Personality in Focus
Nigerians Eulogise Life and Times of Major General Adefope
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Nigerians from all walks of life, including friends and family members, gathered to celebrate the life and times of Major-General Henry Edmund Olufemi Adefope.
The event, which witnessed the gathering of eminent citizens, was put together by his family members and also saw the coming of his children and grand-children to Nigeria.
Eminent Nigerians present at the event include Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, Otunba JK Randle, Pastor Wale Adefarasin and Prof Anthony Kila.
Leading the eulogy during the memorial event and unveiling of the book, titled: “Major-General Henry Edmund Olufemi Adefope: A Legacy of Honour,” in Lagos on Thursday, was his first daughter and second child, Justice Olubola Adefope, who spoke on the topic: “A Legacy of Honor.” She described Maj-Gen Adefope as “A cherished child among his siblings.”

Saying that her father was “a man who was at peace with his life,” she added that the major general “Loved Nigeria with a passion and hated the endless pursuit of money.”
She said that her father had so much love for his family that “he decided to change his carrier to suit his family.”
The Judge described her father as a man who loved nature.
Corroborating Maj-Gen Adefope’s daughter was a retired Deputy Director of Sports, Usman Mamman Gora, who in his speech, described Maj.-Gen. Adefope as “A man who was committed to sports development.”
Describing Maj.-Gen. Adefope as a family friend, Gora said: “He picked me from nowhere in 1972 and made me who I am today. The late general was a mentor and a friend.”
He described Adefope as “One of those Nigerians that we have every reason to celebrate today.
“He was a man of integrity, a personality that can be reckoned with anywhere any day.”

Gora noted that Maj.-Gen. Adefope vowed to develop sports in Nigeria, while completing the stadium in record time.
Describing the late major general as being “Very approachable, fully committed to achieving testimonies,” Gora said that “Adefope provided purposeful leadership in national sports. He saved the face of Nigeria during the Olympics.”
Also, Nigeria’s renowned chartered accountant, JK Randle, who reviewed the book, titled: “Major-General Henry Edmund Olufemi Adefope: A Legacy of Honour,” described Maj.-Gen. Adefope as “An officer of the Nigerian Army and a gentleman to the core.
“He was a man of many parts. He was a combatant. He lived a fruitful life. He labored steadfastly and endlessly to lead a Christian life of service and worship, remaining transparent in the work of the lord. He was a jack of many trade and master of the trade.”
In his tribute to the major general, Dr. Issa Aremu, General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NVTGTWN) and vice president of the Industrial All Global Union, described Maj.-Gen. Adefope as “A mentor and a statesman in the true sense of the word. He was the most sustainable and constructive minister in Nigeria.
“He was the first number-one labour man and the labour administration, under the late major general, was the most remarkable.”
Noting that Maj.-Gen. Adefope made a great impact in labour matters, Aremu said: “His legacies are the most impactive and most constructive that I have ever known.”
Aremu noted that events, which took place under the major general were very remarkable.
“The first one is that before he became a minister, the first generation of unionists tried to have one labour centre. The four major unions including UFC, and others, were trying to form a second one and General Adefope put his feet on ground and brought these four centres together, which produced the NLC that we have today,” Aremu remarked.”
The second legacy that Maj.-Gen. Adefope left in NLC, according to Aremu, was to build a financially independent trade union movement.
According to Aremu: “It was during his tenure that we had an automatic check-off in which workers paid their union dues, which built financial independence for the union. This also made trade unions not to be dependent on foreigners who used to influence them.”
Third legacy, the labour unionist said, was that Maj.-Gen. Adefope brought restructuring, which led to the consolidation of industrial unions. “He brought trade unions together during his time. He believed that trade unions must be well equipped, well informed and that led to the creation of Michael Imoudu Labour Institute in Ilorin, Kwara State. It has built capacity over the years for the working people,” Aremu remarked.
He remarked that Adefope facilitated the independence of the trade unions, adding: “He was well educated, well informed and this led to the creation of Michael Imodu.”
Also, at the event, the Director, Centre for International Advanced Professional Studies (CIAPS), Lagos, Professor Anthony Kila, while answering questions on what the intervention of the late major general would have been as regards the Russia-Ukraine Crisis, noted that the two warring parties would “Need Like Of Adefope To Refrain From Going Trigger”.
