Late Chief (Mrs.) Adunni Bankole with Mr. KB, Mr. Kunle Rasheed, Mr. Dayo Asaju, Mr. Femi Davies and Dr. Seye Kehinde during her 53rd birthday celebration in Lagos |
(January 3rd) hours to her second daughter’s wedding as one of the
best human beings that ever lived on planet earth.
The Late Iyalode Adunni Bankole with Celebrity Blogger Gbenga Dan Asabe during her 53rd birthday in Lagos |
The media barons who are
majorly of the soft sell sub-sector of the Nigerian Media industry paid glowing
tributes to the late socialite and philanthropist during a wake keep service in
her honor in Lagos on Tuesday January 13 some ten days after her demise. Also, a Glo ambassador and celebrated actress
Abiola Atanda aka Madam Kofo also paid a tribute to a friend of over two
decades. Speaking with your number 1
Celebrity encounter blog Asabeafrika in
Lagos each of the speakers narrated how and why Adunni Bankole remains a woman to immortalize in death. However,
the media CEOs in their respective opinions proffered various ways the late Iyalode of Gbagura land can be
immortalized. Enjoy the excerpts only on your Africa’s number 1 Celebrity
encounter blog Asabeafrika.
Late Chief Mrs. Adunni Bankole’s only son Mohammed Owolabi Bankole Jnr. giving a vote of thank |
the deceased when speaking with Asabeafrika
Leading Nigerian Soft Sell Magazine CITY
PEOPLE Publisher, Dr. Seye Kehinde
described the Late Iyalode of Gbagura land as a legend who can never be compared
to anyone else. He began with her
character traits “Iyalode Adunni Bankole was like my big aunty, I could call
her at any time and you can be sure she will be ready to hear you out. I can
count on my finger the number of events that we hosted and she was not there,
that was how passionate she was with our projects. In fact if she sees me after
any event and she was not invited she will quarrel with me, ‘why didn’t you
drop invitation?’ Why did you do that? So, she was part of us and not only City People, so many media houses like
that. Iyalode is one woman that has
soft spot for everybody who is a journalist. Once you say you are a journalist,
she becomes your guardian angel as it were. You don’t need to know her, once
you go and introduce yourself she will tell you ‘oh, you are one of us’ and
that is why today you can see a lot of publishers, a lot of journalists, a lot
of media practitioners.
City People Magazine’s Event and Style Editor Biola Orisile with the Publisher Dr. Seye Kehinde with Celebrity Blogger Gbenga Dan Asabe |
Juju Music star Tunde Samson with other guests at the wake keep |
Everybody is here to commiserate with the family”, On
what her death means to the media industry, Dr. Kehinde noted with a sense of loss “The media will miss her and
the only way you know that is for you to just take a look around, you will find
out that half of the hall is filled with media practitioners. She was naturally
the ‘big brother’ to every male journalist and a big aunty to every female
journalist”. On how she should be immortalized, the City People publisher said “I think maybe if we institute an annual event
to keep her memory alive, maybe along with the family and that could actually
go a long way in keeping her legacy alive” Does the publisher see Iyalode as a
legend? “She is o or she was, I find it
difficult to think about her in the past because I remember the last time she
came to the office (City People) two months ago, she was still full of life;
she had her breakfast with us, we bought her rice, she ate and enjoyed herself.
Like they said she blends with everybody, the poor, the rich and everybody. I
like the way the children have taken the whole thing, you can see the way they
are taking the demise of their mum. Because they believe their mum lived a good
life because of that they are not mourning but they are celebrating a life well
spent because truly her life was a life well spent” concluded the publisher.
“The fact that we are here will
signify the kind of affection we have for her and we miss her greatly because
she was somebody who appears to have time for everyone and it didn’t matter how
big or how small you were, Iyalode
has time for you. She has time for all kinds of courses and she had time for me
that is why today I must find time to show her respect”
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COSON DG, Chief Tony Okoroji speaking with Celebrity Blogger Gbenga Dan Asabe |
boss, Chief Tony Okoroji
Very Important personality who stormed the event for the late Owu, Abeokuta
born socialite, Chief (Mrs.) Adunni Bankole is Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) Director General, Chief Tony Okoroji, he told Asabeafrika
why he broke his busy schedule to honor Iyalode Adunni Bankole’s wake keeping service “The fact that we
are here will signify the kind of
affection we have for her and we miss her greatly because she was somebody who
appears to have time for everyone and it didn’t matter how big or how small you
were, Iyalode has time for you. She
has time for all kinds of courses and she had time for me that is why today I
must find time to show her respect” On how her legacy can be celebrated, Chief Okoroji said “There is so many things to be done to
immortalize her name. I think after the interment and all other activities, her
friends will get together and definitely she is not the kind of person that is
going to be forgotten, not in a short while”
Mr. Kunle Bakare, Publsiher of Encomium Magazine speaking to Celebrity Blogger Gbenga Dan Asabe while Lord Mayor Akinpelu of Global Excellence looks on |
She was a beautiful Woman inside
& outside— Kunle
Bakare, Encomium Publisher,
his own word prose master extra-ordinary and publisher of Encomium Magazine Mr. Kunle
Bakare described Adunni Bankole
in glowing terms. Speaking the Asabeafrika, the soft spoken media baron said “Like
the daughter said, she is a very beautiful woman inside and outside. She is
very, very nice; extremely nice woman, very altruistic because she always looks
out for people, very nice woman”. Mr. KB
as he is famously addressed told us how he got the shocking news of her
demise “I was abroad and because I check a lot of things on the face book, so,
I saw a lot of people posting things and that was how I heard about it, I had
to call somebody in Lagos to confirm how true is the story and it turned out to
be the truth”. On how to immortalize Adunni
Bankole, Mr. KB gave his own idea “It is by having very good thoughts about
her or how do we immortalize people than that? If it is about putting up a
project in honor of her, then you need to discuss with the family and the
family could be able to come up with something they could actually do in her
honor. But the most important thing is to have fond memories of her and to wish
her well so that she can easily ascend to paradise”
“The media will miss her and the only
way you know that is for you to just take a look around, you will find out that
half of the hall is filled with media practitioners. She was naturally the ‘big
brother’ to every male journalist and a big aunty to every female journalist”.
