Flamboyant First Republic politician, Alhaji Adegoke Adelabu Penkelemesi, literally came alive on Tuesday as his immediate family called for his immortalisation in recognition of his contributions to national development.
Three surviving direct children of the late Ibadan-born politician, Adedoyin, Adekunbi and Adekeye, made the appeal during a press conference held in Ibadan to herald an epic movie on the life and achievements of the late politician.
The movie, which will be produced by the Imodoye Concept Limited, seeks to highlight and elevate the under-reported achievements of Adelabu and put his life and time into proper perspective before the global public.
Imodoye Concept Limited is made up of Honourable Femi Kehinde (Executive Producer); Chief Samuel Kayode (Technical Producer) and Mr Dipo Fagunwa (Content Producer).
The late Adelabu Penkelemesi, who died in a road accident in 1958, was a former elected lawmaker in the federal parliament, the first national vice president of the NCNC and a former Minister of Natural Resources and Social Services.
Mama Adedoyin Adelabu, who described her late father as dotting family man, lamented that Penkelemesi was yet to be accorded his well-deserved in the annals of the Nigerian history.
According to her, the late Adelabu Penkelemesi has been neglected, while most of his contemporary nationalists have been recognised and given their places in the national roll of honours.
“I would like the government to immortalise my father, the late Alhaji Adegoke Adelabu Penkelemesi. He deserves it and I urged the government to do something it as soon as possible.
“Most of his contemporaries, including Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, Chief K. O. Mbadiwe, have been given national honours.
“I and his other children want our father to be given his due honour and recognition. We want him to be immortalised like Akintola, Mbadiwe, Azikiwe, Awolowo and several other contemporaries of his,” she said.
Mama Adedoyin Adelabu also recollected the day in 1958 when her father died, noting that he was a loving family man who treated his children with love and care.
“I was in Primary 4 when our father died in 1958. While he was alive, in the house, he told is to love everybody with no discrimination, irrespective of race, religion or tribe.
“He invited all us that fateful morning when he died. He prayed for us and advised us to love each other as ourselves. He was fasting that day. He was with his friend, Adeleke and a cousin, Ganiyu.
“He left for Lagos before we left for school. When we returned from school, it was around 4-4:30pm that we started seeing strange people filing into our house.
“We were told that he died in an accident. As a young child, I didn’t understand what was going on. We were surprised that our dear father was gone.
“Since then, God has been faithful to us. Some of his friends have been good to us and many of his political colleagues.
“We navigated the difficult period of that period. I am happy and I feel proud that I belong to the late Alhaji Adegoke Adelabu Penkelemesi Family,” she said.
Mama Adekunbi corroborated her elder sister as she described the late Adelabu Penkelemesi “a great man and a lover of children.
“My younger sister, Adekeye and I were supposed to go with him on that journey to Lagos that fateful day. But we were persuaded to stay behind.
“We were waiting at home, anticipating his return from Lagos. We had his food with us because he was fasting that day.
“When he died, many deserted the family, but some of his friends stayed with us. Our father was a great nationalist who should not be forgotten but be immortalised just like other nationalists so recognised across the country.”
Honourable Femi Kehinde, Executive Producer of the movie on Adelabu Penkelemesi and a former member of the House of Representatives (1999 to 2003), spoke on the essence of the movie.
He said the movie the movie was to x-ray the various perspectives on the personality late nationalist, bringing to the fore his real essence, his shortcomings as a human being and the moral lessons for the society to learn from.
Honourable Kehinde also lamented that the late Adelabu was the only nationalist of his era that has not been recognised by the government.
“What we are doing today is to introduce the epic concept of Alhaji Honourable Adegoke Adelabu Penkelemesi to the whole world. Good enough, present at the press conference are the biological children of Baba Adelabu.
“This movie is meant to x-ray the personality of the late Alhaji Adegoke Adelabu Penkelemesi, his shortcomings and the moral lessons the society can learn from his lifetimes.
“We decided to embark on this movie project on his biography because we felt it is the best way to teach the younger generations who no longer read books.
“The inspiration for going into the concept of an epic film in honour of Baba Adelabu came after watching a film on Mahatma Ghandi.
“The society no longer read. If you want to hide something from a typical man, keep it in the pages of a book. They will never discover it.
“Hence, the world of the audio-visuality of our reality should once again be transformed into cinematography. The world is moving towards films and film-making.
“The film is also to disabuse the mindset of people about the personality of Adelabu who wrongly perceived in negative lights.
He described himself as an egoist and a brilliant scholar who excelled in business, combined with his educational brilliance. He displayed his brilliance in the political landscape of Ibadaland, nay the entire Nigeria.
“Baba Adelabu died at the age of 43 years. Introducing him to the world is very important, given his achievements in academic, business and politics, in spite of his brief earthly existence,” he said.
Honourable Femi Kehinde also disclosed that two former governor of Oyo State, Dr Omololu Olunloyo and the Otun Olubadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, have also given their blessings to the movie project.
In his speech, the Maye Olubadan of Ibadan land and Chairman, Adegoke Adelabu Foundation, Oloye Lekan Alabi, said the movie will showcase the contribution of Adelabu national development and also immortalise his legacy and inspire future generations of Nigerians as well.
“A movie on the life and legacy of Alhaji Adegoke Adelabu will chronicle his remarkable life from his early days as a politician to his rise as a prominent leader in the old Western Region.
“Nigerians don’t really like reading books, but people like us do mention date, venue, personality and event when we are sure of such a history.
“The objective of the film is to put history in its proper perspective without any embellishments; to point out his greatness and contribution to humanity and national development.
“The film is to portray Adelabu in his true form to the world. Of all the nationalists, Adelabu remains the only politician who has not been honoured with a national monument. He has not been given his due honour.”
Technical Producer, Imodoye Concept Limited and Agbasaga of Ila Orangun, Chief Kayode Samuel, assured that the movie on Penkelemesi would be of international standard and global acceptance.
Samuel, a film-maker and cinematographer of over four decades, and resident in the UK who did a film on the legendary boxing icon, Muhammad Ali, also said local actors of good repute would be used in the production of the movie.
“History is very important. Most of the great movies in the Western World are great movies about towns, personalities. We are capable of making an international movie that will cut across the world.
“We are producing a movie that will be featured in movies houses across the world; not only in Nigeria.
“We are confident that we will do justice to the movie. It is important that we need to serve into our history. It is good that we are now going into historical movies,” he added.
