When Bayo Adelabu, a former Deputy Governor at Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), joined the Oyo governorship race about 2-and-a-half years ago, many politicians in the state underated him. Many of them had a good laugh, wondering if he thought wanting to become the next Governor of Oyo State was like eating a piece of cake.
They believed his not having had an experience in politics would work against him. They also felt he was too prim and proper to engage in the rough tackles that often come with politics. Adelabu himself laughed at them. He knew they didn’t know who they were dealing with. He knew they didn’t know the stuff he is made of. Yes, he may not have been an old politician like them, he reckoned, but he knows what to do to curry their favour. So, once he joined the race, he began to woo all the major Ibadan elders and stakeholders.
He visited them to explain his mission in politics. That was how Bayo Adelabu embarked on a comprehensive campaign tour, reaching all the nooks and crannies of the state. He had also met with Gov. Ajimobi, who has a soft spot for him. He fits the picture of someone the Governor would like. He is a corporate player. Though, he is an Ibadan man, Bayo Adelabu is cosmopolitan and urbane. He is also very refined. Adelabu took the race as a long distance one. Once he started, he didn’t rest. Even when the Governor was undecided on who to support at first because one of his boys, Tegbe also joined the race, Adelabu didn’t mind. He had his eyes on the ball. He continued to reach out to all the party leaders, played his role effectively as a party member and was hopeful.
Before people knew it, Bayo Adelabu had become widely accepted across the board within the party. Both the old and young members love him. And as the party headed for the primaries, Adelabu knew he would definitely clinch the ticket. More than other aspirants, he was on ground. He dug deep. He had large scale acceptance. Even the Oyo APC leadership couldn’t hide their love for him. It was that reality that the Governor saw on ground, that made Gov. Ajimobi decide to support him in the last minute over and above Tegbe, an insider revealed to City People.
Till today many people still can’t understand how someone they thought was inexperienced and naive was able to beat all the more experienced politicians to their game.
He played a few cards that gave him an edge. One is the fact that he is a pure Ibadan-born politician over and above his major opponent, who they argued may not be from Oyo State. Two is that all the key monarchs in the state threw their weight solidly behind him. The Alaafin supported him because of the historic ties between Alaafin’s late father and Bayo Adelabu’s late grandfather. When Bayo Adelabu visited the Alaafin to officially tell him he was running, the Alaafin recalled his late fathers historic link to Bayo’s grandfather. Alaafin’s father was banished by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Adelabu’s grandfather too had issues with the late Awo.
When he visited the Olubadan of Ibadan, the monarch also referred him to his historic link with Bayo Adelabu’s father also. Both kings bought into his vision.
He also played the religious card. He is a Muslim and the Ibadan people have a bias for Muslim guber aspirants.
Beyond this, Bayo Adelabu played up his humble side. He is humble to a fault. He manifested this everywhere he went. He also amplified it for good measure.
Of course, his being financially comfortable helped matters. It was easy for him to mobilise across the Local Governments in the state. For the 2-and-a-half year, he campaigned across the state, he spent and invested heavily in people and he built rock solid structures across the Wards and LGs.
Because he is known to be a big spender, who is always ready to spend and help, his name and reputation spread like wildfire. Party members saw him as a nice new breed politician, who was ready to help the party and its members.
What shocked many was how he was always willing to sit down with them at the grassroot to talk politics. He also made sure he positively affected all those he met and those whose path crossed his.
By the time Adelabu beat other aspirants at the primaries it wasn’t difficult to see that Adelabu was a better politician than those who had rated him low.
He is from a rich pedigree. Let’s tell you more. He was born on Monday, 28th September, 1970, to the family of Mr. & Mrs. Aderibigbe Adelabu of Adegoke Adelabu’s compound, Oke-Oluokun, Ibadan, Oyo State, with a “Star”. Adebayo Adekola Adelabu’s grandfather was the late Alhaji Adegoke Adelabu, popularly known as Penkelemesi, the most flamboyant and articulate grassroot politician of the pre-independence political era and Nigeria’s first Federal Minister of Social Services and Natural Resources.
He had his primary education at Ibadan Municipal Government Primary School, Agodi Ibadan between 1976 and 1982 and secondary school education at the famous Lagelu Grammar School, Ibadan between 1982 and 1987 with Distinctions.
He holds a First Class Degree in Accounting from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and he is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), a fellow of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and an Associate Member of the Institute of Directors of Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
Adebayo Adekola Adelabu, until his appointment as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was an Executive Director/Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of First Bank of Nigeria Plc. (FBN).
Prior to that, he held the positions of General Manager as the West African Regional Head of Finance and Strategy (Consumer Banking Business) for Standard Chartered Bank.
He had his professional training with PriceWaterhouse (now Pricewaterhouse Coopers), an international firm of Chartered Accountants and Management Consultants where he worked for seven years. While with the firm, he led and managed various audit and consultancy engagements for large banks and non-bank financial institutions within and outside Nigeria. He was also on secondment to the CBN for one year (in 1999) when he led the finance team on the CBN re-engineering and corporate renewal project tagged: (Project EAGLES).
