Professor Segun Gbadegesin, marked his 70th birthday with the presentation of his autobiography, All the Way: Serving with Conscience at a well-attended ceremony in Lagos on December 21, 2015.
The United States-based professor of philosophy, author and newspaper columnist brought together royalty, eminent politicians, professionals, activists and many well-wishers. Although it had been a Monday morning many of the guests, some of them from outside of Lagos, surmounted the traffic and were there long before the event took off at 10a.m. to honour the public intellectual and humanist.
The presentation was indeed a big day for the academic from Okeho, Oyo State, who from the testimony of those present played a prominent role in the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO).
Among those present were the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Interim National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, Deputy National Chairman (Southwest) of APC, Chief Pius Akinyelure and Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi. Others were ex-governors of Ogun and Ekiti states, Chief Segun Osoba and Otunba Niyi Adebayo, and Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora.
Representing the pro-democracy movement and professionals were General Alani Akinrinade (Rtd), Professor Ropo Sekoni, Comrade Wale Oshun, Sola Ogunbode, Dele Alake, Femi Falana (SAN), Professor Adigun Agbaje, Dr. Olu Otubusin and Mr Moyo Ajekigbe, a retired Managing Director of First Bank.
The obas who came to felicitate with Gbadegesin, who is Head, Department of Philosophy and Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Howard University in the United States were the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, Olota of Ota, Alani Oyede and Onjo of Okeho, Rafiu Osuolale Mustapha Adeitan II.
When it came time for them to speak, all had only good words to say about Gbadegesin and his wife, who was also present. Tinubu, chair of the occasion, who had been on self-exile at a point in the history of the nation explained that he was a first-hand witness to the remarkable resilience and consistency of our Diaspora activist population which Professor Gbadegesin led with distinction.
“No perceptive reader of this wonderful book can fail to recognise the web of activities that the pro-democracy movement, particularly in the United States and Europe, got involved in and how they caused panic in this country. Professor Gbadegesin was in the thick of it all. We collaborated on several fronts and I got to know him well as a result,” Tinubu said of the book.
The APC National Leader added that though military rule ended in 1999, Professor Gbadegesin, who used to read Yoruba commentaries on the defunct Radio Kudirat as Alarape Aiyegboyin, continued his activism, “especially with his intellectual contributions to political praxis in the country.”
Speaking further on the book, he said it documents in readable prose and sound clear thinking, the life and times of the author. This, he said, is important in two senses. “First, in general terms, we all have a special obligation to chronicle the history of events around us. And, it is a fact that events worth recording for posterity occur around us on a daily basis. Second, individuals who are endowed to serve their communities have a special responsibility to document their remembrance of events that shape their lives and stewardship. This is what Professor Gbadegesin has done in this book. I applaud him,” he said.
Executive Editor/Director of TheNEWS and PM NEWS, Kunle Ajibade in his review entitled ‘Of Gbadegesin’s Sense of Duty’ noted that the past comes alive calmly and wisely in the autobiography. “In a blend of moral seriousness, sound logic and passionate prose, Gbadegesin renders an account of his life that has been full of grace. Knowing that his destiny is tied together with the destinies of his hometown, Okeho, Yorubaland, Nigeria and the world, he tells his story in the light of some significant local, national and world historical events.
“We encounter in this book a man who takes responsibilities seriously. We encounter a man with a strong sense of honour who has made a lot of sacrifice for the growth and development of every community he has ever found himself serving. We encounter a happy family man Chief Bisi Akande, who wrote the foreword to the book, testifies to this. We encounter a man who has been blessed these past 70 years with exceptional good fortune,” he said.
General Akinrinade, Chief Osoba, Prof Sekoni, Comrade Oshun, Ajimobi and a host of others all spoke to Gbadegesin’s dedication and active participation in the fight for a democratic Nigeria. Also of note was the special acknowledgement most of them gave Gbadegesin’s wife, Adetoun, for her hospitality and support during the struggle as well as the amala and gbegiri she used to serve them in the U.S.