Fayose visits Awolowos, tells politicians to stop playing politics with heroes’ deaths

Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State has criticised some politicians fond of playing politics with the death of nationalists and great Nigerian leaders.
To him, they are just trying to score cheap political points.
According to the governor, it is better that such great leaders are recognised and given their dues respect while alive and that informed his decision to honour some prominent Ekiti indigenes such as Prof Sam Aluko and Archbishop Abiodun Adetiloye before they died.
The governor spoke in Ikenne, Ogun State on Friday while paying a condolence visit to the family of the late Yeye Oodua Hannah Idowu Dideolu (H.I.D.) Awolowo.
In a statement in Ado-Ekiti by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Idowu Adelusi, the governor said the deceased, wife of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, lived a life worthy celebrating.
“At some point, we all have to leave this world. But we cannot forget a life well lived and the assurances of eternity. Our Mama held fort for 28 years after Baba left. She kept the flag flying and nobody can fault that.
“Her death is a celebration of life and ideology. An ideology she stood for. We will continue to celebrate Baba Awo and represent all that he lived for. Politicians celebrate people for political reasons but that must stop. We should sustain the legacies left behind by Baba and Mama.
“We need to celebrate our heroes before they die. It is better that way rather than making politics of such occasion. I congratulate the Awolowos for a life well lived by their parents. The family should not be abandoned. We can never forget them. They have left legacies that are enduring. Also, visit to this place should not be one off thing. Mama Awolowo fought a good fight and finished her race very well,” he said.
In her remarks, a daughter of the deceased, Mrs Tola Oyediran, thanked the governor for the visit.
“I say a big thank you for coming despite your tight schedule. Your coming is an expression of deep love for us as a family. We thank you for the beautiful things you said about our parents.
“We also thank God that her children survived her in spite of all the storms of life she experienced in recent years. I pray that you too will live long in Jesus name,” she said.
Fayose was later conducted round Awolowo’s mausoleum and where his car used to campaign for the 1979 and 1983 presidential elections was kept.