What I Noticed During My Visit – Obasanjo Speaks About Last Moment With Pa Adebanjo

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has described the death of Afenifere leader, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, as a colossal loss not only to him and Ogun State but also to the country as a whole.

Naija News reports that Obasanjo, in a tribute made available to newsmen by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, recalled his last moment with Adebanjo when he visited him at his Lekki residence in Lagos State.

The ex-president said his last visit to Adebanjo was on February 3, 2025, noting that although he was in such a fragile state, he had no inkling he would die.

He also recalled how they disagreed while he was Nigeria’s President, describing him as a great man, a committed nationalist, an effective representative of his people and an unpretentious personality.

While commiserating with his immediate and extended family, Obasanjo prayed that God would grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

He said, “The unfortunate news came to me as a shock because when last I visited him on February 3, 2025 at his Lekki residence, though he was in such a fragile state, I had no inkling he would leave us so soon. His transition is, no doubt, a huge loss not only to me and to Ogun State but also to the country as a whole. He was a great man, a committed nationalist and an effective representative of his people.

“As a democratically-elected President of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007, we both sometimes disagreed to agree to committedly regenerate and reposition our country to meet the hopes and aspirations of the Nigerian people and chart the course to our nation’s glorious future.

“He was such an unpretentious personality! His thoughts, utterances and deeds were completely devoid of political partisanship. He had friends from all over the country, and he led a life filled with remarkable experiences.

“Until his death, he fought with courage and tenacity to see to the restructuring of the Nigerian nation through which good governance based on democratic principles and practice and leading to unity in diversity, justice and equity, political stability, nationalism, popular participation, peace and security and socio-economic progress with strong leadership would be enshrined.

“It is unfortunate that his dream to see this through couldn’t be actualised in his lifetime. Indeed, Chief Adebanjo’s contributions to the strengthening of our fledgling democracy will be missed by the entire nation.

“I will undoubtedly miss my amazing and beloved Egbon Ayo, with the hope to continue to hold on to the good and remarkable memories we had together, till we meet to part no more.”