THE PART to PLAY an Autobiography
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THE PART TO PLAY An Autobiography of Chief S. T. Adelegan Deputy-Speaker Western Region of Nigeria House of Assembly 1960-1965 The Story of the Life of a Nigerian Humanist, Patriot & Selfless Service i THE PART TO PLAY Author Shadrach Titus Adelegan Printing and Packaging Kingsmann Graffix Copyright: Terrific Investment & Consulting All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Author. Republished 2019 by: Terrific Investment & Consulting ISBN 30455-1-5 All enquiries to: [email protected], [email protected], ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Dedication iv Foreword v Introduction vi Chapter One: ANTECEDENTS 1 Chapter Two: MY EARLY YEARS 31 Chapter Three: AT ST ANDREWS COLLEGE, OYO 45 Chapter Four THE UNFORGETABLE ENCOUNTER WITH OONI ADESOJI ADEREMI 62 Chapter Five DOUBLE PROMOTION AT THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, IBADAN 73 Chapter Six NOW A GRADUATE TEACHER 86 Chapter Seven THE PRESSURE BY MY NATIVE COMMUNITY & MY DILEMMA 97 Chapter Eight THE COST OF PATRIOTISM & POLITICAL PERSECUTION 111 Chapter Nine: HOW WE BROKE THE MONOPOLY OF DR. NNAMDI AZIKIWE’S NCNC 136 Chapter Ten THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE FIRST REPUBLIC 156 Chapter Eleven THE FINAL COLLAPSE OF THE FIRST REPUBLIC - 180 Chapter Twelve COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION MEETING 196 Chapter Thirteen POLITICAL RELATIONSHIP 209 Chapter Fourteen SERVICE WITHOUT REMUNERATION 229 Chapter Fifteen TRIBUTES 250 Chapter Sixteen GOING FORWARD 275 Chapter Seventeen ABOUT THE AUTHOR 280 iii DEDICATION To God Almighty who has used me as an ass To be ridden for His Glory To manifest in the lives of people; And Also, To Humanity iv FOREWORD Shadrach Titus Adelegan, one of Nigeria’s astute politicians of the First Republic, and an outstanding educationist and community leader is one of the few Nigerians who have contributed in great and concrete terms to the development of humanity. I knew Adelegan well over fifty years ago when our paths crossed on the education scene. I was at the Ibadan Grammar School as Principal, while he was at St. Luke’s Teachers Training College, Ibadan, as a graduate tutor, under the principalship of late Venerable Ayodeji Banjo. He appeared to me a complete and brilliant gentleman who would make a success of his career. Adelegan later served as Chief Education Officer at the Ibadan District Council in the 1950s and made remarkable impact on the educational development of Ibadan and environs. He worked closely with late Oba I. B. Akinyele and my humble self, in attaining lofty heights in the education sector. I was to later request that Adelegan vacated his exalted position in Ibadan to return home to help his native community, Ipetu-Ijesha in establishing a Secondary School. Like a true patriot, which he is, Shadrach Adelegan heeded my advice and returned home to found Ipetu-Ijesha Grammar School, which I urged him to regard as his baby. Our paths were to later cross again on the political scene where he played commendable roles in the development of the nation. Reading through this publication, the patriotic and enduring spirit of Shadrach Adelegan shows through. From grass to grace, and from the lowly heights to an astronomical level, Adelegan’s stars have shined, reflecting him as a brilliant and honest educationist, politician and community leader. His handling of the proceedings of the defunct post-emergency Western Region House of Assembly as Speaker Protempore, were commended by the political party in power and the opposition who saw Adelegan as an impartial arbiter. Like every other person, Shadrach Adelegan has his ups and downs, which have been carefully chronicled in this account. This publication will surely be useful to students of History and Politics in our country, which is nurturing an enduring democratic culture. It is indeed a pleasure to be requested to write the foreword to this publication. Venerable Archdeacon Emmanuel Oladipo Alayande OFR, LLD, JP. The Aare of Ibadan December, 2004 v PREFACE “AUDERE ET PATI’’ In the year 1988, I met a professor of English Language – Professor Asein (now of blessed memory) at the University College Teaching Hospital, Ibadan. He was also a patient and we had occasions to discuss. The professor got to know so much about my antecedents and was highly impressed by the story of my life. It was he who suggested that I should endeavour to write my life story as he thought such an autobiography would be well worth it. In order to relieve too much hazard of writing in long hand and recorrecting the manuscript, the professor suggested that he would ask one of his boys in the English