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Awojobi was loved and admired all over the country. He was a fixture of the Unilag campus where his car, a Toyota Crown, could be seen gliding slowly across the campus roads. The speed limit was 35 kilometre per hour and nothing would make the great professor speed beyond that on the campus. All his students worshipped him and he knew it. He treated them with affectionate understanding. But one of the students would not leave him alone and would always come unexpectedly to the professor’s office, seeking to sip extra liquid from Awojobi’s fountain of knowledge. That impressionable mind was Gbenga Daniel. He always wanted to be with Awojobi and in the end, the genius paid his young devotee special attention.
The 1970s and 80s were the flowering period of the Nigerian public intellectuals and radicals. The five university campuses across the country were teeming with students eager to learn from these radicals who frequent different campuses on invitation from student bodies and clubs. Among these were the likes of Ebenezer Babatope and Ayodele Awojobi of Unilag, Air Iyare of Benin, Biodun Jeyifo (Bamako Jaji) and Segun Osoba of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), and Bala Usman of the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria. Radical lawyers and social critics like Gani Fawehinmi, Bola Ige, Alao Aka-Bashorun, Tai Solarin and Kanmi Ishola Osobu were the toasts of university campuses. There were many others in hot demands. Many of them propounded theories of Marxism and Leninism. All these were the lights of our lives and none shone brighter than the engineering genius, Ayodele Awojobi.
Awojobi took special notice of his young protégé. Henceforth, Daniel would earn special privilege of accompanying Awojobi in his lecture tours across Nigeria. Awojobi would drive while Daniel would seat by his side. He would carry Awojobi’s books and files on different subjects. He learnt a lot from this great man whose intellectual appetite was truly omnivorous. Though he was basically an engineering professor, Awojobi was at home in almost all fields of human endeavours. He devoured books about history, politics, sociology, philosophy and law. He was truly a renaissance man of universal significance. At 37, he became a full professor of engineering. He died at the relatively young age of 47 on September 23, 1984. Daniel felt he had been orphaned. Awojobi was universally mourned.
It was while Daniel was an apostle of Awojobi that he sought connection with another genius. Though it was a known fact that Awolowo wanted to be President of Nigeria, his aspiration was not very popular in the radical cycle of the University of Lagos. The radicals of different hues of Marxism, regarded Awolowo as a bourgeoisie. They wanted someone more radical and not a member of the monied class like Awolowo who was a wealthy attorney and property owner.
But Daniel knew the man who changed our lives. In 1955, a year before Daniel was born, Awolowo introduced Free Primary Education programme to the former Western Region (now Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo and Delta States). That programme triggered a social revolution whose effect is still felt till today. Awolowo was not just loved; he was worshipped. One of his worshippers was Gbenga Daniel. He decided to seek out Awolowo and learn more from the source. It was a daring decision that was to affect the course of his life.
One day, Daniel left Unilag Mariere Hall (named in honour of the first Governor of the defunct Mid-WestWestern Region, Chief Jereton Mariere) and headed for Awolowo’s residence at Park Lane Street, Apapa Government Reservation Area. After waiting for many minutes, he was ushered into the present of living history. Awolowo was surprised about the audacity of this lanky student. Their discussion was simple but historic. From that day on, Daniel became infected with the Awo magic. When he returned to Unilag, he could not wait to give testimonies about his encounter. It became his duty to convince his radical teachers about the concept of Awoism. He became the youngest member of the Committee of Friends, the group of Awo’s associates that would soon transform into the Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN.
The adventure of Gbenga Daniel could not be kept hidden. It was too spectacular for a gangling youth going on his on to go and meet a monumental figure like Papa Awo. Soon, the news reached his father, Bishop Adebola Daniel, who quickly drove to Unilag and gave a fiat to his son that he must leave politics alone and concentrate on the reason why he was sent to school. Daniel Obeyed. However, the experience was to stay with him for the rest of his life. His life has changed.
Now as he turns 70, the most significant influence on his life, apart from his parents and Olufunke, his magnificent wife, have been Awojobi and Awolowo. From Professor Awojobi, he learnt the importance of precision. There must be no margin for error in engineering. That has been the guiding principle of his industry as an engineer and the founder of Kresta Laurel Ltd. This adherence to excellence and perfection has propelled Kresta Laurel into the pinnacle of the industry.
More than his professional calling is his embrace of public service. He has internalized the eternal lesson of Awoism: politics is about the people. It is service. It is not for self-enrichment or self-aggrandizement. Therefore, when Daniel plunged into the politics of Ogun State, he knew he was embarking on a missionary journey. The people embraced him and granted him the special distinction of being the first Governor to spend two terms in office. His landmark achievements in the Senate has confirmed to us that good government is not only necessary. It, it is possible. It is heartening that he is showing us that the future is bright. Just as the people of Ogun State endorsed him for a second term, there is no doubt that the people of Ogun East Senatorial District would also send him back to Abuja to continue his service to Nigeria.
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Our Reporter
