https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4mCPOQ4NT8

Click on the link for a 6 minute video tribute covering dad's life and funeral ceremonies.

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Rasheed Abiodun Gbadamosi (R.A.G) the industrialist, administrator, former Minister, writer, dramatist and humanist who left on Wednesday November 16, 2016, was a patriot and universalist.

 He departed twenty one days short of his 73rd birthday. Gbadamosi had traversed the world since he was a teenager. He was a citizen of the universe but had long ago, prepared his final rest place in his beloved Ikorodu. The town, which began as an outpost of the Remo and Ijebu people was founded by Epe Odu primarily as a vegetable farm. People going to the farm settlement often said they were going to Oko Odu (Odu’s farm) The British colonialists Anglicized Oko Odu to Ikorodu.

Gbadamosi’s great grandfather was Ajenise from the Agemo lineage. His grandfather, Gbadamosi Odesanya, alias Adaramadoti, traded in hand-woven clothes and was a tailor. His grandmother, Raliat Morounkubi was from Ode Remo. They had ten children but only three survived. His father, Sule Oyesola, adopted the father’s first name, Gbadamosi, he became known as Sule Oyesola Gbadamosi (SOG) while his uncle, Michael, retained Odesanya, the family name. He was to be later known as Justice Michael Adeyinka Odesanya.

The senior Gbadamosi had sixteen children. To try to treat them all equally, SOG, who was a man of considerable means, created a children section in his home, withdrew the children from the direct care of their mothers and placed them under a governess, Mrs. Odomosu, alias Mama Nurse. Given his very busy schedules as an industrialist and leading politician, he placed the governess under the supervision of his younger brother, Michael Odesanya, who also exercised discipline amongst the children. His mother, Alhaja Rafatu Asabi Gbadamosi was from the royal family in Lagos.

The greatest influences in young Gbadamosi’s life were his father who also mentored him in business and his mother with whom he had a sort of telepathic relationship. He told me a story about this. He said when he was quite young, his mother took a commercial boat from Lagos Island where they lived, to Ikorodu. In those days, that was the only means of transportation to Ikorodu. The alternative was a four-day journey by foot through Lagasa and Victoria Island.

He said shortly after she left, in a trance-like state, he saw his mother in distress in the boat as it was about to capsize. He began to weep. Gbadamosi said when his mother returned, she narrated how her and other passengers in the boat almost lost their lives as it nearly capsized.

Gbadamosi was born at about 2.am at the Mercy Hospital, Mercy Street, Lagos. By four, he started school at the Patience Kindergarten Modern School and was admitted to the prestigious Methodist Boys’ High School (MBHS) Lagos in 1956.

Although his father was one of the leading Muslims in the country, he not only sent his son to a Christian mission school, but also took him to live with the then Principal, Reverend Samuel Adeoye Osinulu. Reverend Osinulu who marked his centenary this year had told me in an interview in 2003 that Gbadamosi lived with him for “quite a while and he was a good member of the family, apart from being a good student. His father gave him a good Muslim training at home and when he came to live with us, he also imbibed Christian values…He absorbed the best of the two religions and that can be seen reflected in his character”

Gbadamosi was seventeen when he left secondary school in 1960 the year Nigeria gained independence. His graduating class in MBHS became known as the Liberation Set. The following year, the young Gbadamosi was off to England for further studies. His father had seen off Gbadamosi and his elder brother at the old Ikeja Airport, Lagos.

The Italian flight, a propeller plane was scheduled to make the journey in twelve hours with stops in Kano, Tripoli and Barcelona. It was Gbadamosi’s first travel outside the country and his first experience in air travel. Forty five minutes into the Barcelona-London flight, the Gbadamosi brothers and other passengers were moved from the economy class to the rear of the aircraft. They were given pillows to rest their heads. He held on to his elder brother who was sleeping. Then he saw the air hostess wincing and acting nervous.

What young Gbadamosi did not realize was that the movement of the passengers and their given pillows to lay their heads was to prepare them for a possible crash-land. One of the aircraft tyres had stuck and would not release, but as it made to crash-land, the tyre released and the plane taxied to a stop. Gbadamosi did not realize that he and other passengers had cheated death by the whiskers until after the airport formality, he got a congratulatory telegram from his father.

What happened was that after seeing his two sons off, the senior Gbadamosi was travelling to Ibadan when the British Broadcasting Corporation announced that a Lagos-London Italian flight had some problems and wasn’t able to land initially but that it eventually landed safely. The senior Gbadamosi immediately sent a congratulatory telegram to his sons. From the jaws of death, Gbadamosi and his brother stepped into British soil in pursuit knowledge.

He spent six years in Britain attending the City of Westminster College and University of Manchester where he majored in Economics and a Masters in the University of New Hampshire, United States. The fall of Umuahia to Federal Troops in 1969 during the Civil War, was to him, a signal that he had to return to the country. Here he was with a degree and advanced diploma from Britain and a Masters in Economics from America.

