BY RAHEEM ADEDOYIN
Within minutes of being informed about the death of Alhaji Salman Lawal (a ka Baba Mulika Eleran), I was at the family house at No 10 Tegbesun compound, Alapata , Ilorin to attend his Janazah ( burial prayer for the dead) and pay Condolences to his family.
The swiftness of my reaction to his death reflects how how much I value Baba Eleran (as I fondl called him). He was an elderstateman, a celebrated and well-respected Community leader in Ijomu-Oro, my home town .
Alhaji Lawal had a larger-than-life image in Oro Kingdom, a cult-like followership in Irepodun Local Government and a visible revognition in the entire Kwara South Senatorial district.
Baba Eleran was a political collosus, an icon of inestimable value. It was to your own political peril to have him as your political adversary.
His political strategy was simple but effective: he made our community his centre of gravity , he humanised and patronised the ordinary folks who easily became his instrument of mobilisation and followership
. He was a major influencer in community development
Until about a decade ago, Baba eleran was a political thorn in my flesh. But after a famous faceoff in 2013 we became extremely close. He served faithfully as a father, my political shield and adviser on family matters.
Although a deeply rooted Ilorin fulani indigene, Ijomu Oro was his home. As he was won’t to say himself, Baba Eleran had a foothold in virtually every household in the community. His well-known children were born and raised in our community including the Mulikat , the eldest and Hammed who inherited his father’s political sagacity.
It is a mark of his popularity in his adopted home that men and women including clerics from Ijomu Oro today flocked to his ancestral family house in Ilorin for the Janazah and condolence visit
.
May Allah grant Alhaji Sulaman Lawal Aljanah firdaus. Ameen.
Good Night, the faithful father of all.
Alh. ( Chief) Raheem Adedoyin,
Oloriewe of Oro Kingdom
