They said this on Tuesday at the second annual lecture of the Dauda Adegbenro Foundation held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Library, Abeokuta.
Ajibola, who described the late politician as a father, said he was one of the most excellent politicians the country had ever had.
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He explained that the late politician served his people, and the country excellently and left an indelible mark for generations to emulate.
He said, “The late Alhaji Dauda Adegbenro was a great politician, a mentor and a great father of Owu people, the respectable leader of our time and one of the most excellent politicians we have had in this country.
“A man of high integrity, a man of honesty, a very reliable father to everyone of us in our enclave, as well as the entire Nigeria of that time.
“The man was worthy of emulation in all aspects of life; he was a great man that was very hard working.
“He served Owu people greatly, he served the entire Ogun State. Arguably, he served Nigeria excellently and he was a man of peace.”
He said the most admirable aspect of his life was the fact that he recognised the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo as a leader and stood by him throughout the time that he was in prison.
On his own part, the Afenifere Renewal Group chieftain, said Adegbenro fought dictatorship and advocated the welfarist policy of the political party which he belonged, the defunct Action Group.
He noted that the late politician also fought the neo-colonialists who were only interested in looting the treasury as opposed to entrenching good governance and providing purposeful leadership.
He said, “In the midst of the Action Group crisis, the national crisis of the early 60s, fate entrusted in Chief Adegbenro’s hands the unenviable responsibility of leading the struggle against those who sought to conquer our people and the thriving movement of progressive politics in western Nigeria.
“The struggle he led, and the collaboration he engendered ensured that Nigeria did not become a one-party democratic dictatorship then envisaged by the party in control of the national government.”
Oshun, however, noted that in spite of Adegbenro’s courage and vision, no government or succeeding government of the defunct Western Nigeria had deemed it fit to honour him in an enduring manner, but rather “many villainous elements have had national honour bestowed on them.”
The guest lecturer at the event, the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Dr. Gloria Elemo, said the government needed to revitalise the manufacturing sector of the economy in order to industrialise the country.
In a lecture titled,”Imperatives for Industrial and Technological Revolution: Panacea for Development in Nigeria,” Elemo noted that Nigeria was blessed with a lot of raw materials and required the necessary technology to quicken its pace of industrialisation.
She said, “The country cannot sustainably continue to depend on export of raw materials and jobs.
“Emphasis must be placed on value addition to its commodities through the manufacturing sector, harnessing Nigeria’s sizeable domestic market and abundant resources. Manufacturing is the core mover of industrialisation.”
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