Fashola, Remember Ibikunle Akitoye —CHRIS C. Ulasi

For very many years I have been bothered that perhaps the labours of Prince Ade Ibukunle Akitoye in kick-starting the agitation for the creation of Lagos State had not been accorded any recognition. I felt that having been privileged to observe at close quarters how the creation of Lagos State literally consumed him, I should appeal to the Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola to honour him.

Prince Ade Ibukunle Akitoye came from one of the ruling houses in Lagos. In the 1940s he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Science from the University of Bristol. He claimed to be the first Social Scientist in Nigeria. It is not clear to me why he relocated from Lagos to Aba (in Abia State). It was while in Aba that he and Barrister Magnus Williams formed Lagos State Movement. Barrister Williams was the Chairman and Prince Akitoye was the Secretary.

The fact that he was a member of the Action Group which was the ruling party in the West did not deter him. To advocate the carving out of Lagos from Western Nigeria was a very serious offence. He spent his money and time to present the case for the creation of Lagos State at the various Constitutional Conferences held in Lagos and London. He lobbied the delegates to these Constitutional Conferences.

At the time he lived in Aba his wide circle of friends cut across tribes and social strata. He closest friend was the late Justice Udo Udoma who was practising law in Aba. Some other friends who occasionally called were Mazi Mbonu Ojike, Chief Margret Ekpo, Barrister Balogun, and Magistrate Rotimi George. When Chief Obafemi Awolowo visited Aba he did not come into the house but Prince Akitoye went out to the car to greet him.

Although he had a family in Lagos he married a Kalabari woman and had a son by name Ade. He had an Ikwerre house boy named Sunday Jonah. I observed him at close quarters because he was living in my father’s house at 122, Azikiwe Road, Aba. This was as a result of an arrangement he reached with my late Uncle Dr. Nwafor Orizu.

He carried himself in a dignified manner like a true Prince. What he did not like he described as “nyamanyama”. He would exclaim “who born dog!” His favourite hymn was the Anglican Church hymn “God moves in a mysterious way”.

In 1962 when I was admitted to the Federal Science School, Onikan, Lagos I ran into him along Igbosere Street. It was then he informed me that he was the Palace Secretary to Oba Adeyinka Oyekan, the Oba of Lagos and that he owned a nite club by name Copacabana at the Bar beach. I am not sure he lived to witness the creation of Lagos State. He deserves to be remembered for being the first person to agitate for the creation of Lagos State.

•Pastor Ulasi wrote from Enugu, southeast Nigeria.