The Life & Times of Alhaji Sikirullahi Adekunle Adegbite.
• A Successful Public Servant & Community Leader.
By: Charles Segun Adegbite.
After spending 33,147 days in this world, Alhaji Adekunle Sikirullahi Oladele Adegbite, a retired Chief Technical Officer of the Federal Housing Authority, Lagos, and former Supervisor for Finance, Sagamu Local Government Council, bade the world goodbye, on Friday, 21 November, 2025, around 4:45pm.
Death didn't allow him to see the end of that day before blowing the whistle to tell him "Time Up!" And, that is it.
There is time for everything under the Sun, as the Holy Scriptures states in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven". King Solomon explains in that passage there is a time to be born and a time to die, a time to weep and a time to laugh, and a time for war and a time for peace.
For us to have a better understanding of life and time, William Shakespeare in his book, As You Like It, describes life as a stage. And the character in the play, Jaques says, "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players".
That means, everyone living in this world has been given time and season to play certain specific role or roles at a particular time and season. And, once the person (actor) finishes playing the role(s) assigned them, they have to leave the stage willingly or unwillingly.
For Alhaji Sikirullahi Adegbite, God has been gracious to him by giving him a long life and good health to live in this physical realm. This explains the reason his children organized a glamorous birthday ceremony for him on February 20, this year, to celebrate his 90th birthday.
Of course, it was a red-letter day that
was full of splendor. The nonagesimal celebration was attended by the wife of Ogun State governor, Her Excellency, Mrs Bamidele Abiodun, and Wife of former governor of Osun State, Her Excellency Mrs Kafayat Olaitan Oyetola.
Suffice to add that former Senator Kola Bajomo and other political juggernauts, captains of industry, many successful technocrats, public servants, community leaders, family members, few available friends and associates were all there to celebrate with this man of honour.
It was perhaps the last birthday ceremony he attended in his lifetime. And barely nine months after the celebration, agent of death began to visit him in form of old age sickness, asking him to start winding up, and move out of the life stage.
Of course, his children and concerned family members, with the support of medical personnel at Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State, made relentless efforts to prolong his stay on the stage. But when God says it is high time one lives the stage and moves to the great beyond, all human efforts to keep the person alive here may prove abortive.
Why ? There's time for everything under the Sun.
His Birth and Early Life
On Wednesday, February 20, 1935, this man came into the Adegbite Royal family of Owarodo and Koyelu Ruling Houses of the Akarigbo of Sagamu, Remo, as a newly born baby boy.
On the 8th day, he was named Sikirullahi Adekunle Oladele Adegbite by his father Alhaji Buraimoh Adegbite, inside his grandfather's house at Itun Ajina, in the heart of Sagamu, in those days.
He grew up as a handsome and clever boy, in that house named Adegbite's Court, with his siblings and other members of the extended family, in that polygamous environment, as it was in those days.
Schooling In Sagamu
He attended Wesley School, Oko , Sagamu (1943-1951) and was well brought up with the Omoluwabi family credo, which every true Adegbite's son and daughter was and still known for till date. To the Adegbites, being of good character and well disciplined; honest, trustworthy, hardworking, were not negotiable family values.
Because it was a polygamous family with some of his elder brothers already in school, and his father couldn't afford sending him to secondary school, due to the problem of school fees, he had to stay out of school for two years, after finishing his primary education. Consequently he started working.
Life in Molusi College, Ijebu Igbo.
As a clever boy who did not want to end up as just a holder of primary school certificate, he saved out of his meagre earnings to enter school. So, in January 1954 he entered Molusi College, Ijebu Igbo, by telling his father he has been offered government scholarship to attend secondary school.
After spending two terms in secondary school and he couldn't pay for the next term, he cleverly told his father that those who gave him scholarship have withdrawn. And he would have to withdraw or his father had to come in.
Having one's son as a student of Molusi College in those days was a thing of pride for every father from that part of Nigeria. Dr Tai Sholarin, (who later founded the famous Mayflower School, Ikenne Remo), who returned from Europe was the Principal of the school at that time.
"So, my father took over with the payment of the school fees." He told Successful People Magazine in an interview before his 90th birthday.
Between 1954 and 1958 he was at the Molusi College, where he passed out in flying colours.
Living as a Teacher & Civil Servant
Between February and December 1959 he worked as a teacher at Muslim High School, Sagamu.
He then landed a job at the Post & Telecommunication Dept. Lagos, where he worked as a Clerical Officer in 1960. There he was till 1965 when he travelled to the United Kingdom for further studies, after getting a Federal Government scholarship.
His Marital Life: Living With Lady Lydia
While working in Nigeria, before traveling abroad, he was already deeply in love with a damsel from the Okeowo Agaga Family of Makun, Sagamu, named Miss Lydia Modupe Okeowo.
While Modupe's parents, Mr Ezekiel Olagunju Okeowo and Mrs Omobowale Okeowo (Nee Dada) were Christians, Sikirullahi Adekunle Adegbite's parents were Muslims. But they didn't allow their religion differences affect their love.
On September 9, 1965, he got wedded to this lady, his heartthrob, Miss Lydia Modupe Okeowo. The need for the wedding ceremony before his traveling to Europe, was to ensure the intended couple tied the knot, so that their parents and everyone would know they were no bachelor or sprinter.
