Olabode Garbadeen Pens Tribute To Alhaji Jegede

Social Media Analyst and Publisher of City News Online, Duke Olabode Garbadeen, has expressed deep condolence to the death of late Safiriyu Aremu Jegede who passed away on Friday, July 5.

Garbadeen through a special announcement, luaded the 86-year-old renowned Epe Club member for being a man of integrity while he was alive.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT !

INNALI LAHI WAINA ILLEHI RAJIUN

With Submission to the will of Allah, the families of Jegede, Garbadeen and Bashorun regret to announce the passing to glory of our father, brother, uncle, husband and mentor, *Alhaji Safiriyu Aremu Jegede* which event took place on Friday, the 5th of July 2024 at his residence in Epe, Lagos State. He was aged 86.

Alhaji Safiriyu Aremu Jegede was born on the 12th of August 1938 to the Jegede Alowolodu family of the Lagbade quarters of epe.

He later proceeded to ijebuode for his preliminary education under the tutelage of his maternal uncle, Baba ijebuode.

After trying his hands on various jobs and being a determined young man with a strong passion to impact on his family, especially his parents, he began to moot the idea of seeking greener pasture in the United Kingdom.

By exactly 1964, luck smiled on him. He was granted a visa to enter the United Kingdom.

While there, he enrolled for different jobs to sustain himself whilst at a later time, he got admitted into a college to further his education. He studied accountancy.

Burning with the desire not to be too far away from his beloved mother, Alhaja Abusat Jegede, and his family, by 1972, Mr. Jegede packed his bags and baggages from the UK and returned to Nigeria along with his wife, Olu, and daughter, Nahabat.

This, indeed, was a tough decision for a vibrant young man to take back then.

But as events were later proven, he became a thorough-bred accountant with an outstanding knack for details and zero tolerance for corruption.

With confidence in his acquired skills and dedication to duty, Mr. Jegede braced all the odds and returned to his father’s land. As providence will have it, he was bombarded with multiple job options on arrival.

From Dorman Long to Lagos State Ferry Service as chief accountant and later to numbers of other Lagos State parastatals and agencies, it was a celebration of administrative competence, probity and clean records up until he eventually retired at the Lagos State Ministry of Finance around 1998.

Alhaji Aremu Jegede was a devout and pious Muslim who dedicated all his life to the cause of Islam.

While alive, he never joked with family unity and was never found wanting in his obligations towards the family.

His only red flag was corruption. Anything corruption was a no-go-area for him. He was so strict and principled that in one of the parastatals where he served (name withheld), he suffered mysteriously an attack that nearly claimed his physical mobility.

As challenging as the period was, it never changed our uncle’s resolve to resist corruption one bit upon resumption of duty several months later.

Not the type that pandered to sentiment or nepotism, Alhaji Jegede will adjudicate on matters even against his own offspring if that represented the truth. A very thrifty investor and a great cook.

His circle of friends included Alhaji Adisa Osiefa, Alhaji Mogaji, Mr. Dosunmu, Mr. Ojomu, Mr. Shefiu Adewale, now HRM, the Oluepe of Epe kingdom, etc.

He was an intellectual discussant whose company was a pleasure to behold.

The entire Jegede family therefore thank God for his well spent life.

And since no how a man walks without his head tilting, we seek Allah’s forgiveness for all his shortcomings while alive. May he be granted aljana firdous, amen!

He was Survived by Children: Nahabat Olushola Jegede, Lukman Jegede, & Wife, Modinat Jegede.

*Duke Olabode Garbadeen*
For the family.