Publishing OkehoNews gives me the rare privilege of meeting many great sons and daughters of Okeho, who are making exploits with their God given abilities in their chosen career.
These eminent personalities form the basis of our wealth as a town. So, in 2006, we decided to celebrate these illustrious indegenes with a book work titled: Okeho: Achievers Haven, a Collection of Who is Who in Okeho.
Apart from celebrating these icons, another motive for the book was to make some money. So we decided to charge everyone we are featuring in the book N5000 ( Five Thousand naira ) only.
Chief Bayande Ayanlowo was among the people who refused to pay the N5000 subscription fee.
He told me he was not going to pay to be listed among the Who is Who in Okeho. I tried very hard to explain the economic motive of the publication to him, yet he didn’t pay.
But Chief Ayanlowo must be in the book, if truly it’s about Who is Who in Okeho. So I went to Lagos to collect his data. He told me his inspiring story as published in the book.
About two months after the public presentation of the book, I got a call from Chief Ayanlowo. He told me that he heard that our book is out and that I should bring copies for him in Lagos.
It was a good time with him, he hosted me for more than five hours in his Yaba home. We talked about a lots of things, we talked like friends.
At the end of my visit, he brought out his cheque book and ask if we have a bank account number, ‘we do not have ! I told him, we were not even registered.
I thought what I said made him to change his mind about the amount he had wanted to write. He gave me the cheque and it wasn’t five thousand naira, it was heavy.
It was so heavy that we were able to register Delight Communications, got OkehoNews ISSN number, opened our first corporate bank account and we were able to afford an office space at Agbowo Shopping Complex, Ibadan where Chief Ayanlowo also owned the OKAY Pharmacy.
Today, Delight Communications has many publications to it’s credit here in Nigeria and across West Africa. Chief Ayanlowo paid for it’s registration.
Chief Bayande Ayanlowo hailed from Obolu’s compound Isia, Okeho and just like the beaten of “Agidigbo” drum, his name commands respect, honour and dignity in Okeho and beyond. A well protected name in about 20 years of civil service, a modem name in pharmaceutical industry, a financial expert and an economist, who understands value and whose home town comes first in his scale of preference.
In 2004, His Royal Majesty, Oba Osuolale Mustapha, the Onjo of Okeho, having been convinced of Ayanlowo’s many efforts towards the development of Okeho and humanity honoured him with a chieftaincy title of “Akogun of Okeho”.
On Thursday, 5th of April 2023, we received the dirty news of Chief Ayanlowo’s demise…
All men must die, even the good ones, may Chief Bayande Ayanlowo find peace with the Ancestors as we keep talking about his legacies.
Bola Olalere
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