Tributes to David West and Alex Akinyele

Prof. Tamunoemi David West who died on November 11, 2019 and Chief Alex Akinyele who passed on on November 15, 2019 have joined the league of prominent Nigerians that answered their final summons within the same week.

Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo and Gen. Samuel Ogbemudia passed on in the month of March, 2017. Adeyinka died on March 8 and Ogbemudia passed on the next day.

Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu and Alhaji Ibrahim Coommassie followed the same route as Adebayo and Ogbemudia. The former died on March 8, while the latter passed on 24 hours later.

Sen. Joseph Waku and Gen. David Ejoor had one week between them: Waku died on February 3, 2019, while Ejoor gave up the ghost on February 10, 2019.

The demises of Prof. David West (83) and Chief Akinyele (81) have thrown the nation into another circle of double mourning.

Born on August 26, 1936 in Buguma in the Kalabari Kingdom of the present-day Rivers state, Prof. David West was educated in the University of Ibadan where he obtained his first degree in 1958 and procceded to the Michigan State University in the US for his M.Sc. degree in 1962. He bagged his PhD degree at the McGill University, also in the US, in 1966.

He joined the services of his alma mater, the Uinversity of Ibadan in 1969 as a consultant virologist and senior lecturer and was subsequently made a professor in 1975.

An intellectual avatar, David West left the academia and served as commissioner of education in Rivers state between 1975 and 1979. He was also appointed as a member of the 50-man Constitution Drafting Committee for the Federal Military Government of General Murtala Muhammed  in 1979. Between 1984 and 1985, he served as federal minister of petroleum and energy under General Muhammadu Buhari.

As the Petroleum minister, he was instrumental to the policy of “counter trade” to sell the nation’s oil at a time oil prices slumped to about $10 a barrel.

 In 1986, he was appointed as minister of mines, power and steel and was later put in charge of education under General Ibrahim Babangida. West was removed as minister and arrested by the same regime for allegedly contributing to the economic adversity of the country. He was discharged and acquitted of those charges by Nigeria’s Special Appeal Court on August 8, 1991.

After his experience in the hands of the military junta of the former President Babangida, Prof. David West remained apolitical. He was known for his outspokenness, avidly criticising government policies that were anti-people.

David West authored several publications and contributed to some journals in his field of specialty. Among them were Journal of Pathology and Bacteriology (1966); Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (1973); Intervirology (1974) and Journal of Hygiene (1974). He also wrote the book – Philosophical Essays: Reflections on the Good Life (1980).

Alexander Opeyemi Akinyele was born in Ondo town to a father who was a teacher. He began his primary education at All Saints School, Ondo and completed his secondary school studies at Gboluji Grammar School. He then attended the popular St Andrews College, Oyo, where he obtained a teacher’s training certificate.

After graduation, he taught briefly at his alma mater, Gboluji, before proceeding to the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife, for his first degree in English. In 1967, Akinyele joined the Department of Customs in Lagos. While staying in Lagos, he found time to work with a group of writers of the Village Headmaster.

On the recommendation of Customs director, Etim Duke, Akinyele was appointed as the public relations officer of the department. The department became vibrant under his watch until 1978 when he retired from the service and joined a cosmetic company. He was also the President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.

In 1995, the late General Sani Abacha appointed him as head of a National Reconciliation Committee with the objective of opening dialogue with interest groups in the country to support the democratic transition programme of the government.

 He was appointed as minister of Information in the regime of President Ibrahim Babangida and was also a one-time chairman of the defunct National Sports Commission.

Tributes have poured in like torrents for the two eminent sons of Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari paid separate tributes to the two icons. Buhari expressed deep sorrow at the death of David West, describing him as a dependable ally.

In his own tribute, the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, described the former petroleum minister and professor of virology as a nationalist and social critic who always spoke truth to power.

In his tribute to Alex Akinyele, President Buhari commiserated with the family as well as the government and people of Ondo State, friends and professional colleagues, urging them to take solace in the lasting legacies of the former minister.

According to President Buhari, Akinyele’s virtues of scrupulousness, discipline and diligence were always obvious to those who worked closely with him. He especially lauded the late Akinyele’s love for the country, which he zealously demonstrated by providing exemplary leadership.

Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu in his condolence message said Akinyele was also one leader who was very proud of his Yoruba, indeed Ondo heritage, and demonstrated this often in his appearance and conduct.

Also, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai  Mohammed, expressed deep shock and sadness over the death of Akinyele, describing his passage as a monumental loss to his family, the people of Ondo State and Nigerians in general.

We join millions of Nigerians in mourning the two elder statesmen at the time that their wise guidance was needed most. May the Almighty God grant their spirits eternal rest and their families the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses, Amen.

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