Department of the Univeristy of Ibadan to come and listen carefully and write the story for me. Unfortunately, Professor Asein died before the arrangement could materialize. Femi Adelegan, my son, then got me to settle down to write to occupy my time, having retired from the Public Service and as an active politician. Shortly after, some very sad events in the family made me stop unexpectedly. What also could one do when all interest in life was lost? But the Creator is bountiful in His mercies. I decided to complete the manuscript this year (2004) after 8 years of abandoning the exercise. For the exercise, which had gone past mid-way, I recruited Hon. Sola Adeyekun of the SOLAK COMMUNCIATIONS for the completion of the manuscripts. He was a member of the Osun State House of Assembly (1992-93) representing Oriade State Constituency. Some believe I have been “over-patriotic”, to use the words of retired Hon. Justice Ekundayo Kolawole. I find no explanation for this other than the fact that I believe very strongly in helping others. My motto: “Audere et Pati”, a Latin phrase which translates into “dare and endure” found a place in my way of life over the years. From my days as a teacher, headmaster and Education Secretary, through the period I served as a politician and community leader, I have always encouraged people to excel by helping others to succeed in life. I never really thought I could attain a great height, coming from a very poor background. Again, I will remain eternally grateful to God for using me to positively affect the lives of thousands of people who have attained enviable heights in various spheres of life. I have been involved in serious communal activities since 1937, when I became the Secretary of Ipetu-Ijesha Improvement Union, now in Oriade Local Government of Osun State, Nigeria. I am appreciative of the efforts of Tajudeen Salawu and Seyi Adejumo who typed the manuscripts. I appreciate Sola Adeyekun, a vibrant young man, who ran around, making useful contacts and collecting valuable materials for this publication. I am equally appreciative of the support and encouragement of very close relations, Chief Akinleye Fajemiyo and Chief Oladimeji Obakin, both of Messrs. Lee Fakino Nig. Ltd., Ibadan and my sister-in-law, Mrs. Mope Ajibola. vi I must not forget to place on record the sustained love of my cousin, Mr. Olu Akinrinmade, Chief Olu Oladunjoye (Olu- Olad) and others, too numerous to be mentioned. I also acknowledge the interest of Emeritus Professor J. F. Ade- Ajayi, an eminent scholar and my colleague and classmate at the University of Ibadan, who also went through the manuscripts. I am equally grateful to my senior colleague and mentor, the Venerable E. O. Alayande; OFR, LLD, JP; The Aare of Ibadan for his involvement. My children have been quite wonderful. I thank God for making them share the same traits I possess. In all, to God be the glory. S.T. Adelegan December, 2004 vii THE PART TO PLAY CHAPTER ONE ANTECEDENTS he whole of my life revolves around my motto: AUDERE et PATI, which translates into dare and endure. It was T fashionable in the olden days to fathom school motto from Latin. There is a lot in motto that serves as an inspiration for charting the course of the lives of people in the journies through Planet Earth. I also adopted this as the dictum for Ipetu- Ijesha Grammar School that I founded and labored very hard to build for 15 years. This was partly borne out of the fact that I graduated in Latin, History and English. Latin was my best subject and so it was really part of me. Every time we had the Founder’s Day or valedictory ceremonies, I used to explain the meaning of the motto and doggedness in the pursuit of their ambitions to my students. This greatly helped them to be what they became in life. Anyone that applies the motto in the pursuit of his/her endeavours would surely record success. Audere means daring – meaning to dare and dare is conjugated from the word audacity. Daring does not mean stupidity but to stand to do something as in the song: ‘Dare to be a Daniel Dare to stand-alone Dare to have a purpose firm Dare to make it known That is the type of daring. It is like the Yoruba adage which says – ‘Eni to ba fe je eyin inu apata, ko gbodo wo enu aake: “whoever plans to eat honey from the rock would not heed the damage to the axe”. This could be further explained with a song of praise: 1. Father hear the prayer we offer Not for ease that prayer shall be 1 THE PART TO PLAY But for strength that we may Always live our lives courageously 2. Not for ever by still waters Do we ask our way to be But we strike the living water From the rocks along our ways Roads in those days were always crooked and so, longer that what we have this age.