…More tributes for Mama Awolowo
By Charles Adegbite, Mariam Aleshinloye Agbola, Jos, Najeem Raheem and Kemi Yesufu, Abuja
More tributes poured in yesterday for the late matriarch of the Awolowo family, Mrs. Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo.
Her granddaughter, Mrs. Olukemi Aderemi (Nee Oyediran) told Daily Sun at Awolowo house in Ikenne that the deceased was a great prayer warrior. The late matriarch, she said, held prayer vigils for her children, Yoruba land and the nation till her death.
She said: “One day, I asked her why she was always looking tired in the morning and she said by the time she prayed for all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren, mentioning their names one by one, she would realise that it was almost morning and time one was supposed to get out of bed. She had entrepreneurial heritage and believed in being a complete woman who must be hardworking; take good care of her job and also build her home. These are all we were taught and by the grace of God, we will sustain the legacy and all the life principles we learnt from our parents,” she said.
Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adebule, who led women from the state to the Ikenne home of the Awolowos, said the late matriarch made her mark in the life of her family and the nation.
She said: “We are here on behalf of all the women of Lagos State to pay our condolences to the family of Awolowo on the loss of their beloved mother, an icon, somebody who had carved a niche for herself in all that she set her mind to do throughout her lifetime.”
Former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida also said Mrs. Awolowo lived an exemplary and selfless life.
In a condolence message he personally signed, Babangida said: “The death of our matriarch, and a great woman of the Awolowo clan, Chief Mrs. H.I.D Awolowo comes to me as a personal loss and strikes a sense of nostalgia in me. The Awolowos; the late sage and his soul-mate, the matriarch both lived exemplary and selfless life promoting the common good for the human society. I have enjoyed a personal and warm relationship from the Awolowos, including the late matriarch, especially from my days in office at Dodan Barracks, when she accompanied her husband to pay me a visit when I returned from a medical trip abroad. It was the first time any government, especially a military government at that, was enjoying such kind of honour of a visit that was more personal than official.
gerian accompanied by his delectable wife. Till For his part, Cross River State Governor, Senator Ben Ayade described the deceased as a true Amazon who left her imprints in the sands of time.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Lasun Yusuf, former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Danjuma, former Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluranti Adebule and Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora also condoled with the Awolowos yesterday.
The deputy speaker described the late matriarch as a woman worthy of emulation.
Danjuma, on his part, said the deceased was a remarkable lady who retained her faculty till the end of her long life.
Senator Mamora, however, regretted that the death of the matriarch had left a void that would be difficult to fill.
Leader of Yoruba Oba Conflict Resolution Committee said the group was established in Ikenne at the instance of the deceased to unite Yoruba monarchs, adding, “mama is symbol of peace.”
In his own tribute, All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the last general election in Rivers State, Dr. Dakuku Peterside said Mrs. Awolowo was a woman of substance.
He said: “Among the wives of First Republic politicians, Mrs. Awolowo was without any doubt, one of the most visible and outstanding women of that glorious era. The sage himself captured her real essence when he fondly described her as ‘my jewel of inestimable value’. That apt description, over the years, gave a hint on her real meaning, not just to the Awolowo family, friends and admirers, but to the entire nation.”
National Vice President of Nigeria Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Asiwaju Solomon Onafowokan also described the deceased as a woman with great entrepreneurial skills.
Onafowokan said Mrs. Awolowo was a highly intelligent woman, adding: “She was the first distributor of Leventis Group in Nigeria and that of Coca Cola industry. I learnt quite a lot from her. It was that spirit that has helped me as an entrepreneur today.”
Ogun State chapter of APC, however, said the matriarch’s behind-the-scenes contributions to the political evolution of the nation were unquantifiable.
In a statement signed by its Publicity SecretMeanwhile, a group operating under the aegis of Omo Oodua Yoruba Community in the 19 northern states and Abuja has called on the Federal Government to immortalise the deceased for her outstanding contributions to the peace and political development of the nation.