He left the firm in year 2000 as an Audit Manager and Senior Consultant to join First Atlantic Bank as the Financial Controller and Group Head of Risk Management and Controls. He also held various other positions, while in First Atlantic Bank including the Chief Inspector of the Bank (2002) and Group Head of National Public Sector Business (2003).
Bayo Adelabu had attended various local and International trainings, seminars and conferences including the University of London School of Management Development, the Euromoney Executive Education, UK, the United States Institute of Internal Auditors in Orlando, Florida, Harvard Business School, Boston USA, Wharton Business School, Pensyvalnia, USA, Stanford Business School, Carlifornia, USA and Columbia University Business School, New York USA.
Bayo served as the Chairman, Board of Directors of the Financial Institution Training Center (FITC) and also sits on the board of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC) and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NISRAL).
Bayo Adelabu is the pioneer Chairman till date of the 1982/87 set of the Lagelu Grammar School, Ibadan Old Boys’ Association and once the Treasurer of the Lagos branch of the National Alumni Association. In year 2012, he led his set, while celebrating their 25th graduation anniversary, to renovate 2 blocks consisting of six classrooms, to donate 500 units of students’ chairs and tables, 10,000 pieces of big exercise books and 10 computer workstations to the school. More recently, in 2017, he led his set during their 30 years graduation annivesary to donate a block of eight toilets for the use of students and teachers. He has also singlehandedly funded the state of the art School Governing Board Administrative Building for Lagelu Grammar School. All in addition to other various supports his set alumni have been rendering to the school under his able leadership.
Considering all these, the Executive Governor of the state, Senator Dr. Abiola Ajimobi appointed Chief Bayo Adelabu as the Chairman, Governing Board of Lagelu Grammar School, Ibadan as well as Chairman, Oyo State Security Trust Fund in 2017.
As a Deputy Governor while in Central Bank of Nigeria, he influenced the establishment and building of the Technical University, Ibadan, hostel in the University of Ibadan, New Senate Building of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife and Central Bank of Nigeria Medical and Diagnostic Centre in Ibadan, Graduate School of Economics and Banking built by CBN for the University of Ibadan for over #15 billion, renovation and new academic buildings for Bishop Philips Academy by the CBN costing over #500/Million, relocation of the CBN Entrepreneur ial Development Center (EDC) from Lagos to Oyo State at Samonda, Ibadan thus creating learning and employment opportunities for Oyo State indigenes, already approved is #3.5 Billion Accounting and Banking Studies Building for The Polytechnic, Ibadan, a #500 million renovation for Lagelu Grammar School, Ibadan by the CBN and provision of employment and small contracts for hundreds of Oyo State indigenes within the four years of stay at the Central Bank of Nigeria, first ever in the history of political appointment from Oyo State.
In his personal capacity, he uses the platform of his NGO, Bayo Adelabu Foundation (BAF) to deliver his various philanthropic gestures to the society, which include but not limited to scholarship and other Education support to indigent students, Health support to the less privileged, Artisans and Traders Finance support, Youth Engagement and Rehabilitation, Support for the Aged, Widows and the physically challenged and Basic communal infrastructure supports. He has also set up a Skill Acquisition Centre at Oluyoro Oke Adu for training of artisans and youths in the state. His philanthrophic gesture has spread through the education sector and many health projects. He also engages himself in Public Motivational Speaking and Youth mentoring activities.
It is in recognition of all these that the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) conferred on him in year 2010 the honour of Ibadan Distinguished Fellowship Award. In addition to this in 2012, the then Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Odulana Odugade counted him worthy of conferment of a Chieftaincy title of Agbaakin Parakoyi of Ibadanland and recently on 4th August, 2018, the Alado of Ado Awaye, Oba Reverend Ademola Olugbile Folakanmi Makuleboye II conferred on him the chieftaincy title of Aare Asoludero of Ado Awaye.
Beyond his official assignment as a Financial and Banking guru, he is an urban renewal and development freak with special passion for Hospitality, Entertainment and Real Estate. He is the Group Chairman of BayseOne Group of Hotels, the Best Western Plus Hotels, Ibadan and BayseOne Farms.
According to Ibadan Ogunniran, an Advertising and Publishing Practitioner, Bayo Adelabu is graciously blessed with 7 qualities of a good leader as follows: (1) Ability to create vision, articulate vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion; (2) Courage to pursue the best and achieve success; (3) Integrity to fear nothing. With this integrity, Bayo is always willing to do the right thing; (4) Humility to carry all along and to give people their deserved respects with self –confidence and self-awareness, to recognise the value of others without feeling threatened; (5) Strategic Planning to look ahead and to anticipate with some accuracy. He is a leader with foresight who could make the “first move”; (6) Focus on the past successes rather than the past failures, and on the next action steps needed to take, rather than all the other distractions that life could present; (7) Ability to gain cooperation of others by making a commitment to get along well with each person every single day.
Heis a member of Ikoyi Club 1938, Jericho Businessmen Club and Ibadan Golf Club. He is happily married to Oluwaseyi Omolara and blessed with lovely and Godly children.
