Life Story: How dad lived with 32 wives in one house— Adelabu Penkelemesi’s children

                             


Silifat and Nurudeen are children of the late prominent politician from Ibadan, Oyo State, Adegoke Adelabu. The duo tells OLUFEMI ATOYEBI that the death of their father in 1958 denied them quality education


How much of your father do you know?

Nurudeen: I am the only surviving son of the late Adegoke Adelabu. I was two years old when he died but it is difficult to forget what he looked like and the affection he gave us. I also learnt a lot about him through my siblings and the life he led.
He was a political hero and contemporary of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. They were at the centre of the country’s politics at the same time. When Awolowo was the Premier, my father was the pillar of the opposition at the time. He put Awolowo and his Action Group on their toes with constructive criticisms as the opposition leader in the Western Region House of Assembly. He is still regarded as a hugely successful politician of his time because of his hard work to ensure that governance was felt at the grass roots. If there is no criticism, government will shirk its responsibilities. My father provided the necessary ingredient needed to make the Western Region breathe at the time.
Silifat: I am the fourth daughter in the family. My father was a hero that this country has not given his deserved honour. A hero is not always appreciated until after his works are reviewed, mostly after his death. My father was a great thinker.
More than five decades ago, he thought of what this country would look like, what must be done to sustain its sovereignty and unity among ethnic groups that made up the country. Long before the constitution came up with social services, my father emphasised the need to provide social amenities like schools, water and good roads linking the cities and the rural areas. He knew the economic advantage and employment potential in agriculture and many other areas. In the early 1950s, he wrote a book, Africa in Ebullition. You need to read that book to know how intellectually sound he was. His brilliance and intelligence were not all about big grammar or complex English; it was about propounding ideas, saying things the way they were and challenging political leaders to use their offices to better people’s lives. Those were great qualities of a leader which my father pointed out in the book and with his many works.

How did he treat his family?
Nurudeen: Like I said, I was just two years old when he died. But my brothers and sisters attested to his generosity, kindness and fear of God. He loved children and did a lot to unite his large family. He loved his children so much and if not for his death at the age of 43, we would have had the best education anyone could think of.
Silifat: He was a father who cared for his children. He had a solid foundation for all his children but death denied him the opportunity to actualise what he had for them. They were mostly female, many of who have died. We lived in one house despite the fact that my father married many wives. The house is located at Oluokun in Ibadan. Despite his wealth, it was the only house he built.
My father was a disciplined man who trained us in God’s way. He would not tolerate nonsense from any of his children and he hated children loitering around. He wanted us to keep doing something tangible at all time just as he managed his lifetime resourcefully.
As a Muslim, he ensured the ethics of the religion had a firm root in our lives. But despite that, he still accommodated other religious beliefs.
My father attended Christian schools; St. David’s CMC School, Kudeti, Ibadan, between 1925 and 1929 and CMS Central School, Mapo. Therefore, he had knowledge of other religions but he knew Allah very well.
What about his friends?
Silifat: Many of them are dead. He would have been 100 years old this year if he had lived to see this day. Not many people attain that age. But I remember some of his friends like Fani-Kayode and some others.
What were the challenges the family faced after his death?
Silifat: We found it difficult to have good education. Some of us ended up with secondary school certificates. My late elder sister and a few others attended university through scholarship from his friends. I was in primary six when he died. I miss him a lot. I wish he were alive to witness when I got admitted into secondary school.
Nurudeen: It was difficult but God sent some of his friends to us. We got scholarship from them. Credit must also be given to my mother and my father’s other wives. They struggled to ensure we went to school. They bore most of the tuition. My father was the only child of his parents hence there was none of his relations to assist us. We would have loved the government to come to our aid because of what our father represented in Nigeria but we had little help from the government. He was an unrecognised nationalist. What we expect from the government is to recognise him as a national hero like some other distinguished Nigerians. He was a patron of Nigerian politicians.

What kind of relationship exists among his children after his death?
Nurudeen: With the name he established in Nigeria, we have no reason to fight one another. The family is united. The first generation of his children is aged. Some of them are dead but the grandchildren continued in the family tradition of oneness. We appreciate one another and that is why we are still one family.

Silifat: Like I said, before his death, he established unity in the family and when he died, we remain united. He had 32 wives but some of them had no children. We have a committee that handles his remembrance and anniversary every year. All the surviving children and grandchildren are members of the committee.
Is any of his children polygamous?
Nurudeen: What I can say is that all his children emulated his brilliance and academic excellence. He was brave so are his children. Among his grandchildren, we have a journalist, doctors, pharmacists and bank workers. One of them, Adebayo, is a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. He is a very brilliant young man with all the traits of a leader. There are many grandchildren like that in our family.
Silifat: Things have changed now but we have many of his children who are as articulate as he was. He was a man of action and today in the family, the trait is a permanent feature. We have brave family members.
What kind of food did he like?
Silifat: He loved moin moin and solid pap. He also liked amala and draw soup.
How did he keep fit?
Silifat: My father jogged a lot. He did a lot of shadow boxing at home too.
During his days as a politician, there were disagreements with the rival group. Was there any time the children felt threatened?
Silifat: We understood his way of life. He prepared us for hard times by telling us that we must stand up for what we believe even in the face of opposition. He told us to be bold and brave because we would be remembered for what we stood for. He was in the opposition so we accepted him the way he was. Whatever he faced in the House among his political colleagues did not affect his family.
How did people perceive your father when you were young?
Silifat: We lived at Kudeti in Ibadan. People in the area regarded my father as a hero, a leader and philanthropist because he did a lot for the people. When he was in government as head of the Ibadan Division which now comprises all the 11 council areas in Ibadan, he facilitated employment for many of the youth.
I remember that one day, he invited some elders from the Akufo area of Ibadan for a meeting and when they came, they told him that many of their children were unemployed. He employed all their unemployed children almost immediately.
Does being Adelabu’s children put any burden on you?
Nurudeen: The truth is that when people realise who I am, they accord me special treatment. At the Local Government Service Commission where I work, my bosses respect me for who I am.
Silifat: People are happy to associate with me when they realise that I am Adelabu’s daughter. They often tell me that from the history they read of my father, he was a good man. That is why it is good to leave a good legacy. His good name paves the way for his children.
What kind of cars did he own?
Silifat: He had two cars, a Datsun and another car. He was a successful man and he could have bought many cars if he wanted. His humility showed in his life.
Nurudeen: I grew up to know the only house he built. We were raised there. I still go to the house. My mother and other wives lived there. My mother died in the house.
He was known to be a no-nonsense politician. Did he have time to joke at home?
Silifat: He was a jovial person at home. He shared a lot of jokes with his children. We ate at the same table.
Did he ever beat you or any of your siblings?
Silifat: He did not keep a cane in the house. He never beat any of his children but he could shout at us. He loved quiet moment and often told us not to make a noise whenever he wanted privacy. He loved reading hence was always in his study.
Did you ever think he could still be alive if he was not involved in politics?
Silifat: God has dominion over all human beings. He decides when a man will be born and when he will die.
Where were you when he died?
Silifat: I was at home when it was announced that he died in an automobile accident. I did not see him leaving home that day because we had gone to school.