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Oyo govt, Olunloyo, others extol Are’s virtues in death

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Dr Lekan Are



It was a season of outpouring of tributes for a late director, Dr Lekan Are, who was celebrated by the Oyo State Government at the Emeritus Prof. Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall, University Colllege Hospital, Ibadan, on Monday.

Are, a businessman and agronomist, passed on after a brief illness on January 18, at age 86.

His death was variously described as a big loss; a shocking news and a painful blow too hard to bear by family members, associates, friends and traditional rulers.

Dignitaries who graced the event tagged by the state government as, ‘Celebration of the life of an Icon,’ in honour of the deceased included former governor of Oyo State, Dr Omololu Olunloyo; Deputy Governor, Oyo State, Rauf Aderemi; Secretary to the State Government, Olubamiwo Adeosun; state Head of Service, Amidat Agboola, and Chief of Staff, Bisi Ilaka.

Also present on the occasion are Chief Bayo Akande, mfr; Chief Onikepo Akande, CON; wife of former governor Rashidi Ladoja; Dr Jide Fatokun; Alhaja Ololade Agboola; Chief Bolaji Ayorinde; Olasunkanmi Olaleye; Commissioner for Lands; Raman Abiodun; Alhaja Ololade Agboola; former President-General, Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) Adebayo Oyero; Olayinka Ladoja; Alhaji Abdulateef Are; Samuel Kokawole, and PS Ministry of Education, Mrs AB Atere.

Wife of the deceased, Chief Olabisi Are; her daughter Olufunke Are-Igun; son of the deceased, Damola and son-in-law to the deceased, Adenola Igun, with members of the Are and Aboderin families were on hand for the ceremony which was attended by members of Ibadan Foundation and members of other social clubs; with a large retinue of state government officials.

In his tribute titled, ‘Lalekan’s 86 dramatic years, Olunloyo described Are’s death as ‘A loss on the heart but a gain in heaven.’

Quoting T.S. Elliot, the late Nobel Prize winner for Literature in 1948, Olunloyo said, “Should we mourn or rejoice at Lekan’s exist? My suggestion is that we should do both. We should mourn his inevitable exist, and we should rejoice at his achievements. Our loss on earth is their gain in heaven.”

Olunloyo, who disclosed that his first knowledge of Are with whom he shared common root was 1947, said,

“We entered Government College, Ibadan on January 23, 1948. Our paths intersected conspicuously at the 1947 exams and interview. We were classmates; he, my elder brother and I, the youngest boy in class. I alone got an entrance scholarship from Standard 5. There were exactly 2020 students who competed for the 48 places on offer. Lekan Are beat everyone except Ademola Idowu who came first overall.

“Lekan Are blazed the trail when he entered the University College, Ibadan in October 1953. Lekan had a distinction in GCI which was very ridiculous to me. He had a calligraphic handwriting which never changed across 80years.”

The former governor recalled Are’s Midas touch in his career as an agronomist, business ventures, social life as well as human relationship and family life. The duo of Are and Olunloyo had funny and adventurous lifestyles which included their attitude to religious activities as youngsters.

“The bold footprints of Lekan are not only in his numerous diverse publications. They remain forever at St. David’s Kudeti; GCI; PUNCH; Wema; Ibadan Foundation University Press Plc.; Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development Authoruty etc.,” he said.

The deputy governor said the late Are of the Are family dynasty of Oke Are, Ibadan, mentored me.

“During the electioneering, he would tell me not to look back or give up. He called me and told me that he loved the pair of Governor Seyi Makinde and I.

“You can only move with him if you are hardworking and honest. Dr Lekan Are had three familie. These are the biological family, the business family and Oyo State as a whole. The biological family should rejoice for well spent life. The business family should mourn. The larger society and Oyo State people are mourning. His advice was on point. I was of the Ogun-Oshun training school. He had a different plan for the Ogun-Oshun River Basin,” he said.

Earlier in an address of welcome on behalf of the state government, Adeosun said, “Governor Makinde promised that the state government would celebrate late Dr Lekan Are because of his contribution to the development of the state and the nation as a whole. He distinguished himself.

“Today, the state government is paying back for the positive contributions he made to the development of Oyo and the South West. He was a man of many parts and a great industrialist.”

Dr Jide Fatokun of the Ogun-Osun River Basin described him as first among equals, while Ilaka, said, “Chief Lekan Are, a quintessential GCI old boy, will always be relevant. There was no two of his kind. He was passionate about agriculture; whatever he did, he was passionate about it. His work would always be relevant.”

A front line engineer, Dele Adigun, said, “If you are not honest, punctual and hardworking, you would be in problem with Dr Lekan Are. He was an Ibadan man to the core.

Are’s daughter, who described the deceased as a man of principle, said, “I appreciate all of you, including the Oyo State Government; the Aboderin and the Are families; my father’s friends and associates, and the entire people of Ibadan who honoured my father by gracing this occasion.”

There was a dance presentation by the Oyo State cultural troupe, clad in green uniform Ankara dresses while students of Government College, Ibadan also presented a drama sketch on the life of the deceased.

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