Oloye Lekan Alabi at 70 -By Festus Adedayo

In this age and time where we witness the collapse of all things bright and beautiful, nature’s abhorrence of a vacuum places some nuggets at our beck and call. It reinforces the arguments against the absolutism school of philosophy. Absolutists say that reality, truth, or morality is absolute and the same for everybody, everywhere and that truths are always true.

Oloye Lekan Alabi, the Ekefa Olubadan of Ibadan, is one person who personifies the argument against the absolutism of a total collapse of age-old morals, values, culture and language in Nigeria. Veteran journalist, culture ambassador and Press Secretary to four military governors of old Oyo State, Oloye Alabi clocked 70 years on earth last week. He put together a memoir to document his 70 years strides entitled An unbelievable Life, which he graciously asked me to review.

Oloye wears on his lapel his identity as a Yoruba man and one who is unapologetic about the profundity of Yoruba culture and language. He speaks his impeccable Yoruba without minding whose ox is gored and garnishes it with dips into history, culture and rich axioms. Blessed with an elephant-like power of recall, Oloye Alabi personifies the wealth of Yoruba nation mindlessly burgled by the advent of colonial intervention.

Here is wishing the culture ambassador very many years in the service of the Yoruba nation.