- By Demola Atobaba, Ado-Ekiti
The Assistant Editor-In-Chief of the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ekiti State, Mr Idowu Ariwodola has hailed the governor of Ekiti state, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, over the recent appointment of the erstwhile Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ekiti Council, Akogun Tai Oguntayo as his Technical Advisor – Public Communication (Political).
Ariwodola in his congratulatory message made available to TopNews in Ado-Ekiti and tittled: “Celebrating Return of Akogun Tai Oguntayo To Full Time Government Business”, described Oguntayo as a unique media guru who knows his onion.
His words: “My dear kinsman from Okemesi-Ekiti and good brother, Tai Oguntayo, an amazingly accomplished journalist, legal mind, teacher, administrator, businessman and publisher, a couple of days ago, was appointed among the very long list of new appointees of Ekiti Government, as Technical Advisor, Public Communication (Political), by the visionary and result-oriented Gov. Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State.
“Since then, all known social media platforms had been alive with endless congratulatory messages that ordinarily touched the hearts.
He further wrote; “In the midst of the celebration, I did not immediately know where to start, what nicest form of English to pen down, or how best to express how delighted i was in joining the crowd of his well wishers. So, i needed to take my time.
The veteran journalist further stated that, “While adopting all the good things that people said about him, I recall that the Akogun of Ipole-Iloro, his amazing wife’s hometown, is not new to such well deserved appointments, as he is merely returning to a familiar, not strange terrain”.
He went memory lane by saying, “Several years back as a young man, luck smiled at him, becoming Supervisor for Health of Ekiti West Local Government, only to return some years later as Secretary to the Local Government.
“He was also appointed Special Assistant to the State Governor some years ago, and later Special Adviser on Media to the Speaker of the Ekiti State Assembly, both in the last two administrations.
“Also only recently, the Ekiti State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ), where he was once the State Chairman, honoured the pioneer State Chairman of Association of Nigeria Authors, (ANA), by naming the Secretariat Building after him! The list is inexhaustible, as I can go on and on.
The NAN boss also hinted that, “While not sounding frivolous, Akogun, by my estimation of him, using all indices humanly possible, is indeed a special breed, deserving of all of these, and even more!
“A very brilliant master strategist, Akogun is no doubt synonymous with courage, adventure, perseverance and hardworking individual, who does not take a “no” for an answer.
Describing the former NUJ Boss, Ariwodola further wrote, “Words to describe the uniqueness of his qualities cannot be picked from the gutter. He is simply indescribable! A gentle giant, he carries his seemingly huge frame with measured of royalty and assured dignity.
“He handles life and its affairs with keen sense of responsibility, reliability, thoroughness and unimpeachable dependability.
“I got attracted to him in the 80’s during his days in the same secondary school I attended in our hometown, Okemesi-Ekiti, for a number of factors, and he has continued to defend such class of attributes, identifiable with him ever since!
“He is one of the finest users of the English language, my best area of life, both in its written and spoken forms. He has a mastery of the deployment of the language, and, as a public affairs analyst and public speaker that he often is, he understands the nitty-gritty, such that if it is in football, he is eminently qualified to compete title with a Ronaldo!
“He also excels in the use of Yoruba language, especially Ekiti, and perhaps better, if he is with the locals, dishing out Okemesi proverbs and idioms.
“It was very evident in his younger days, which I witnessed, that he would go very far in the ladder of life”.
