The late Justice Adegboye Ayinla Gbolagunte of the Oyo State Judiciary knew he would die and so had planned his funeral by choosing the cemetery his remains would be buried and had paid for his vault.
The Pastor of New Reservation Area Baptist Church, Iyaganku, Ibadan, Oyo State, Rev. Kayode Oyedemi, disclosed this on Friday at the funeral service for the Eruwa, Oyo State-born jurist who died on 24 Jun, 2024.
The 64-year-old late Justice Gbolagunte was the son of a former Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly in the Second Republic, Rt. Hon. Mokolade Gbolagunte.
Gbolagunte was survived by his wife, Wuraola Ayoola, and three children -Oladiran, a digital technologist with specialisation in Network Communications; Oladoyin, a lawyer; and Oladotun, also a lawyer.
Quoting from the Book of II Kings 13 and 20; Hebrew 11; as well as II Samuel 12, Pastor Oyedemi said he has never seen anybody prepare his own funeral as deeply as Justice Gbolagunte did.
The Baptist Church Cleric noted: “It is not unusual for saints to die of sickness from attack.
“If prayers can stop death, Justice Gbolagunte would not have died because, upon revelation that he would die of the sickness, we were praying.
“But when the sickness of the beloved is unto death, no amount of prayers can heal the sickness, no matter how perfect one could be in faith.
“The sickness of Lazarus was not unto death, but that of Elisha was unto death.
“God knows why he has called Justice Gbolagunte home at this time. While we were praying and believing that God would spare his life, he had accepted his faith himself.
“I remember his last admission to the hospital about two or three days to his death. Then I asked if he was still holding unto God in faith and he said yes.
“Since last year, Justice Gbolagunte had told me that his funeral is to be held in Ibadan here. He had told me the cemetery.
“I have been hearing about it, but I have not seen anybody who planned his funeral so deep as Justice Gbolagunte did.
“All the arrangements you see, he had chosen and contacted people you see carrying them out. He had contacted everybody.
“When he paid for the vault, Justice Gbolagunte told me, and he connected me with the person that was in charge of that.
“That is to tell you that he was convinced that God said that his time had come. And that is one of the greatest ways to die.
“For you to know when you are going to die helps you to get settled, not just with God, but with every other thing. He had that privilege.
“God told Hezekiah that he would not recover, but he would die. God said: ‘Set your house in order for you shall die.’
“It is one of the greatest ways to die. People like that will never miss heaven.
“That is the assurance that Hon. Justice Adegboye Gbolagunte has gone to be with Christ.”
Addressing the children left behind by the late Justice Gbolagunte, Rev. Oyedemi said: “You have a mother with strong faith and a prayerful one.
“You have a father with a high level of integrity, who was not corrupt. You must hold aloft the two qualities of your parents.
“If we have many of Justice Gbolagunte in Nigeria, the country would be better. He stood for integrity.
“Public service holders should ruminate on this. His colleagues should search themselves how they are dispensing justice.
“Bad leadership persists when there is bad followership. In Nigeria, we combine the two.
“Are our leaders of today not followers of the past? How much has their past criticisms helped our Nation now? Let us ruminate on this.”
In attendance at the funeral service of the late Justice Gbolagunte were dignitaries, including the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Debo Ogundoyin; judges, serving and retired; Senior Advocates of Nigeria; Nigerian Bar Association executives.
Others included old secondary school mates of the deceased from Birch Freeman High School, Surulere, Lagos; Baale of Aborerin in Eruwa, High Chief Olaide Ojedapo; friends and relatives of the Gbolagunte family.
Recall that a Special Valedictory Court Session was held in honour of Justice Gbolagunte on 22 July, 2024 at the state High Court, Ibadan, during the weeklong celebration of his exit.
On 23 July, a Commendation Service took place for the deceased at New Estate Baptist Church, Surulere, Lagos, while on 25 July, there was a Service of Songs at Jogor Centre, Ibadan.
