Day Sanwo-Olu, others joined Lagos lawmakers to honour a power broker, dream maker, late Osinowo

It was an honour due only for kings and dream makers and indeed Senator Sikirulai Adebayo Osinowo was not only a king in his own right he was also a king maker and dream maker, so the hounour done him by the Lagos Assembly to celebrate his time and season both in the Assembly and in life was worth it.

Osinowo who was elected into the Lagos State House of Assembly in 2003 ceased to be a member of the Assembly in 2019 when he elected into the Senate of the Federal Republic as a senator representing Lagos East District, but he died on Monday, June 15.

So, when the Lagos State House of Assembly rolled out the drums yesterday, Tuesday to celebrate his life and times, especially his contribution to the growth of the Centre of Excellence, even Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Speaker of the State Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa both rightly declared that the late Senator Osinowo lived an exemplary life.

Sanwo-Olu and Obasa spoke during the Special Parliamentary Session held in honour of Osinowo at the Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday.

Senator Bayo Osinowo reportedly died of COVID-19 on Monday June 15, 2020 in Lagos and he was buried same day in his country home in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.

Sanwo-Olu, while stating that a lot of people have expressed how and what they knew about Senator Bayo Osinowo, stated that the deceased meant different things to different people.

The governor said that members of the state Executive Council had a special session for the late Senator on Monday because of his level of contributions to the development of the state and that they prayed for God to grant him eternal rest.

“He was a very witty and jovial person. We enjoyed a high-level of comradeship. He was a different person to different people. He lived a fulfilled man, a respected Nigerian, a respected husband and father.

“How do we want to be remembered, when we are gone? If we miss him, we must learn something from him. Let us know that our time will come and what will people say about us.

“On behalf of the people and government of Lagos State, I thank the House of Assembly for the session. I thank you and I want us to know that our time on earth is limited,” he said.

While eulogising the late lawmaker, the Speaker Rt. Hon. Obasa said that no one wanted to die, including those who wants to go to heaven.

Obasa stressed that the late Osinowo was a major general in the corridor of Nigerian politics.

“We are gathered here to honour Senator Bayo Osinowo, a power broker who assisted many politicians to realise their dreams. I met him before we got to the state house of Assembly, when we were strategising about who would be the Speaker of the 5th Lagos Assembly.

“Osinowo was an astute and grassroots politician and a super benefactor to many.

“My emergence as Speaker of the 8th Assembly was through him and he contributed to the success of our elections in the South West.

“He fought to liberate Nigeria from military dictators. He was a parliamentarian par excellence and he was a great democrat,” he said.

The Speaker added that Osinowo was a friend, a colleague, and a teacher.

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According to him, Osinowo was ebullient, lively and full of humour, “He was a political leader with charisma. He was in tune with everybody. His death has created a vacuum that would be difficult to fill and he would be greatly missed by everybody.

“I am sure that Senator Sikiru Osinowo never knew he would be departing so soon, when he gave a speech about death on the floor of the Senate. While I pray that Almighty Allah grant him eternal rest, I urge all of us to learn from his death,” he said.

Speaking via zoom, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila commiserated with the lawmakers “over the great loss.”

Gbajabiamila added that many people have heard about the late Senator and that there was no way one could talk about Lagos State and the State House of Assembly as well as the Senate without mentioning Senator Bayo Osinowo.

“He would be remembered with fond memories. Let us remember those good times we had with him, his jovial ways, and anecdotes. He was a welder who welded different forces together. He was close to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, I know you would miss him. May his soul rest in peace,” he said.

Also speaking, the APC Chairman in Lagos State, Alhaji Tunde Balogun said that Senator Bayo Osinowo lived a very good, caring and generous life.

A former speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, in his contributions, said that he never knew that after five years and three weeks of leaving the House, the time he would speak in the chamber again would be a valedictory service for Senator Bayo Osinowo.

“Most of the old members and senior members of the APC know that Senator Sikiru Osinowo was a close associate of mine. I spent 12 years in the House, 10 of which I led the House, but we were close all through.

“When someone passes on in our clime, we don’t say bad things about him or her. Pepper, as I knew him, was a human being. He was an extra ordinary human being,” he said.

Other lawmakers in the Assembly also paid glowing tributes to the late Senator Sikiru Osinowo, and described him as a mentor and a political leader, who they said mentored many and helped to stabilise the Assembly.

Earlier in his sermon and prayers, Muslim cleric, Sheik Habeeb Al-Ilori, said that it was only God that does not die.

“We will come into the world and go at the appropriate time. God created death and death is the ultimate price for every human being to pay. Aljana is for those who do well, while hell fire is for those who have not done well for humanity.

“As we mourn Senator Sikiru Osinowo, then it is certain he will be in Aljana as he did good things while on earth. We should all do good and see the late Osinowo as a good example for us,” he said.

Hon. (Dr.) Abdulateef AbdulHakeem, a former member of the House of Assembly and Chief Imam of the Assembly Mosque, spoke on “Preparation for Death.”

While quoting Quran 67: 1-2, he urged the people to bring themselves down before they are brought down.

“Lower yourself because you will eventually be lowered. By this, you will remember your level of worthlessness.

“They are worthlessness of the past tense, present tense and future tense. The world lived without you before you were born, some are living without you now and they will still live without you after your death.

“Everybody will taste death and death that you are avoiding will eventually overtake you. Learn from the death of those who precede you and those coming after you will learn from your death.

“We must come to terms of the suddenness of death and the only referee is Allah and He has the right to take the life whenever He likes,” he said.