Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke, the business mogul who ran for governor of Osun during the third republic when the state was carved out of Oyo state is dead.
Until his death on Sunday, April 23, 2017, the two-term senator and first civilian governor of Osun, was the lawmaker representing Osun west senatorial district.
Adeleke’s death happened less than 24 hours after he attended a burial in the Ile-Olugbo area of Osun.
The tragic incident came as a rude shock to the Adelekes, his party, All Progressives Congress and political associates.
Sen. Adeleke died at the age of 62 at Bikets Hospital in Osogbo, the Osun state capital after suffering a heart attack according to family sources.
His academic journey:
During the civil war (1967 – 1970), Adeleke, who grew up in Enugu, was forced to complete his primary education at Alafia Institute, Mokola, Ibadan, Oyo state.
He then proceeded to Ogbomoso Grammar School for his secondary school education.
The quest for higher education took him to United States of America, where he obtained a bachelor of arts degree and a master’s degree in public administration.
He also bagged a master’s degree in criminal jurisprudence.
Adeleke As SERUBAWON
At the age of 37 years, he beat people far older who had indicated interest in the ticket of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He was not initially favored to win. The front runner was a lawyer, Oladipo Oladosu but after coming second in the primary, Adeleke was able to win a runoff. After winning the ticket, he also defeated his opponent in the election.
His emergence as the governor then, fresh from the United States, earned him the nickname, SERUBAWON.
Although his tenure did not last two years, he had a number of achievements. He established a polytechnic at Iree, a college of technology at Esa-Oke and the completed the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation, among other projects.
In 2007, he was elected a senator under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). During his legislative career, he was chairman of many committees, among which is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Establishment of Schools and Prisons Reform
In the senate, Adeleke clamoured for the establishment of schools in the prisons. As a criminologist, Adeleke was not satisfied with the state of Nigerian prisons.
“There are certain bills that I want to introduce. I am a criminologist. I have a masters degree in criminal justice and there are certain bills I will be introducing to the country to improve criminal justice,” he had said during an interview.
“There are people who have had PhD from the prison and they are good people today. We should introduce certain reforms in the prison system like schools where people can teach.”