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E-24-7 Magazine Publisher, Mr. Biodun Kuponiyi speaking to Celebrity blogger Gbenga Dan Asabe |
Adunni Bankole has a mother hen
attitude— E-24/7 publisher, Biodun Kuponiyi
entertainment journalist and publisher of E-24/7
magazine, Mr. Biodun Kuponiyi
described the late socialite as “a great star”. He spoke to Asabeafrika “She was a great star, a
very cultured Nigerian and a woman of substance. She was always willing to help
people; she never discriminated anyone and she was a great party booster too,
you cannot take that away from her. She exuded greatness, she displayed a rare
attitude that will make even the strangest person to feel he or she is loved.
She is a kind of person that behaves like a mother hen. She has this mother hen
character and that makes her distinct. I don’t think we will find someone that
will replace her so soon. She has left a huge vacuum, she is going to be a very
big loss to the media industry, and she is going to be a very big loss to even Nollywood industry; to the music
industry. Madam Adunni Bankole was
an enigma and she was always there for everybody and as a result of that she
will continue to live in our hearts forever”. On how he think she can be
immortalized Mr. Kuponiyi who recently celebrated his 50th birthday
said “Well, the best way is just to
ensure that everybody tries to take a bit of what she stood for while alive and
that is being there for people; supportive, that is the best way to immortalize
her. We cannot immortalize her with mortars and bricks but to actually look at
those rare virtues that she exuded when she was alive and make sure we continue
to live that aspect of her life, that is giving, supporting people at all
times. No matter how little, if you encounter Adunni Bankole, she will part with something for you and that thing
you will cherish forever. She remains a rare legend and as you can see the
crowd of guests at this gathering; this is a testimony of her relevance in
every industry”
News-of-the-People Magazine Publisher, Mr. Loye Amzat speaking with Celebrity Blogger Gbenga Dan Asabe |
I chatted her on BB 2 wks before her
death—News of the People Publisher, Loye Amzat
of the People magazine equally spoke to Asabeafrika at the wake keeps ceremony. On how he got the news of Adunni Bankole’s demise the well
travelled publisher and criminal law expert narrated “The news of Chief (Mrs.) Adunni Bankole’s death
came as a very rude shock to me this is because two weeks before her death, I
had a chat with her, I chatted her on BB, she is on my BB where she invited me
to her daughter’s wedding. So, on that day when I heard the news of her death
it was like a big shock. She is a woman I will define as a giver of hope, no
dull moment with her. She is ever lively and I could also remember the last
time some people asked me to beg her on their behalf and she accepted my plea;
I said ‘Madam please forgive these people and we laughed over the entire issue
and we continued talking and I even promised to break my schedule one of these
days and go visit her at her new place in Ikorodu’. But that can’t happen again
since she has departed from this earth, we can only pray to God to forgive her
sins and let her be in the bosom of the lord. But most importantly, she came,
she enjoyed life, she paid her dues and she conquered. May God grant her an
eternal rest in the bosom of the Lord”. How can she be immortalized? Loye Amzat gave his idea “She has
already been immortalized with the great kids she left behind and I believe
strongly her kids will do everything possible to continue to celebrate her
legacy and good name, Mrs. Bankole
was a cheerful giver, a dependable confidant and if you look at the children
they actually look like her and to me, that is the biggest legacy she left
behind. They will take up her good works from here and move on”
“I could remember one instance when I
wrote a story and I ran into trouble with a top pastor in Nigeria. The pastor
invited the police to invite me to Abuja and Iyalode heard about it and she just beckoned on me and told me to
come, she said ‘let’s go to the man’s place’. We walked in and she said “Baba,
this is the boy you are fighting with, he is my son” and that immediately
settled everything”.
