Barrister Israel Adeyemi, first child of the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, is not media shy; at the same time, his face is not often seen on pages of newspapers and magazines. That’s always been his choice. This week, however, he stood before an exclusive audience in Lagos, leading his younger siblings and recieving a post-humous award-Man of The Year-in honour of their father. In this interview with TheTabloid.net, he speaks on the award, coming almost four years after Oba Adeyemi’s transition. Excerpts
Did you see the award coming?
l didn’t see it coming nor did l expect it. It was a pleasant surprise.
How and when did it come?
A very close relative called me to inform me about three weeks ago that the Silverbird wanted to get in touch with the head of Baba’s family in respect of the award and wanted to know if he could give them my telephone number. I warned him not to do so as l believe that there were a lot of scamers in the media industry who might want cheap publicity for their media organisation, thereby taking undue advantage of our family, taking into consideration Baba’s popularity. In addition, l am a person who enjoys privacy and abhors unnecessary attention and scandal. I, therefore, instructed him to ask the Silverbird to send the letter of invitation to the award ceremony to him. That way, we can determine if the source of the letter was genuine. Lo and behold, the source was genuine, and that was how the whole thing started.
What was your feeling upon receiving the news?
Once l was able to confirm that the source of the letter was genuine, l was elated and extremely happy that our father was being remembered for his good works.
How did you prepare for the ceremony?
The first thing l did was to get in touch with my younger siblings to make necessary arrangements to attend the ceremony as some of them were in different locations with different schedules and programmes. I decided that we should go with a small entourage of six persons, though we were allowed to come with as many representatives as we wanted.
How can you describe the ceremony?
The ceremony was superb and elegant with many important dignitaries in attendance. In the Posthumous Award category, our father was grouped with the likes of Edwin Clark, Solomon Lar and Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyawu. He was the only traditional ruler who was honoured in that category. Our father was also honoured by being the first to be presented with posthumous award, which showed the respect the organisers of the event had for him.
Has anything changed in the family between 2022 and now?
Naturally, we miss our his presence and his support in various ways, but we are all forging ahead and coping with our lives despite the challenges. One major change is that we don’t get to see one another like we used to when Baba was alive as there were many events that used to bring us together when Baba was alive. As the head of the family, l am trying my best to unite the family with the cooperation of my other senior siblings and God has been helping us.
This award would further help to unite the family so that we can build and improve on Baba’s legacies.
Have you a message to the Silverbird management?
l have observed that in Nigeria we don’t celebrate and honour our heroes and heroines, unlike other countries where so many things are put in place to honour their heroes and heroines. Apart from keeping the memories of these heroes and heroines alive, it also serves as motivation and inspiration for upcoming generations to emulated the good works of these heroes and heroines. It is, therefore, encouraging and commendable when organisations like the Silverbird put together ceremonies like this.
I really commend the management of the Silverbird, and l encourage them to continue with award and also improve on it in line with changing circumstances of the day.
I also advise them not to compromise on the quality of the awardees by making sure that they are people who have contributed meaningfully and positively to the development of our nation as that is only way the event can sustain it’s credibility, impact and acceptability.
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