release and others from detention was quite intense and long drawn with the expertise of some of the best legal brains in Nigeria enlisted. Names such as Chief Richard Akinjide SAN, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN, Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN, Femi Falana, Dickson Osuala and my humble self were involved at various stages in fighting the war of freedom for Dr. Femi Adekanye and others involved in the unjustified incarceration. The significance of this struggle is that through it, Dr. Femi Adekanye enriched the corpus of our jurisprudence. Today, evidence of such struggle litters the pages of our jurisprudence and law reports - an indication that the name of this cerebral Nigerian has been immortalised for posterity. The cases involving Dr. Femi Adekanye’s painstaking struggle for freedom include the following – all now reported in our law reports: a. Comptroller Nig. Prisons Services, Ikoyi, Lagos & 2 Ors v Femi Adekanye & 17 Ors. (1999) 5 NWLR (Part 977) 587. b. Comptroller Nig. Prisons Services, Ikoyi, Lagos & 2 Ors v Femi Adekanye & 26 Ors (1999) 10 NWLR (Part 623) p. 401. c. Dr. Femi Adekanye & 26 Ors v Comptroller Nig. Prisons Services, Ikoyi, Lagos & 3 Ors. (1999) 14 NWLR (Part 637) 115 These cases exposed the attribute of Dr. Femi Adekanye as a warrior and a man who would not keep quiet or fold
•The late Dr. Adekanye
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I also recall that upon his release from detention and on a thank-you visit to the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN in his chambers in which I accompanied him, Chief Fawehinmi showered encomiums on Dr. Femi Adekanye in my presence, saying the deceased was a great Nigerian...
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Wahab SHITTU
his hands in the face of tyranny. The tragedy of our circumstances in our country today is that majority of our people prefer to keep quiet and grumble even when their rights are being suppressed. Dr. Femi Adekanye and his team were an exception and I salute him. I have since reviewed these cases in ‘The Force of Justice’, a book in honour of Honourable Adesola Oguntade, Justice of the Supreme Court and published by DAC Publishing Company Ltd. In 2010. I also recall that upon his release from detention and on a thank-you visit to the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN in his chambers in which I accompanied him, Chief Fawehinmi showered encomiums on Dr. Femi Adekanye in my presence, saying the deceased was a great Nigerian. Through that visit I discovered another fine attribute of the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, i.e. Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s infectious humility as he treated Dr. Adekanye with reverence and courtesies throughout the visit which lasted some two hours. I also had a glimpse of the workings of the deceased’s mind when as counsel on a flight with him from Lagos to Port Harcourt to present his case before the Oputa Panel, he revealed to me his love for his children and how he indirectly and innocently contributed to the ‘dilemma’ of his son, Kunle whom he said qualified as one of the most brilliant of his children manifested by Kunle’s grade one School Certificate result. He told me ‘if Kunle is not doing too well yet as I expected, I have a share of the blame too, going by the way I flaunted his good grades to the world when I ought to have been more discreet’. He tried to make up for this by fully re-absorbing and reconciling with Kunle before he answered the ultimate call. As it turned out, he became really proud of Kunle’s radical transformation positively before he died. The encounter showed me clearly that Dr. Femi Adekanye was a personage ready to own up for his mistakes and willing to forgive. This may also have revealed
that great men also tend to have great flaws and Dr. Femi Adekanye would seem not to have been an exception. The useful lesson here is, how many Nigerians are ready to own up to their mistakes and forgive those perceived to have wronged them? We can profit as much from great men’s wisdom as their foibles, if we have the courage and the patience to learn from their lifestyles. ]In several other correspondences with me in months preceding his death, he revealed his seeming discomfort with the way he had been treated by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, despite what many consider his monumental contributions to the institute and the banking industry in Nigeria generally. Again, in his letter to the institute, a copy of which he graciously endorsed to me, he readily expressed his willingness to forgive and forget his sad experience with the institute during his travails, an indication that he had a forgiving spirit and believed that to err is human. I am aware that upon his death, the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria acknowledged his contributions when in a full page advertorial in the Guardian Newspaper of Monday March 5th, 2012, announcing his transition, the institute, in a release signed by ‘Uju M. Ogubunka, Registrar/CEO, wrote: “With deep sense of loss but with gratitude to Almighty God, we on behalf of the Governing Council, Members, Management and Staff of the Institute announce the transition to glory of our Member, Fellow and Past President, Dr. Femi Adeyemo Zakariyahu Adekanye FCIB, President (1989 – 1992). He has since been buried according to Islamic Rites at his country home, Offa, Kwara State”. The institute may also consider reactivating the Dr. Femi Adekanye annual lecture series, which in times past used to be one of the hallmarks of the Institute. This great man deserves no less. I also know through my interactions with him at the twilight of his life that he was more concerned with preserving his hard earned reputation, honour and venerable name and, inspite of the unsubstantiated and wild allegations against him in the market place, he retained his honour and name till the end as he was never convicted for any offence until he breathed his last. The Nigerian state may well consider offering a public apology to him posthumously for his unjust incarceration. I know that my several other interactions with him and those of others during this critical period he had graciously documented in his book ‘Presumed Guilty’, a fact that may reveal that one is somewhat entitled and justified to write this tribute in his honour. Few months to his death, he wrote to offer me what I consider ‘a gift’ and which he disguised as something else for a token. I didn’t know at the time that he was bidding me farewell. When later, I saw the gift, I realized that it was his own unique style of saying to me ‘goodbye’. As a man reputed for keeping his word, he signed and transferred ‘the disguised gift’ to me without my asking before he bade the world farewell. What a gentleman and a generous spirit! The development showed that he left the world without being indebted to anyone. I am also grateful to God that I resisted the urge to ask for a receipt of ‘the token’ before the man of God did what was right before his exit. I know that Dr. Femi Adekanye actually struggled to live and indeed battled death as a warrior till the end. He sought medical assistance as far as India, and on an earlier trip to Canada after his release, he offered to return home and make his own contributions to nation building. When news reached me that he was hospitalised at LUTH Specialist Hospital, Idi Araba, Lagos, I paid several visits to him on his sick bed and, on one of such occasions, I made frantic phone calls to some of his closest associates, including Dr. R. Oladipo, the proprietor of (R. Jolad Hospital) who immediately contacted specialists at LUTH to offer immediate medical attention to the ailing chief. I can also confirm that during this critical period, Dr. Femi Adekanye was surrounded by the love and concern of his children, both male and female, all of whom deployed finances, attention and support in ensuring their cherished father survived the crisis. On one of such visits, I came across Alhaji Muftau Balogun (Demba) deploying his attention and resources. It was from this point that he was moved to the University of Ilorin Specialist Hospital where he eventually died. Before his death, close associates showed concern and when he finally died some of these associates took an advertorial to celebrate him ‘for the privilege of passing through you ’ “(see Punch edition of Thursday March 8, 2012). These associates include: R. K. O. Osayameh (a gentleman to the core), Abdulateef Ijaya, Ade Ayoola, Aja Enekwachi, B. O. Onamusi, Ben Ozor, Binjo Oduye, Bisi Afolabi, Dan Igbokwe, Doyin Shodeinde, Dr. Tunji Shobodu, Dr. Uju Ogubunka, Folorunso Omosa, Jimmy Erinosho, Kayode Adesanmi, Kayode Daodu, Mike Ngbakor, Odekoya Oluseyi, Ola Amosu, Razak Aboyeji, Remi Adeboyega, Rotimi Badiru, Hon. Shehu Garba, Shina Alabede, Tokunbo Oshilowo, Tunde Olagunju and Wasiu Dosunmu.” Continued on Page 56