President Bola Tinubu, former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and his Ogun State counterpart, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on Friday, attended the funeral service of the former Executive Director and CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Olusegun Awolowo.
Other dignitaries at the funeral of the grandson of the late sage and former Premier of the Western Region, Obafemi Awolowo, were former Senate President Bukola Saraki and his wife, Toyin; former Governors James Ibori (Delta), Adeniyi Adebayo (Ekiti), and Gbenga Daniel (Ogun); current and former public office holders; and other eminent Nigerians.
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A statement issued on Friday by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Lagos Governor, Gboyega Akosile, said the service was held at Our Saviour’s Church, Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, and was presided over by the Diocesan Bishop of Lagos, Anglican Communion, Church of Nigeria, The Rt. Revd Ifedola Okupevi.
Speaking at the event attended by many Anglican bishops and priests, traditional and religious leaders, politicians, captains of industry, entrepreneurs, as well as family, friends and associates of the deceased, President Tinubu, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, said the late Olusegun Awolowo served Nigeria with exceptional passion and unending dedication.
He said, “Segun served Nigeria with an exceptional passion and unending dedication. From his earliest days as a Special Assistant to the President, through his distinguished tenure as Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, he pursued his objectives with discipline and purpose and achieved real success for our country.
“His latter service as Secretary of the National Committee for the African Continental Free Trade Area underscored his belief in a future for Nigeria and Africa built on trade, collaboration and shared prosperity.
“He was a family man, a kind and gentle man who spoke to people’s hearts just as well as he did to their minds.”
President Tinubu prayed that God will give the widow, children, friends and family of the deceased, particularly the mother, Hajia Abba Folawiyo, the grace to bear the loss and “to remember Segun as he was, a good man who lived well.”
Speaking at the event, Governor Sanwo-Olu, in his glowing tributes to the deceased, said, “He worked with quiet dignity and unwavering conviction and had an uncommon devotion and dedication to the Nigerian dream.
“We gather to honour our father, brother, grandfather, friend and a true Nigerian.
“Mr Olusegun Omotunde Kofi Awolowo Jr, a son of legacy, a servant of our nation, a pillar of his generation and indeed a man of deep humility.
“Our friend and brother, Olusegun, was not just a public figure. He was a bridge between history and the future, between ideal and action, and between his illustrious lineage and the ordinary people that he truly cared for.
“We grew up knowing the real Awolowo family, of which our friend and brother stood tall. But if you also recall in that lineage, Segun Awolowo was not just outstanding; he was indeed a true icon coming from that name.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu sympathised with the late Olusegun Awolowo’s widow, Adebola, as well as the children, family members, friends and associates of the deceased, who died at the age of 62 years old on November 20.
In his sermon, the Vicar of Our Saviour’s Church, Tafawa Balewa Square, and Archdeacon of Ikoyi Archdeaconry, The Ven. Folorunso Agbelusi, described the late Olusegun Awolowo as a great man who sustained the Awolowo name without bringing shame to the family.
