Chief Olusegun Osoba, former Governor of Ogun State, spoke on the sterling qualities that define a true Yoruba leaderQ: How are you coping with the loss of Senator Abraham Adesanya?

A: My relationship with him had manifold situations. He was a younger brother to my father-in-law. On the family front, there’s a relationship. Through the late sage, Papa Obafemi Awolowo, I had a political relationship with him as well. And as a journalist, over the years I also had a very close relationship with him.

In actual fact, he was for many years the solicitor to the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, right from when Alhaji Lateef Jakande was the president of NPAN. His loss, therefore, to me has impact on many fronts. As a family man, he lived his younger days with my father-in-law at Idumagbo area in Isale Eko, Lagos. As a politician, we were very close under the tutelage of Papa Obafemi Awolowo. As a reporter, I had the opportunity of covering some major cases that he handled as a lawyer; the biggest one was the case of Chief Obafemi Awolowo against Alhaji Shehu Shagari in 1979. He was the leading counsel to Chief Awolowo at the tribunal when Chief Awolowo sued Alhaji Shehu Shagari and the National Party of Nigeria, although midway through the case, Chief Awolowo himself decided to take on the role and concluded the case himself. I, therefore, had the opportunity of seeing him perform indifferent aspects of life and I learnt a lot from him.

Q: There’s a general feeling that the exit of Pa. Adesanya has created a leadership vacuum in Yorubaland. Is it possible to fill the space?

A: When Papa Ajasin died we all thought that was a major backward step for Yoruba, which it was because nobody wants to lose a decent father and leader. In the same vein, we are not happy to lose Pa. Abraham Adesanya. But just as he rose and filled the vacuum created by the death of Pa. Ajasin, somebody will rise and fill the unfortunate situation that we are in now.

How will that person emerge? And will such person have the kind of acceptability that Pa. Awolowo, Ajasin and Adesanya had?

There was no concern when Awolowo died as to whether it should be Bola Ige or Papa Ajasin. But there’s a characteristic manner of evolution of leadership in Yoruba. Bola Ige, on his own volition, agreed to defer to Abraham Adesanya and that resolved the issue.

Q: Can you identify some names who you think have the qualities to emerge the new leader?

A:” How many names do you want me to reel out?

Q: Four will do

A: I don’t want to start creating an avoidable controversy within the Yoruba family. I count myself as a voice within the Yoruba nation. This is not the time to start jostling for positions when Papa Adesanya has not even been buried.

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