A former Managing Director and Chairman of Daily Times Newspapers, Chief Tola Adeniyi, on Friday, described the death of a renowned businessman and Publisher of the defunct Third Eye Newspapers, Chief Akanni Aluko, as painful and devastating.
He said that the news of Aluko’s passage was devastating and hard to believe, considering what the deceased stood for while alive, particularly his role as a great philanthropist of all seasons.
Adeniyi, also the pioneer Editor-in-Chief of Nigerian Tribune, made this known in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ado-Ekiti, while reacting to Aluko’s death.
The veteran journalist said that his death had robbed the country of a dogged fighter for justice and lover of the poor.
According to him, Nigeria has lost a great philanthropist, publisher, astute businessman and great patriot, with Aluko’s demise.
He stated that the vacuum that his death had created would be difficult to fill.
“I feel a sense of personal loss in his departure. We used to chat virtually on daily basis. He was a very close friend of mine.
“High Chief Akanni Aluko was a dogged fighter for justice, equity and human rights.
“A philanthropist of highest class, Aluko could, if possible, give one of his eyes to the needy. He was a cheerful giver, extremely compassionate and warm hearted”, he said.
Adeniyi noted that the trio of Akanni Aluko, the late Chief Adeseun Ogundoyin and the late Alhaji Abdulazeez Arisekola-Alao were the shakers and movers of Ibadan metropolis in the mid-70s, up till each of them breathed their last.
“Aluko will be terribly missed by all those whose paths crossed his during his most-impactful and colourful life.
“I am really short of words. The news of Aluko’s passing is most devastating
“We are, however, consoled by the fact that he lived a fulfilled life in the service of God and humanity,” he said.
He prayed for the repose of the soul of the late publisher and that his wife and other family members would find comfort in God.
NAN reports that the Ijesa-born publisher died on Friday morning at University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, following a protracted illness. (NAN)
