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Late Otunba Olu Awotesu: Intrigues and politics of burial tear
family apart
By Bidemi Ore
Citizen Report Mon Dec 5,2011
Pa Awotesu
If mutual understanding and a caution is not taken concerning
some intrigues and politics going on towards the burial of the
late elder statesman and former Minister of State for
Agriculture in the second republic, Otunba Olu Awotesu, the
family might be heading towards a state of disunity should the
burial arrangement that has been announced to the world be
followed.
According to reliable sources, the family members are not in
agreement to the set date of the burial of the late Pa Awotesu
who also sat on the board of Mazin Engineering
Company as the Group legal advisor.
Since the Late
Otunba Olu Awotesu departed on the 29th of October 2011
at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), several
questions are being asked by his children and family members,
majority of whom are based abroad, about the handling of their
late father before his demise.
Otunba Awotesu left the united kingdom early in September 2011
after vacationing in the US and UK was said to be hale and
hearty and in good spirits. He was looking forward to getting to
Nigeria to start plans towards his 80th birthday celebration
scheduled to hold in November.
According to sources, his children based abroad were in constant
contact with their father calling him daily as arrangements were
going on for the birthday. One of his daughters had sent him a
draft program for the event which he was meant to edit and
approve but suddenly, it seemed that there was communication
breakdown. The
children based abroad discovered by chance that their father was
ill when one of his daughters based abroad called to speak to
him and found Otunba couldn't recognize her voice and was
incoherent. She raised the alarm with her siblings in the UK who
started contacting his wife, Mrs. Iyabo Awotesu who lived with
him in the house. “She
was very defensive and refused to take him to the hospital.,”
the source claimed.
It was gathered that one Prof. who is a close family friend kept
informing the children abroad that the Otunba was being taken
care of at home because his personal physician travelled. It was
when the children started complaining about
the deteriorating
conditions of their father that
they
contacted the Olori Ebi who instructed the wife to take Otunba
to the hospital. Eventually Otunba was taken to LUTH where he
passed away on the 29th of October.
Since his passing away, intriguing moves have been going on
concerning the burial of the late minister. The family are still
asking some pertinent questions concerning their father’s last
days. Among the questions they are asking are;
What was the "tonic" the
wife said was given to her by a certain (man,name withheld) to
administer to Otunba from which Otunba lost consciousness Why
was Otunba not taken to hospital earlier when his health
deteriorated?
Why were the children of Otunba based abroad and family members
kept in the dark about Otunba's illness Why did a certain Prof
of dermatology at LUTH believe that Otunba will die so there was
no need to expend too much money on treating him after Otunba's
children arrived the country demanding their father is
transferred to a private hospital with better facilities?
After his demise the wife requested for immediate embalming
despite repeated requests from his children for an autopsy to
find out the cause of their fathers' sudden death? But before
some of they could even grasp the reality that Otunba was gone,
just like a scripted that had been long planned, some acts
started playing up.
It started with the dates set for the burial.
Sources revealed that
instead of abiding by what the general family decided on, the
late Otunba’s wife with the backing of the Methodist Church,
especially One Bishop Ogunlere who is in charge of the Methodist
Church at Tinubu, Lagos, imposed the burial to take place on the
6th and 7th of December as against the 9th and 10th
being proposed. The reason being that they church wanted Prelate
Olu Makinde, the Prelate of the Methodist Church to be in
attendance as the church had a very important activity on the
later dates chosen. By deciding on the earlier dates, the
children of the deceased based abroad would be cut off the
burial proceedings and denied the chance to pay their last
respect to their father.
While the family were still trying to come to unison in agreeing
to a date, Obituary posters of the late Otunba appeared around
his hometown of Iperu Remo,Ogun State on Friday followed by paid
advertorial about the burial in a national daily the following
day.
While preparations are being made towards the burial, there are
fears that the family might experience fierce misunderstanding
as the children of the deceased based abroad and the family of
Otunba are not happy with the developments. Our source wondered
how Otunba's wife and her daughter who didn't have the money to
take him to a decent private hospital for treatment suddenly
have the money to bury him so quickly. Otunba has 4 wives and 7
children.The saga continues...
Th
This is the document referred to in the Witness
Statement on Oath of Clifford O. Kokogho as
“Exhibit
COK.2”
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