He had a good pedigree; his father was a big industrialist and one of the country’s best known political figures. He declined an appointment in the Cabinet Office, to work in his father’s company. Life’s canvas stretched invitingly before him. Then suddenly he had to make a run for it. The military authorities were hot on his tail hunting him for charges of subversion or treasonable felony. For Gbadamosi’s supposed actions, the Federal Military Government of General Yakubu Gowon had put the First Division of the Army on alert to march on Lagos.

His accomplices had been rounded up and were already in prison. These included Christopher Kolade, the Director General of the Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (Now, the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria) – he was years later, Nigeria High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. There was Edward Fiberesima, a star and a Producer of the NBC, Francesca Emmanuel who was to retire as a Federal Permanent Secretary and Kofo Bucknor-Akerele who later became Deputy Governor of Lagos State. After some time in hiding, Gbadamosi emerged hoping that the heat was off. He was promptly arrested and thrown into the high security Kirikiri Prison.

The cause of the whole problem was a play! Titled, Trees Grow In The Desert, it was Gbadamosi’s first play which he had written three years before the Civil War. The play had been staged successfully and there had been glowing tributes about it. Then Edward Fiberesima thought it should be adapted to a radio play. There as a scene in the play about an army mutiny in which the Head of the Armed Forces and the Chief of Staff were kidnapped. On stage, it was an innocuous scene. But that hot afternoon in Lagos when the play was on the NBC, it sounded real; that a coup was on. The authorities did not wait to hear the rest of the production which would have made them realize that it was just a play. When the military authorities were informed it was just a play even if badly timed and badly edited, it did not matter to them. The sulking authorities rounded up all those connected with the play, but the playwright, Gbadamosi was at large hence the hunt for him.

After two weeks in prison, the anger of the authorities was assuaged and he was set free. The authorities reaction and the arrest made the headlines and Gbadamosi was thrust into prominence; his literary image soared and he was propelled into more literary activity.

In 1971, he reached out to Offa, Kwara State, to marry his heart-throb, the then Miss Tinu Adedoyin. At 29 he was appointed the Lagos state Commissioner for Economic Planning by the then Military Governor, Brigadier General Mobolaji Johnson. However, the government of General Yakubu Gowon was overthrown on July 29, 1975 and all state governors and their political appointees, sacked.

The new government at the Federal level led by General Murtala Ramat Muhammed accused the Gowon regime of incompetence, indecision and corruption. At the Lagos State level, the new Military Governor, Adekunle Lawal declared war on the sacked Johnson government.

As a former Commissioner under Johnson, Gbadamosi, had to fight off such accusations. He reiterated his innocence and went on the pages of the newspapers to take on the new government, however, the harassment against the former leadership did not cease.

One evening, Gbadamosi went to see a friend in the Surulere area of Lagos. There he met a man who was introduced to him as Lt. Colonel Ibrahim Babangida a member of the newly constituted Supreme Military Council. The Colonel asked Gbadamosi to repeat his name after which he said off-guard “Oh, We have an appointment for you, you’ll hear about it.” Then he melted away. The next day, Gbadamosi was named as one of the “Fifty Wise-men” to draft the country’s new constitution preparatory to the handover of power to civilians.

Here was somebody who was rejected and vilified being appointed by the same military government. The Government went on in addition to appoint him into the Board of Directors of the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) the then sole electricity company in the country. With that, his rehabilitation and the redemption of his name was complete. He was at this time, a 32-year old youth. The best was yet to come.

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/11/trees-grow-desert-rasheed-gbadamosi-young-man/

At the corporate level, Rasheed served on the Boards of many companies, either as the Chairman or a board member. The companies included Rabaka
Grove Works Ltd, Ragolis Water Ltd which he cofounded with the late Mr Samuel Olagbayi and late Tade Ismail, Commercial and Scientific Computing
Nigeria Ltd, Vono Products Plc,Tolaram Clay Bricks Nigeria Ltd, BHN Nigeria Plc, Syndicated Metal Industries Ltd, Cappa and D’Alberto Plc, American International Insurance Company (AIICO) Plc, Lucky Fibres Nigeria Ltd, Ivory Products Ltd, Farawa Ltd and RAG and Company Ltd.

Rasheed served on the boards of many notfor-profit organizations including Advisory Board of Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre
since 1995, Trustee of Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON), Patron of Fela Anikulapo Foundation since 1978 and Life member of the Nigerian
Economic Society.

written by Mr Segun Osoba. Culled from RAG@70 Birthday Brochure, December 2013

Rasheed was a traditional man to the core. He held three traditional chieftaincy titles in recognition of his role to the development of his local constituencies. He was the Aro of Lagos, a title he took from Oba Adeyinka Oyekan after the death of Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya, the former holder of the title. He was the Otun of Ikorodu and Otun of Ode Remo.

