As families, traditional institutions and business associates mark the 75th remembrance of the death of Pa Chief Lawani Opoola Alao Adeleke, tributes have continued to pour in for the renowned Ibadan aristocrat, businessman and community leader whose contributions to commerce and the development of Ibadan remain enduring.
Prince (Chief) Gbadegeshin Abdul-Fatai Adeleke disclosed this in a tributary message made available to Westernmirror news on Friday, July 31.
Pa Chief Lawani Alao Adeleke, the first Mogaji of the Adeniyi Aleshinloye Dynasty of Ibadanland, died on July 31, 1951.
He was widely celebrated as a successful cocoa merchant and one of the founding members of the Ibadan Traders Association (ITA), regarded as one of the first indigenous incorporated trading companies established by prominent Ibadan businessmen in the 1930s and 1940s.
Historical records indicate that the ITA brought together some of the most influential indigenous entrepreneurs of the era who played pivotal roles in shaping commerce in Ibadan and beyond.
Among its notable founding members were Alhaji Salami Agbaje, Chief Akinfenwa of Bere, Pa Arowolo of Oke-Are, Pa Chief Lawani Alao Adeleke of Isale-Jebu, Chief Adewunmi Ogefon, Oba Daniel Akinbiyi, Chief Adeshina of Ile sobaloju Idi-Arere, and Alhaji Otiti, father of the late Alhaji Otiti, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The late patriarch was also remembered for raising a distinguished family whose members made significant contributions to banking, public service, traditional leadership, and business.
Pa Chief Lawani Adeleke has many children during his lifetime among them are late Prince Amusa Osuade Adeleke, who served as the first Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank Plc, the late Alhaji Barrister Mowewuola Rafiu Adegboyega Adeleke, the second Mogaji of the Adeniyi Aleshinloye branch and the late Are-Onibon of Ibadanland, and Prince Chief Alhaji Gbadegeshin Abdulfatai Adeleke (JP), a former Commissioner in Oyo State, investment banker and management consultant.
Family members described the late Pa Chief Lawani Alao Adeleke as a visionary whose entrepreneurial spirit, leadership, and commitment to community development laid a solid foundation for future generations.
They prayed for the peaceful repose of his soul and those of his contemporaries who contributed immensely to the growth of Ibadan’s commercial landscape.
“May their good souls continue to rest in the bosom of their Creator,” the family concluded. Amen.