Executive Editor, Global Excellence Magazine, Mr. Kunle Rasheed speaks with the GDA |
She once bailed me out of a big
trouble–Kunle Rasheed, Editor
Global Excellence Magazine
the young journalists that had the privilege of being close to the late Iyalode Adunni Bankole during her life
time, he shared his views with Asabeafrika “It is quite unfortunate that I will
have to refer to her in the past, she was like a mother to me. I know she was
very good to almost everyone in the industry but she took a special interest in
me and that helped my career in a way. I could remember as a growing journalist
during the early years of my career in journalism, I could remember her
contribution both morally and financially. She made me kept on being in the job
when I wanted to despair. Just like many people said here today, her advice
cannot just be quantified. She has assisted me in a lot of ways and she did a
lot of things aside the regular things. She will get out of her way to do
things for you, no matter how challenging”. The editor gave us an example of
one of Adunni Bankole’s benevolence
to him “I could remember one instance when I wrote a story and I ran into
trouble with a top pastor in Nigeria. The pastor invited the police to invite
me to Abuja and Iyalode heard about
it and she just beckoned on me and told me to come, she said ‘let’s go to the
man’s place’. We walked in and she said “Baba, this is the boy you are fighting
with, he is my son” and that immediately settled everything. I can never forget
her” “I am looking for a way to immortalize her personally and I am going to do
that, I have something in the offing but I am not ready to make it public now
when I do that you will get to know about it”.
Global Excellence Publisher, Lord Mayor Akinpelu with Encomium Magazine Publisher, Mr. Kunle Bakare |
Adunni Bankole is an epitome of
Fanfare—Dayo Asaju, Publisher
First Weekly Magazine
his own word, Mr. Dayo Asaju aka
Clear leader who publishes First Weekly Magazine described the
late socialite as an “epitome of fanfare”. Hear him speak with Asabeafrika “This is a celebration of
our epitome of fanfare Iyalode Adunni Bankole
was an epitome of fanfare. She is fun to be with, compassionate and perhaps the
best person you can confide in as a confidant. Iyalode Adunni Bankole will never call black white, very down to
earth and perhaps the closest celebrity to all the soft sell journalists. If
you are a soft sell journalist from the early 1990s up until this very moment,
you must have had one or two things to do with Iyalode Adunni Bankole, if you haven’t met her or have anything to
do with her then you are not a soft sell journalist”. On her immortalization,
Clear Leader declared “Iyalode is already alive; she is living in our hearts.
That is the most important thing and again the league of soft sell publishers
has our own plans towards immortalizing her. We are working on the project,
apart from a special publication we want to do in her honor we have other
activities in the pipeline and as soon as we fine tune everything we will make
it public”
Enquirer Publisher Tunde Moshood speaks to the GDA while First Weekly Magazine publisher, Dayo Asaju looks on |
Adunni Bankole was a pillar of our
industry— Tunde
Moshood, Publisher; Enquirer
Magazine
who spoke to Asabeafrika “Iyalode Adunni
Bankole is the matron of the Nigerian media industry and like in one of the
articles I did on her when she was alive I described her as the mother of the press. She was very close
to me and she was actually one of my pillars; one of the strongest driver of my
career when I was growing up; in fact she will be greatly missed”. On how to
immortalize her, TM as fondly addressed noted “I think we are putting heads
together; that is the league of Soft Sell Publishers, the league is planning to
do something for her but definitely one of it is to equally continue to honor
her memory through doing things that she enjoyed doing in her life time”
Adunni Bankole does not keep
malice—Glo Ambassador, Madam Kofo
tie expert and celebrated Glo Ambassador and actress Mrs. Abiola Atanda aka Madam
Kofo gave Asabeafrika her own
opinion about Iyalode Adunni Bankole “Adunni Bankole was an extra-ordinary human being with a rare ability to over grow
any impression made about her by anyone be it a friend or foe. She was beyond
material things and she does not keep any grudge. If you have any
misunderstanding maybe one or two things with Adunni which is normal and the following day you see Adunni and you frown your face she will
be the first to call you and say “Ah, ah, Ore mi bawo ni? Se tori oro ta’a so
lana yen na? (Is it because of our disagreement of yesterday) wahala lo ko ara
e si, emi ki e ni temi o, Omo-Olorun lemi o, mi o de le yan odi (You are just
disturbing yourself, I am greeting you right away because I am a child of God
and I cannot keep malice) and if you still insist to be frowning she will start
dragging and playing with you right there and that is how the whole thing will
end. She was that type of a person; very jovial and easy going, she was that
type of a person, wonderful person” On how she can be immortalized? Madam Kofo noted “In so many ways, they
can name a street after her or name a monument to her name, after all there is
no government she has not contributed her quota; she might not be a politician
per se but she is a leader. She is somebody who is always finding it worthy to
be in the midst of happy people, she loves entertainment, she loves people, she
was a human being and she loves helping people. Adunni Bankole is a total human being, very exceptional”
Top Media CEO with the late Iyalode Adunni Bankole while she was alive |