THE death has occurred of Chief Adeoye Adisa. He died on November 16, 2015, at the age of 97 years.
The late Adisa was both a renowned politician and lawyer. He was a foremost Nigeria nationalist and elder statesman who played a key role in politics during the First and Second Republics. He served in various capacities including Minister for Home Affairs and Information in the old Western Region of Nigeria. He also served as Commissioner for Lands and Housing in the old Western State.

His brand of politics transcended tribal and ethnic lines as he developed and maintained political and personal friendships with many legendary Nigerian politicians and luminaries, including the late Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa, Nnamdi Azikwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello (the late Sardauna of Sokoto), Alhaji Dr. Ado Abdullahi Bayero (the late Emir of Kano), K. O. Mbadiwe, TOS Benson, Adeniran Ogunsanya, Mojid Agbaje, Chief Thomas, Chief Ashamu and more people from different Nigerian tribes. He was noted as a grassroots politician who shunned the politics of bitterness and tribalism putting the interest of the people first.

Adisa was widely acknowledged as successor to the late Adegoke Adelabu (“Penkelemesi”) opposition leader in the old Western Region House of Assembly. His landslide victory in the Western Region Parliamentary elections, winning all but one of the seats, served as a platform that catapulted many Western Region politicians into regional and national limelight.

Adisa came from a humble background. His father, Thomas Adediji Adisa, was a modest cocoa produce farmer. He was raised for the first 10 years of his life by his grandmother, the late Madam Morolahun Omo Ojo-Ofooke. He went to Aremo Primary School and Kudeti Primary School. The current Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana, was his classmate in Primary School. He then went on to the prestigious Ibadan Grammar School followed by Igbobi College for his secondary school education. Despite losing his father while still in secondary school, he was determined to make something of himself. After a brief stint in the civil service, he decided to pursue further education as a lawyer. With limited financial means, but a lot of ambition and determination, he traveled across the Sahara desert, first to North Africa, ultimately making his way to England.

While in the United Kingdom, he obtained a degree in Law and qualified as a Barrister in England and Wales (member of the Temple). He furthered his education by obtaining a post-graduate degree in Law, L.L.M., which was awarded by University College London on October 28, 1955. He became the first Ibadan indigene and fourth person in the entire country to be awarded a Masters degree in Law.

He returned to Nigeria in 1956 and set up a legal practice in Ibadan offering pro bono services to the less privileged members of the public. For services to the Oyo kingdom, he was made the Otun Balogun of Oyo by the Alafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi.

Adisa’s burial rites will commence on Wednesday, January 13, 2016, with a celebratory cultural event at his residence. On January 14, 2016, service of songs will take place at his residence, 4, Omolewa Street, Yemetu, Opposite UCH, Ibadan.

His funeral service will take place on January 15, 2016, at 10 AM, at St. Peter’s Cathedral, Aremo, Ibadan, Oyo State. Internment will follow immediately after at his residence. After internment, reception and entertainment of guests will take place from 1p.m. at the Emeritus Professor Theophilus Oladipo Hall, opposite UCH, on the same day.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Marian Oluyoola Adisa, children and grandchildren.