Friday’s announcement of the death of Pa Ayo Adebanjo came as a rude shock to most Nigerians. For a nonagenarian, death can come at any time but Pa Adebanjo was rarely reported as being ill and was very active until his death.
He was very active and spoke so clearly, intelligently and never showed signs of any of those debilitating ailments associated with older people.
Pa Adebanjo cannot be said to have died young at 96, but if there is one Nigerian badly needed today, more than ever before, to guide us to building that united nation that has remained elusive for so long, he surely is that person.
A man  with unshaken conviction and beliefs that was not swayed by sentiments and those petty traits that our current lazy leaders have continued to use to their advantage to divide and rule over us.
The late Afenifere leader’s death on Friday, has left a huge vacuum that will be difficult to fill in the South West in particular and  Nigeria as a whole.
In 2019 when the Muhammadu Buhari-inspired killer herdsmen were ravaging the nation and murdering defenceless citizens, it took the Adebanjo-led Afenifere to not only condemn these killers but to also call out the floundering APC-led administration of Buhari.
The height of the audacity of these  murderers was the killing of Mrs. Funke Olakunrin, Pa Reuben Fasoranti’s daughter, by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
While some leaders for political correctness took to the fence, others were scared of offending the lord of the manor in Aso Rock, Â the Adebanjo Afenifere, responded and warned the government against the killings across the South West.
Pa Ayo Adebanjo, was vocal about the issue of killer herdsmen in Yoruba land, in spite of activities of some turncoats who acted to divide the group to please the evil regime of Buhari.
Even though, I am completely opposed to the so-called zoning of the presidency, because it has continued to entrench mediocrity and lazy leaders, the understanding among the political class was that the South East should take its turn, after Olusegun Obasanjo’s rule, Adebanjo was one of those who insisted that the Igbo should have it. Even when his stance came at a great personal cost to him, he never shifted ground until he breathed his last.
Already, some career politicians have already started playing the regional and ethnic card against 2027. If only our vote would count, we can choose whoever would be our leader irrespective where the candidate is from.
If in 2027, Nigerians choose to give President Bola Tinubu a second term, so be it but if another Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa, is the choice of the electorate, so be it, so we can be free from this ethnic and regional bait that has left us in economic and political doldrums.
May God rest the soul of this dogged fighter and grant his family the fortitude to bear this huge loss.
