Segun Adeleye: A friend gone without a hint

By Gbenga Ishola anipr

The death, on Wednesday 12th, March 2025, at 58, of Segun Alani Adeleye, has robbed members of my generation of a professional, fine journalist, a prolific writer and a kindhearted fellow. Not surprisingly, there have been an outpouring of tributes from across Nigeria and beyond only for a man who earned the respect of many. Little wonder, this world is fleeting, ephemeral, will-o’-the-wisp. What is man that thou art mindful of him? Man, whose breath is in his nostrils, the good book says.

By a personal belief, there are some people who ordinarily should not die, because of their goodness, their humanism, the great impact that they make within the community, family and colleagues. The death of good men or women diminishes us, a part of us leaves with them, but what endures ultimately is the lesson of their example. One of such good persons was Segun Adeleye.

Death is a debt that all living things owe, and which they must pay when called to the Celestial Lodge above. We are told in Psalm 89: 48. “No one can live forever, all will die. No one can escape the power of the grave. ”Ecclesiastes 8:8: says “None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle.”  Knowing this to be true about death, the public’s number one enemy, we must as a people of faith accept the fact of our own mortality, and take solace in the worthy life of impact and illumination that Segun lived.

Whatever may be the circumstance behind his death, Segun was a very pleasant man with whom I related very well for almost a decade. He was also a strong advocate for peace, cooperation, hard work and self-determination at all places. He was a former State Correspondent of Daily Independent. A prolific writer and journalist of repute. A strong member of the Council in his lifetime, a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Sport Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), and the Development Communication Officer (DCO), for Ogun State Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP).

Certainly, we are as good as that breath in our nostrils. When it ceases, we are done, gone, across the bridge, to eternal life. And that is if only we are conscious of this daily. But as human beings, we often forget, and live as if it would last forever. But the masquerade festival always ends, no matter how long it lasts. Therefore, whether it’s long or short, let’s make our life matter. Segun did, and it ended on 12th Wednesday. He now rests, after what Shakespeare calls “life’s fitful fever,” where we are like actors on a stage, and we have our entrances and exits.

Affirming that he was no more after the news of his sudden demise got me was so painful. It was like that, I suppose because we, mortals, are always guilty of thinking we can live forever and thus forgetting that every day is a bonus from God. Segun was a man I owe so much in high esteem and now they say he is gone. Gone to where? Just like that? It is painful, shocking and sad. Egbon Segun why? What happened? Segun was above anything else experienced and talented in his field of call. Indeed, life is about memories! It is the only thing we are left with when flesh and spirit departs the earthly plane and we can do no more than remember the life of the departed, through times and memories shared, especially their deeds in their lifetime.

It wasn’t a joke. It was true.  He was 58. Death is the most treacherous fact of life. Its finality reminds us of the finiteness of our mortality. As painful as his demise might seem, I am also glad he was a modest man and he earned everyone's respect. Albeit rest, they say, is sweet after labor. Segun had a lifetime of work. He was poised to have his due rest. But the rest became eternal. He has been laid to rest. He lived a disciplined life as attested to by many, including family, friends and other well-wishers in their tributes and I agreed completely with them all.

For sure, it is a known fact that people die every day, but all of them affirm for us the goodness in humanity like Segun. I am glad our path crossed. Times and circumstance decide who we meet in life. Our hearts decide who we want to retain in our lives, and people's behavior determined whether we want them to remain in our memories or not. Segun! I am glad our paths crossed.

Yes! death may have ended his life at a time we least expect, but not the relationships he had built with many over the years. And because of this alone, a lot of people who knew him are understandably still going through grief, denial, depression and acceptance. He was a man of wisdom. Strength and dignity were his garb. And also, his gift and his legacy. Painful end indeed. His demise remains depressing and shocking, but there's no time for a lengthy farewell.

Pondering all through, I asked! God, what then happened? How and why did you allow this? Again, I thought, God we should not question you, but what really happened? As mere mortals, we don’t know. But we will surely understand it better by and by.  For now, we mourn with the Adeleyes. We weep, we sorrow, but not like those without hope. Our hope is that one day, Segun will rise to life eternal. And Death, the enemy of man, shall die. Death, thou shalt die. It’s not a curse. It’s just your inevitable end.

We have travelled together on several occasions in the course our official assignments. On the air and on the road. What a grief, what a tragedy. I saw Segun in February, in Abuja which unfortunately, turned out to be our last encounter. Segun died on Wednesday, curiously not in terra incognita, which the sky is. But rather on terra firma, solid ground. 

I feel a deep sense of personal loss, and hereby join others in commiserating with members of his family, his wife, barrister Taiwo Adeleye and the children, people of Ogun State, journalists, members of other professional bodies that Segun belong, and everyone in the larger Nigerian community who was privileged to have encountered his person, influence, and benefitted from the grace of uncommon measure which the Almighty bestowed upon him and which he used, at various levels for the benefit of mankind and for the elevation of the human spirit.

As we therefore, morn the late asset to humanity cum illustrious son of Oke Odan town in Yewa South Local Government area of Ogun State, I also want to commiserate with all RAAMP Development Communication Officers (DCOs), family where Segun once belong and specifically to my sister, the National RAAMP Development Communication Officer, Mrs. Amadi Vivian who, for days was inconsolable understandably because of her closeness with Segun. He was her right hand man at all times. 

For now, let us all reflect on Segun's legacies of simplicity, professionalism and a form of self-respect that did not at any time seek self-advertisement. Unfortunately, these enduring virtues are conspicuously absent in the official profile of most people today. Egbon Segun deserves to be celebrated and remembered. His example should inspire the living. Thank you, Segun, for your friendship. Goodbye and goodnight…

Gbenga Ishola anipr, is the immediate past chairman, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Kwara State Chapter and currently the Kwara RAAMP Development Communication Officer (DCO).

Friday 21stMarch, 2025

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