Dr. Kayode Fayemi,
Ekiti State Governor,
Government Secretariat,
Ado Ekiti.
My dear Governor,
I received with shock the news of the tragic death of our Deputy Governor, Mrs Adunni Funmilayo Olayinka while I was outside the country last week. But I took solace in the glowing tribute paid to her in your special broadcast which I read on the internet. It must have been extremely traumatic for you during your visit to the family at Ado Ekiti when Adunni’s 81-year old mother asked you for the whereabout of her daughter, your deputy!
As a member of the legal team constituted by your good self in 2007 to challenge the stolen mandate of the Ekiti people I met Mrs Adunni Funmilayo Olayinka at close quarters, for the first time, in the course of our preparation of the gubernatorial election petition. Although both of you were not considered learned in any area of bourgeois jurispudence your decisive interventions added value to the case and contributed immeasurably to the success recorded at the Court of Appeal after a protracted legal battle.
Upon the inauguration of your Administration on October 15, 2010, the Deputy Governor, Mrs Olayinka charged me to join hands with you in rescuing Ekiti State from the reactionary forces that were determined to impede the progress of our people. In spite of our ideological differences Mrs Olayinka took my constant harrassment of Your Administration with maturity and in good faith. As far as she was concerned the Administration needed to be kept focused and committed in the prosecution of its 8-point agenda for the transformation of Ekiti State from poverty to prosperity.
Apart from such political affinity we also became close through the intimate friendship of our children. Hence, in spite of her critical health condition Mrs Olayinka and her darling husband joined you and your wife in gracing the occasion of the wedding of my daughter in Lagos on December 8, 2012. In her usual vivacious character she was full of charm as she sang and danced at the Church service to the delight of my family. Little did we know that that was going to be one of her last public appearances!
In a society where women are completely relegated to the backgroud by culture, law and religion, Mrs Olayinka emerged a respected political leader through dint of hard work, sheer courage, unrelenting determination and unalloyed loyalty to principles. Thus, in the space of three years she and your wife (Comrade Bisi) have encouraged and influenced our young women to discard prejudices and compete with their male counterparts on the basis of equality of opportunities. Mrs Olayinka was polite but firm, she was gentle but tough, she was friendly but strict. At all times she comported herself with dignity, grace and sartorial elegance. It is indisputable that Mrs Olayinka was an Omoluabi per excellence.
The greatest tribute that can be paid to Mrs Adunni Funmilayo Olayinka by the Ekiti people is a collective resolve to promote knowledge to a stage where humanity will be in a position to prevent cancer and other dangerous diseases from destroying precious lives in our country.
Mr. Governor, kindly convey the heartfelt sympathy of my family to the Government and the good people of Ekiti State over the untimely death of Omo Ayiye, Mrs Adunni Funmilayo Olayinka.
Yours fraternally,
Femi Falana SAN.
Last modified: April 22, 2013
