Adeyeye: Impacting Lives, Nurturing Tomorrow’s Leaders, My Greatest Achievement

Uchechukwu Nnaike

Like a diamond in the sunning sky, Gbadebo Adeyeye, a prince of Ise Ekiti, descended into the expansive premises of Crown Heights College, Ibadan, where he radiantly received friends and well-wishers to the 2024 valedictory service of the prestigious college’s class of 2024 and dedication of Oba David Opeyemi Adeyeye Hall.

Adeyeye’s characteristic smiling face was magical as it happened on the said day that even newcomers had no second thought to tell the state of his inner mind; a pure-minded personality who, despite having seen it all locally and globally, remains calm with humility being his personal trait. No wonder the parade of who is who that graced the well-organised and managed ceremony that started off with the inauguration of the new hall, which he said was still a peanut in appreciating his late king-father, His Royal Majesty Oba David Opeyemi Adeyeye, Agunsoye II, the Arinjale of Ise-Ekiti, who reigned for 32 years between 1932 and 1976.

The hall, inaugurated by former Minister of Information and National Orientation and former Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Hon. Labaran Maku, became the venue of the all-important event. It was a day to remember all the times with all the glitters and glamours that both graduating students and their junior ones still in school put into it, to the amazement of the guests including members of the press.

It is noteworthy the emotion-laden performances whereby the junior students sent off their graduating seniors, who intermittently filed in to hug, shake hands and dance with them, with some of them having to lift up their faces to look into the ceiling systematically, an indication of a very sad-happy reality that the departure from fellow school juniors was now real. 

“We will miss you,” some junior students told their passing-out seniors. It was a day that one will not be able to recount the great things that transpired, especially as Adeyeye engaged the guests with his short address that started poetically followed by the minister of God, Pastor Johnson, who gave a spiritual diet that became too plenty for the audience to finish, the oratory paper presentation by the guest speaker, Maku, to the special guest of honour’s address of Senator Adedayo Clement.

The Crown Hearts College’s event had a lot of takeaways, so hilariously entertaining, informative and educative.

In his welcome address, Adeyeye said, “In a moment like this, nothing is more important in our nation than to provide quality education for the young population of our society. According to the United States-based educationist James Madison, many years ago, ‘A popular government without popular information or a means of achieving it is a tragedy’.

“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and people who want to be their own governors must arm themselves with power that knowledge is. This is why Crown Heights College remains committed to its founding mission since 1997 to provide our young men and women in society with a conducive environment where they can be well educated without any compromise and without fabrication.

“As we gathered here this afternoon to celebrate our class of 2024, to rejoice with their parents and their guardians, there is no better moment than this to remind them that no matter what Nigeria’s situation is today, the future of our society is still bright. Don’t lose hope. And that bright future does not belong to the Yahoo leaders, the bright future belongs to you. That is why you must take your role from today, and I pray that the Lord Almighty will continue to guide you in your journey of life.” 

Responding to journalists’ questions about what prompted him to move from marketing and advertising to becoming an educationist, Adeyeye said, “In our modern days, that is not really strange as it has been done many times,” and he listed names of great people in the world who were not educationists but became partakers in the sector. All we care about is to contribute to the future of the younger population of our society, which is very important and nothing is more important than that.”

On his achievements since he started Crown Heights College, Ibadan, 27 years ago, Adeyeye said, “Money is not the only achievement that we are expecting, personally, that is not the motivation. The motivation for me is to see the students growing well and doing well in all areas. So, the major achievement so far is in the products that we have already released to society; many of them are doctors and engineers, and each time I see them, I feel much, much better than millions of naira in my bank.”

On whether or not he is worried about the state of education in Nigeria, he said, “Well, if I tell you I am not worried, I am just deceiving you or myself. Everybody is worried. At least anybody with a good education and a progressive mind should be worried now because we are not in the right place. The country is not where we are supposed to be, not only in education but in all areas. We are talking of education here, and I think we need to wake up and do what is right for our people and great country.”

In his lecture, Maku, while addressing the valedictorian after giving all his adulation about the role he believes Ibadan has played in the nationhood of Nigeria, stated, “Because of these great young men and women that are leaving school today, when my friend (Senator Adedayo Adeyeye) told me they’d decided that I should be the one to come and speak to them, I said whatever I would be doing this weekend, I would set it aside to come to  Ibadan.

“Young men and women, let me assure you, no matter what you read about Nigeria and hear about Nigeria and most of the time, especially now when what you read is negative, 90 per cent of what you read about the country is negative, and I am worried for children that are growing up like you when you read newspapers and see what is going on in our media concerning our country, even adults, parents are despairing about the future of our country. Every day, you hear one negative story.”

He added: “No matter the level of education that you have, without character rooted in culture and traditions, you are empty. Addressing the graduands further, he said, “Whatever it is that you have read or have heard about Nigeria, the future of the country is great.”

He said Nigerians should stop concentrating on the negative things said about their country and think about the positive, adding that the challenges of today are opportunities for better things to happen in the future. 

Maku held guests in the Oba David Adeyeye Hall spellbound when he said Nigerians’ problem is usually that they go to school to train to work in government. He said it is a mentality that must change because, the best place for job creation is the private sector. He then urged the graduands to start thinking of making productive contribution to make Nigeria truly great.

The special guest of honour, former Minister of State for Works, Senator Adedayo Adeyeye, thanked his brother, Prince Gbadebo Adeyeye, for naming a hall after their late father.

He said, “I am sure of so many people who have graduated from this school, who are in various professions. That is the beauty of education. I congratulate you on this milestone. And I want to thank you specially for naming this building after our late father, the late Oba David Opeyemi Adeyeye, Agunsoye II, Arinjale of Ise-Ekiti (1932-1976), a great Oba indeed, one of the greatest monarchs that have ever been produced in the history of Ekiti State. In the history of Ekiti, he had the privilege of being the Chairman of Pelupelu, which is the highest level of traditional rulers, in 1942. He was revered, and he was great.”

He added, “Now my attention should be turned to you, children. Today is a historic day in your life. You are passing out of secondary school. That is an event that occurred in my own life some  51 years ago, in 1973, precisely when I was 16 years old. At that event like this, people came to speak to us, and those words remain with me till today. Make Christ your foundation, and be focused in life. It is not the number of degrees that you have that matters. Of course, you can get a Ph.D. and become a professor. You can be anything but focused. There are many professors in this country who have not made their mark, let me say, and I am sure at the end of the day, did not feel fulfilled in life.”

Other dignitaries at the event included the Secretary General of South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA) and former member of the House of Representatives representing Irepo/Orelope/Olorunsogo Federal Constituency, Oyo State, Bosun Oladele; author of famous Economics and Government textbooks (by OA Lawal), Dr. Olayiwola A. Lawal, among others.