RAJAB 11 1430 A.H.   FRIDAY JULY, 3 2009.		Tell a friend about this page! Their Name: Their Email: Your Name: Your Email:
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Ibadan indigenes honour Adelabu The Governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, has called on Ibadan indigenes outside home to join hands with his administration to develop their homeland. Alao-Akala, represented by his deputy, Taofeek Arapaja, made the call on Wednesday in Ibadan at the second anniversary lecture in honour of the late Alhaji Adegoke Adelabu, a.k.a Penkelemesi. The lecture was organised by the Ibadan Foundation Project, a socio-cultural organisation. The governor said that politicians of today had a lot to learn from Adelabu, adding: ``Let us make the people the basis of our involvement in politics and governance so that we may be remembered for good long after we might have departed this world.'' The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Samuel Odulana, said that he was the Chief of Staff to the late Adelabu between 1951 and 1957. Odulana, represented by Chief Eddy Oyewole, lauded members of the foundation for organising the lecture, saying that it had helped to unite Ibadan people. The Chairman of the occasion, who is also the Otun Olubadan, Chief Omowale Kuye, described the late Adelabu as a complete politician and a welfarist. ``He was a charismatic leader produced by Ibadan. He mixed with people freely and was a leader of opposition,'' Kuye said. Mrs Adekunbi Adelabu-Eguaoje, Adelabu's daughter, said that the lecture was a true reflection of the respect and appreciation her father commanded 51 years after, adding: ``It is a thing of joy and pride to us; we are all humbled.'' A U.S.-based historian, Prof. Toyin Falola, delivered the lecture entitled ``From Basorun Oluyole to Hon. Adegoke Adelabu: Ibadan Warrior Traditions and the Anatomy of Success''. Falola recommended the conversion of the Okebadan Festival into an international carnival to combine older practices with newer ones that would bring tourists from all over the world. He also advocated the creation of an Ibadan Museum which, according to him, will bring history and objects to life.