Prof. Kila said that if Major-General Adefope were to be alive, “At a time like this war, Adefope would have advised the two warring countries to embrace dialogue, as nobody needs to carry a trigger.”
Commending the major general for possessing the qualities that make a man, Prof. Kila said: “Adefope had education, exposure, experience, and the environment. Those are the four things that make a man overall. Adefope brought in the Man Adefope.”
Saying that Adefope never fought or rushed for any recognition, Kila added: “Adefope was a man who did his job and went home.”
Managing Director, Business Travels, Funlola Adefope, who is also Maj.-Gen. Adefope’s grand-daughter, described him as a meek man, whose character should be emulated by all. “He wasn’t arrogant,” Funlola added.
A U.S.-based medical doctor, Dr. John Mabayoje, described Maj-.Gen. Adefope as “A man who was gifted with wisdom and steady common sense”, adding that Adefope has good public comportment, as well as a man who knew how to handle crisis.”
Dr. Mabayoje said that with Adefope’s love for public service, the major general “incorporated rural service for medical doctors.”
Personality in Focus
Veteran Actor Olu Jacobs Dies at 84
Veteran Nigerian actor and elder statesman, Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, popularly known as Olu Jacobs, has died at the age of 84.
The actor’s death was announced by his son, Olusoji Jacobs, on Instagram on Wednesday.
Olu Jacobs was one of Nigeria’s most respected actors and a towering figure in the country’s theatre, television and film industries.
For more than five decades, Jacobs built a career that took him from the stage in Britain to international films and, ultimately, to becoming one of the most recognisable faces of Nollywood.
Born on July 11, 1942, in Kano, Jacobs had his roots in the Egba Alake community of Abeokuta, Ogun State. He grew up in Kano, where he developed an early interest in acting through school drama, debating activities, and church programmes.
His passion for the performing arts was strengthened after he watched a performance by legendary Nigerian theatre practitioner Hubert Ogunde. The experience inspired him to pursue acting professionally.
Personality in Focus
Michael Dell Overtakes Jeff Bezos As World’s Third Wealthiest Billionaire
Michael Dell, on Tuesday, overtook Jeff Bezos in Forbes’ billionaire rankings, edging past the Amazon co-founder as shares of Dell Technologies reached an all-time high, extending a six-month rally.Dell’s estimated net worth rose $4.6 billion to reach $267.7 billion at market close Tuesday afternoon, making him the third-wealthiest person in the world for the first time ever.
Dell trails Alphabet co-founder Larry Page ($277.9 billion) and Tesla chief Elon Musk ($942 billion).
Shares of Dell Technologies rose 1.9% to close at an all-time high of $533.88 on Tuesday, and traded as high as $538.47 earlier in the day.
Bezos’ estimated net worth dropped $1.4 billion to $265.2 billion as Amazon shares fell 0.6%.
Dell’s net worth has more than doubled since last year as his company has benefited from booming demand for artificial intelligence hardware.
327%. That is how much Dell’s stock has rocketed since the start of the year, when shares were priced around the $128 mark. Michael Dell holds a roughly 40% stake in his company and has much of his fortune wrapped up in his private investment firm DFO Management, which invests in hotels and liquid corporate credit. Dell’s net worth has soared alongside his company’s earnings, allowing him to surpass Meta co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison in recent months.
Dell Technologies is a week removed from its second-quarter earnings report in which it logged $47 billion in revenue, a 58% jump year-over-year, and adjusted earnings per share of $7.04, a threefold increase from the same period last year. The company’s AI server business logged a record $60.9 billion in orders and accounted for $16.4 billion in revenue. The growth, and what chief financial officer David Kennedy called “AI momentum,” resulted in Dell Technologies raising its full-year revenue guidance $25 billion to an anticipated $192 billion.
Personality in Focus
NAOSNP President, Oki Samson Bags Police-Youth Advocate Award
The Lagos State Police Command under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, CP Fatai Tijani, on Thursday, honoured the President of the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), Mayor Oki Olatunji Samson, as a Police-Youth Advocate for his contribution to youth engagement and advocacy, responsible security journalism and community safety.
The recognition came during the Command’s commemoration of International Youth Day 2026, themed “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations,” held at the Police Officers’ Wives Association (POWA) Secretariat, Oduduwa Street, Lagos.
