With a leader like this; By Bamidele Adigun. Tribute to Dr Najeem Salam #Iwaloye.

“With A Leader Like This….”.

Early this week I got a call from one of my ever grateful mentees, whose identity I have to conceal here for reasons best known to me. A regular caller at my residence, my ears at any information formal and informal centres, my boy is very articulate and prolific, a progressive who is ready to ‘follow Iwaloye to the jungle'(American expression), like myself, his mentor.

I had made several attempts in the past, when Iwaloye was in Office as the Speaker of the State House of Assembly to present him to Iwaloye as one of his ardent supporters to no avail. The most painful instance I can never forget was one, where in we got to Iwaloye’s office at the nick of time. I forgot my fone in my car and he had to do the needful. Before he could come back, pronto, I had been ushered in by Protocol. While inside, I was expecting him to join me and this actually was a distracting factor. I was intermittently gazing at the entry door, expecting his arrival and having my slurred interactive session with Iwaloye. Unfortunately, my mentee’s Godot never came.Then the discomfiture. The rest is history.

When last Iwaloye was celebrated at OAU very recently, my boy was on ground to witness the event, having been on the Campus undergoing his postgraduate study here. From here we were together at the reception venue at Osogbo. From the benefit of hindsight, he was able to see Iwaloye ‘one-on-one’ via an aide, who knows the activities of this my boy,on Iwaloye project.

And so what happened? When he called on this day, he said “Fádà, e máa bá mi dúpè lówó Oluomo o, àárò yìí ni mo rí aláàtì …..K, tí wón ní awon fi sòpóòtì mi fún masters program tí mò n se lówó…..Oh, my God!

With a leader like this…….!
Thank you Iwaloye
Thank you Oluomo
Thank you for this and many others in the past, so numerous to mention.

Aláàánú kò ní í jìnà si yín, kò ní í jìnà si ìdílé yín o. Rt Hon Najeem Folasayo Salaam Merci beaucoup.

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