…Bids Osinowo, Ex-CoS To Late President Yar’Adua Farewell
The governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on Saturday paid a condolence visit to the family of the late Professor Theophilus Ogunlesi, Nigeria’s first Professor of Medicine, in Sagamu.
Expressing shock at the demise of the late first Professor of Medicine in the country, Prince Abiodun said that the deceased represented one of the best and brightest that Ogun State would ever hoped for.
He added, “He was an icon, not only in the field of Medicine but as a Professor of professors, who made Ogun a reference point. He simply was a forerunner in the standard of excellence by which our state is known.”
Professor Ogunlesi passed on at his country home in Sagamu in the early hours of Friday, at the age of 99 years.
The governor added, “I was looking forward to coming here to mark his 100th birthday, but God knows why He has taken him. His contributions to scholarship and human capital development should console us. He was a pioneer and intellectual giant of no mean accomplishments.”
Abiodun reiterated the virtues of honesty, commitment and selflessness that he identified as hallmarks of Professor Ogunlesi’s existence.
Earlier, at the funeral service of Prof Gbolade Osinowo, former Chief of Staff, CoS, to late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, at Ijebu Igbo, Abiodun identified these characteristics as virtues Nigerians must hold on to during these difficult times, assuring the citizenry that “the hard time that the country is currently passing through will soon subside.”
Speaking at the Emmanuel Anglican Church, Ojowo, Ijebu-Igbo, Governor Abiodun noted that the difficult time is not peculiar to the country alone.
He added that as if the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t enough, the Ukraine-Russia war started and disrupted the entire supply chain ranging from agriculture to manufacturing.
He added, “These are very difficult times in the history of this state, very difficult times in the history of this country.
“Brethren, this difficult time is not peculiar to Nigeria alone, these are what we experienced post the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was as if COVID-19 was not enough, then the Ukraine-Russia war started, and this disrupted the entire supply chain from agriculture to manufacture, this has inflicted on many nations inflation, let us hold on to our faith.”
Describing the former Senior Special Assistant to former President Olusegun Obasanjo as a very humble man with a good character, Abiodun noted that he lived a life of value, not only for himself, but also for his people and his community.
Abiodun stated that Osinowo stood by the truth and he would be missed by the state and the country as a whole.
On the forth coming general elections, Governor Abiodun called on the congregation and the people of the state to go out and collect their permanent voter cards, PVCs, saying that it is only with their PVCs that they can ensure good governance.
The governor also called on parents and guardians not to allow their children/ward to be used as thugs during the forthcoming general elections.
In his sermon, titled ‘The Home of the Believers,’ the Diocesan Bishop of Ijebu North, the Rt. Rev’d. Dr. Solomon Kuponu, described the late Osinowo as a man who wasn’t corrupt during his time. He charged the congregation to learn from the life and times of the deceased.
The cleric urged the congregation to exercise their franchise during the forthcoming elections, while calling on those who are aiming for elective positions to ensure they serve the people diligently when elected into office.
Kuponu also charged Christian politicians to take politics as a ministry to take care of the people, urging them to put the welfare of the people above their own.