Less than a year after the marriage, Mrs Lydia Modupe Adegbite, on her 26th birthday, on July 13, 1966, travelled to UK to join him, where he was studying and working.
Working & Living In United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom of Great Britain, he studied Ceramic Technology and bagged Higher National Diploma, HND, at the North Staffordshire Polytechnic, (Now North Staffordshire University ) UK. And while studying he also engaged in part time job to take care of his marriage and home.
In September 1967 their marriage was blessed with a beautiful baby girl, christened Yewande Adegbite, who would grow up to become a medical doctor.
And at the completion of his HND program, he landed a job which enabled him earned better salaries and raised additional children in before returning to Nigeria in March 1972.
Returning To Nigeria
On his arrival, he got a job at Richwell, a British company, as a manager, between 1972-74, which raised his working status in Nigeria. He later moved to the Federal Institute Of Industrial Research, Oshodi,FIIRO, Lagos State (1974-78), where he was a Research Manager.
Thereafter he got another job at Federal Housing Authority, FHA, Festac Town, Lagos State, as the Federal Government of Nigeria, which just hosted the Festival of Arts and Culture, FESTAC, in Nigeria, embarked on building the FESTAC Town. So, he became part of the team that built the new housing estate that became the choice of many working class and top elites in Nigeria.
There he worked from that 1978. Built his house and established himself as a good ambassador of Sagamu. He rose in the FHA to become the Chief Technical Officer before his retirement from service in 1988.
Impacts In FESTAC Town
While working in FESTAC Town, his good character and "Omoluwabi credo" helped him attract so many people and had good relationships with many residents and none residents working in that place.
Together with his wife, they made their FESTAC home a haven, where a lot of families, friends and town's people from Sagamu converge to jaw-jaw and maintain good relationship, that later paved the way for the establishment of Egbe Omo Ibile Sagamu (Sagamu Descendants Union)
As the Egbe Omo Ibile Sagamu grew, this enhanced his association with the Conference of Social Clubs in Sagamu, as the founder. This paved the way for his participation in Sagamu development activities and organisation of Sagamu Day events.
Life After Retirement
He was about 53years old at the time he was retired in 1988, as a result of different policies and change of leadership and appointments in the Federal Government establishment by the military government in those days,
So, he was not old enough for retirement at the time. He thereafter became a contractor with the Ikoyi Club, in 1989, engaging in general supplies. And he was into that till 1991 when he joined politics in Sagamu, Ogun State.
Adventure Into Politics
He became a member of the Social Democratic Party, SDP. at the beginning of the aborted Third Republic in Nigeria, at the community level. When Chief Bayode Oluwole became the pioneering Chairman of Sagamu Local Government, after Ijebu Remo Local Government was scrapped, Alhaji Adegbite was member of the Executive Council of the Sagamu Local Government.
He held the position of Supervisor for Finance in 1991. However, his consistency on prudent management of government financial resources and having no room for a lot of dealings that are common and often tolerated in the financial department of public service, won't let him stay long in the position.
He was thereafter appointed the Supervisor of Agriculture, which he held till 1993 and vacated when the military took over the reign of government in November that year.
However, as a man of integrity he couldn't stay long in politics because of corrupt nature of so many politicians and the dirty ways politics are played, which he could not be comfortable being part of.
Relevance In Old Age
As he was growing older, attaining elders age, when all his children have grown to become parents and faced their careers and family lives, he relocated from Lagos and settled down in his Sagamu home; taking part in community development activities.
He devoted his old age to taking part and contributing meaningfully to religious activities as a Muslim, committed alumni association member, and extended family affairs in maternal and paternal sides.
He however, travelled abroad annually for personal and immediate family matters.
Religion's Life & Tolerance
He began the exhibition of his religion tolerance, which every normal Yoruba person is known for. He started by allowing his wife to practice her Christianity under his roof.
While he was committed to the building and good administration of the mosque in FESTAC Town, his wife was a member of the Anglican Church in FESTAC Town.
On his 80th birthday on February 20, 2015, he was turban the Seriki Adinni of Fiwakesin Masque in Sagamu. And he was active and supportive to the Ansar Udeen Muslim Society and their mosque in Makun.
Community & Social Services
He also committed himself to community services in Oke Ariko Community, Igbafa and other communities where he was Head of the Elders Council.
Alhaji Adegbite was known for seeking for peace and advocating peaceful ways of resolving crisis.
Transition After Age 90
After the celebration of his 90th birthday in February, he continued with daily routines and hobbies of viewing his favourite TV programs like Journalists Hangout on TVC, watching news, engaging in light exercise around the his house, praying and attending to people until around September when old age sickness began to set in.
Realizing it was old age, he would say "Don't take me to hospital". But the caring children and family members around won't want to keep looking at him." So, on too occasions he was admitted at the"Babcock University Teaching Hospital" Ilishan Remo.
He spent few days in each of the admission.
However, on Friday,, 21 November, 2025, around 4:45pm, he gave up the ghost peacefully at the hospital. He consequently abide by the scriptural statement that, "There's time for everything under the Sun...A time to be born and a time to die"
He was buried the next day, around the time in his Sagamu residence according to the Islamic rites, with all his children who lived abroad, in attendance. They gave him the last respect and bade him goodbye, in the presence of his immediate and younger brother, Mr Sulaiman Adegbite, who did same.
SHARE THIS: Please share this story on your various social media platforms.
No comments:
Post a Comment
150