Today is your birthday, Debo Adeleke, but it is a sad reality that you are no longer with us. You have transformed into ewure jele jele, aguntan jena jena.
I can never forget you, Debo—a true friend whose memory I will always cherish. I continue to appreciate all you did for me as a brother, schoolmate, and compatriot.
When I look back, what I did for you in return, particularly at a tragic point in your life, feels insignificant compared to the sincere love and genuine compassion you showed me.
I vividly remember that morning in 1992 when you showed up at my door on 19 Funmilayo Street, Ikosi Ketu. It was the day after I did the unthinkable by standing up and calling the bluff of Babangida and Abiola, the most powerful and richest in our land.
You said, “Femi, I’ve read the story of your resignation from Chief Abiola’s publication on a matter of principle. I didn’t expect any less from you, given our training in Ife.”
Then, without hesitation, you pulled out your chequebook, asked how much my rent was, and immediately paid for six months. That gesture, that lifeline from you, kept me afloat when I had less than N500 in my bank account. I hadn’t thought about survival when I made the decision to quit rather than apologize to President Ibrahim Babangida for a story that was beyond reproach, as demanded by my publisher and the military dictator.
But you didn’t stop there. You invited me to join your business and set me up as a seller of frozen fish, of which you were the importer. When I struggled with this business—a strange terrain for me—you looked me in the face and said you expected it, knowing it wasn’t my calling.
You encouraged me to pursue what I was truly passionate about- journalism. That encouragement gave me the courage to start mobilizing my colleagues for the project that soon became iconic and critical in the fight against dictatorship in Nigeria.
Thank you, Debo, for all you meant to me and to our friends with whom we shared those unforgettable years in Ife. As I mark your birthday today, I wish you continued rest in peace. And if, by any chance, the departed do meet and relate, please extend my warmest regards to Segun Olayemi and Demola Adeyemo—those exceptional friends who left us before you, without the chance to fully display their immense talents. Tell them that the nation of our dreams, where justice and equity reign—the one we struggled for as young people—has yet to come into being. But know this: some of us have resolved never to give up.
O digbere o. O darinako, o doju ala, o doko elebo. Ma jokun, ma je kolo. Ohun won ba nje lajule orun ni ko ba won je.
I am immensely grateful, Debo Baba, as I used to hail you.