Rasheed’s versatility in scholastic pursuits is highly commendable and impressive. As well as being an accomplished Economist, he ventured into the litrary world of the likes of Prof. Wole Soyinka. He has to his credit the following published plays and poems – Trees Grow in the Desert, Children of two wars, Behold my Redeemer; (Onibonoje Press 1968). Echoes from the Lagoon (Oxford
University Press, 1970), over thirty short stories and numerous papers and essays on polical and economic issues.

For three years, at every Easter period Rasheed hosted renowned Artists and world acclaimed literary giants at his Ikorodu home, where he erected a Museum, which he called Grillo Pavillion, in honour of Professor Yusuf Grillo, the renowned artist.

My friend, Rasheed, married to his heartthrob, Chief (Mrs) Tinuade Adedoyin Gbadamosi in 1971.  He has ten children and Nine grand children.

Rasheed was a member of Lagos Metropolitan Club, Ikoyi Club (1938), Oriwu Club of Ikorodu, Lagos Lawn Tennis Club. His hobbies included tennis, badminton , swimming, reading, writing and classical music appreciation

At the age of 29, Rasheed was appointed
Commissioner for Economic Development
and Establishments in Lagos State by Brigadier
Mobolaji Johnson, the position he held between
1973 and 1975. Impressed by this outstanding
achievement at a very tender age, some of his
friends in the age brackets including my humble
self, organized a very befitting dinner for our dear
friend, Rasheed who did all of us proud.

With the exposure in the public sector as a result of
this unique appointment, Rasheed started climbing
from glory to glory and height to height within the
economic landscape of our great country.
He served on the Board of National Electric
Power Authority between 1976 and 1979. He
had the privilege of serving on the Constitution
Drafting Committee between 1976 and 1977. He
was a member of the Study Group appointed by
the Federal Parliament 1984 to prepare industrial
policies for Nigeria. He was a member of the
Committee of Investigation into Counter-Trade
in 1985. He served as a member of a Committee
on Restructuring the Management and Operations
of the Nigerian Railway Corporation in 1999. He
was a Member of Petroleum Products Pricing and
Regulatory Committee (PPPRC) between 2001
and 2002.


He served as a Governing Council member of
Lagos State University between 1985 and 1987
and as a member of the Nigeria’s External
Debts Rescheduling Team in 1986. He was the
Chairman of the Nigerian Industrial Development
Bank (NIDB) between 1986 and 1994. He was a
member of the National Committee on Industrial
Development Masterplan Project between 1989
and 1998. He was the Chairman of the Special
Committee on Petroleum Products Supply and
Distribution in 2000, and Chairman of the
Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of
Social and Economic Research (NISER) in 2007.

Rasheed got to the crescendo of his public service
appointments by becoming the Minister, Federal
Ministry of National Planning between 1998 and
1999.

Rasheed who has contributed immensely to the
economic development of Nigeria was recognized
by the conferment on him the enviable national
honour of Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
(OFR) in 2001. He was given the Honorary
Doctorate Degree by the Lagos State University in
2005.

With all these, Rasheed, my “twin brother”
is indeed an accomplished gentleman.

On returning to Nigeria in 1969, he was recruited
into the Federal Civil Service as a Planning
Officer in the Federal Ministry of Planning
and Reconstruction, but his father, Chief S.O
Gbadamosi, an entrepreneur extraordinaire
prevented him from taking up the appointment.
Instead, Rasheed was employed as a Manager in
his father’s business empire – Ayinla and Oyesola
Limited (Nigeria Tobacco Company Distributor)
between 1969 – 1971 and Ikorodu Trading
Company Ltd between 1971 and 1973.

The exposure Rasheed had in his short sojourn in
the family business turned him subsequently into
a corporate leader of tenacity and unrelenting
stamina. I look forward to the date Rasheed will
write a book on Entrepreneurship which will
be very useful to future undergraduate and Post
graduate students of Business Administration.

Rasheed attended one of the oldest and prestigious
Secondary Schools in Nigeria, Methodist Boys
High School, Lagos between 1956 and 1960 sequel
to his Primary education at Patience Nursery and
Primary School, Lagos.

As the saying goes, some people were born great,
others achieve greatness – whereas other have
greatness thrust on them. My friend, Rasheed, was
born great with a silver spoon in his mouth, hence
upon finishing Secondary education in 1960 he was
sent by his father to the United Kingdom in 1961
to pursue further education.

He attended City of Westminister College, London
between 1961 and 1963 for his High School
Certificate education before proceeding to the
exalted University of Manchester where he studied
Economics and came out in flying colour in 1967.
He later proceeded to the University of New
Hampshire, USA where he obtained his Master
Degree in Economics in 1969.

Rasheed is one of the most brilliant Economists in
Nigeria today, and he has contributed in no small
measure to the economic development of our great
nation.