In the past two decades, only three illustrious sons of Ikorodu would measure in stature with the latest victim of death, Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi OFR.
We can recall easily two politicians and ex Federal Ministers – Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya and Chief T. O. S. Benson (SAN) and lately His Majesty Oba Salaudeen Oyefusi CON.
There are few Nigerians with the credentials of Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, OFR. There are fewer Ikorodu sons of his stature with patriotic love for his community as he has shown. Though he shunned politics which his late father, Chief S. O. Gbadamosi loved, he boldly stepped into the shoes of his late father in the area of business and entrepreneurship and diversified into areas of intellectualism and public service, some business men and women dread.
According to one of his contemporaries in arts and literature, Chief Gbadamosi was one of Nigeria’s best sons who began an unbroken service to the country 43 years ago when at the age of 29, he was appointed Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Development. He was one of the 49 ‘Wise-men’ who drafted the country’s 1979 Constitution and Minister of National Planning.
Very few Nigerians have traversed as much area and made as significant an impact on various facets of the Nigerian national life as Gbadamosi. His life, taken along with that of his father, read like the industrial history of Nigeria. That story began with the father establishing his own business in 1934 and taking on the transnational United African Company, UAC, in a trade war over garment manufacturing in the country.
To gain the upper hand, the Senior Gbadamosi imported Japanese machines to produce cheaper under-wears than the UAC. He subsequently went into tobacco distribution, ceramics production, brewing and was instrumental in the establishment of one of the first indigenous banks, the National Bank to rival the British colonial banks; Barclays Bank and the Bank of British West Africa. Gbadamosi who returned to the country after his graduate and post-graduate studies in Britain and United States, started work in his father’s company. He built on his heritage by becoming a major player in virtually all sectors of the economy, from construction and engineering to metal works, textile, insurance, pension and computers.
He was a pioneer manufacturer of bottled water with his Ragolis brand; the name derived from his initials, R.A.G. So the Gbadamosi story is in a way, the critical narration of the Nigerian story from the perspective of one of its most active, articulate, brilliant and conscientious sons. It is the story of Nigeria from the prism of a man who served it with demonstrable distinction in the public and private sectors, was entrusted with ministering to the country’s planning needs and who was conferred with the national honour, Officer of the Federal Republic, OFR, in recognition of his distinguished contributions.
His story and that of the country is neatly woven in five major areas. First, it covers part of the country’s industrial development in the last 70 years. Secondly, his story in the past four decades, is a history of public service at top policy positions across areas like Economic and Industrial Development, National Planning, Constitution Drafting, Electricity, Railways, Tertiary Education and External Debt Rescheduling.
This also has international dimensions including his leading the Nigerian delegation to the Organisation of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) 1998/99 meeting and assisting in the relocation of sixteen United Nations agencies from Lagos to Abuja. Thirdly, it encompasses the oil sector; the country’s monoculture in which he was for over a dozen years involved in it’s monitoring, policy formulation and sustainable development.
The 323-page book, The Story of the Deregulation of the Nigerian Downstream Oil Sector which he co-authored with two others; Funsho Kupolokun and Oluwole Oluleye, is a veritable resource material on the sector. Fourthly, the Gbadamosi and Nigeria stories are linked in the genre of literature, visual arts and music; areas which defined various stages of social life. Gbadamosi, a master story teller himself with six plays and thirty short stories to his credit, interacted or worked with masters in these fields from Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, through Femi Osofisan and Bruce Onabrakpeya to Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Ola Rotimi who was his senior in secondary school. He worked closely with Fela whom he met in a London underground train in 1961.
In 1970, they co-founded the Nigerian Association of Patriotic Writers and Artists, NAPWA, Gifted musician, Wole Bucknor was NAPWA President, Fela, Vice President and Gbadamosi, Secretary. Until he passed away, Gbadamosi helped to keep Fela’s legacy alive. He also contributed to the construction of the new Afrika Shrine. Gbadamosi is also one of the three major art collectors in Nigeria, and financier of various art genres including films, and emergent talent.
Ikorodu joins Nigerians to mourn this eminent son whose forays into business, industry, entrepreneurship, public services, arts and literary works helped to create jobs and engage many young and old people meaningfully.
Like every human, Rasheed had his own shortcoming and failures but the paradox of life is that it does not matter how much wealth or prominence you acquire or leave behind as the number of people whose lives you impacted positively. What are people saying about this late giant. (See box for the vox pop).