The event also featured the launch of the National Campaign Against Political and Digital Thuggery and a Police-Youth Dialogue designed to build stronger partnerships between law enforcement and young Nigerians. The initiative, in line with the vision of Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, placed youth participation, responsible citizenship and peacebuilding at the centre of contemporary security discourse.
In his address at the event, the NAOSNP President, a respected security journalist, stressed that youth advocacy must move beyond rhetoric to deliberate investment in the values, opportunities and relationships that enable young people to become agents of stability. He argued that the youth should not be viewed simply as potential victims or perpetrators of insecurity, but as indispensable stakeholders in preventing it. According to him, the digital space has become an extension of society and therefore requires the same standards of responsibility expected in the physical world.
The NAOSNP President urged young Nigerians to recognise the power of their voices, particularly on social media, and deploy that influence constructively. “Your phone is powerful. Your social media account is powerful. Your voice is powerful. Please use that power to build, not destroy.” He further challenged young people to resist political manipulation, stressing that no temporary political reward could justify sacrificing one’s future.
“Do not allow anyone to use your future to settle their present disagreement.”
He advocated a culture in which political differences could be expressed without becoming personal hostility, urging youths to verify information before sharing it and to understand that digital actions can have real-world consequences.
The intervention resonated strongly with the message of the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Tijani Fatai, who warned young people against allowing politicians to exploit them for electoral violence as the country approaches another election cycle. Fatai said youths must look beyond immediate gratification and recognise the importance of preserving their future.
“Tomorrow is there for us. We should not think of today. We should always think of tomorrow. That tomorrow is more important than what we are today.”
The CP also delivered a particularly strong message against the recruitment of young Nigerians into political thuggery, noting that political actors rarely expose their own children to the dangers of electoral violence. “None of these politicians will use any of their children for electioneering, thuggery, violence or what have you.”
He urged youths to reject attempts to use them for ballot-box snatching, intimidation, destruction of property and other forms of electoral violence, while stressing that political participation remained a legitimate right when exercised responsibly.
The Commissioner equally identified the digital environment as an emerging frontier of security, urging young Nigerians to think carefully before posting, sharing or reacting to provocative content. His message was clear: political participation must never become political violence, whether offline or online.
In his goodwill message, Commander, 9 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Ayokunle Owolabi, described the campaign as timely and commended the Police for strengthening engagement with young Nigerians. Owolabi noted that the energy, creativity and resilience of young people remained indispensable to Nigeria’s peace, security and development. He emphasised that national security could no longer be regarded as the exclusive responsibility of security agencies, but required a whole-of-society approach in which young Nigerians become active partners. He particularly warned against the misuse of digital platforms and physical spaces for violence, intimidation, misinformation and destructive engagement, while calling for stronger trust and communication between young people and security institutions.
Also speaking, the Lagos State Coordinator of the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), SP Olivia Amarachi Ugochukwu, urged young people to become the change they desire in their communities.
“Policing is everybody’s business. If you see something, say something.”
She also charged the media to ensure that only verified information was disseminated, noting that responsible information management was essential to preventing fear, confusion and conflict.
The well attended event attracted representatives of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy, NDLEA, FRSC and NSCDC, alongside NYSC, POCACOV, PCRC, NYCN, NANS, NURTW, RTEAN, CRAN, NAOSNP, POWA and youths from Police Barracks across Lagos. The programme featured an extensive Police-Youth Dialogue on security, political participation, social media, cultism, thuggery and emerging threats.
The recognition of Mayor Oki Samson as Police-Youth Advocate therefore represented more than an individual honour. It underscored the growing importance of credible voices capable of connecting young people, the media and security institutions around a shared commitment to peace.
In a society where insecurity can be amplified by a rumour, a provocative post or a manipulated young mind, youth advocacy has become a frontline security intervention. The future of Nigeria cannot be secured merely by policing the streets; it must also be secured by winning the minds, trust and participation of its young people.
The challenge before advocates such as Mayor Oki Samson and institutions such as the Police is to ensure that the message does not end with an award or a commemorative event. It must travel into schools, communities, newsrooms, transport parks and digital spaces—until peace becomes not merely a campaign slogan, but a conscious choice made by a generation whose future is ultimately at stake.






