Former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola has described the death of retired Supreme Court Justice, Justice Bolarinwa Oyegoke Babalakin as painful, stating that the foremost Patriot was a father-figure to him.
Oyinlola said this in a condolence message he sent to the son of late Jurist, Dr Wale Babalakin, which obtained by InsightMedia in Osogbo on Sunday.
The former Governor recalled that Late Babalakin was his mentor, whose advice and moral support were invaluable to him during his (Oyinlola’s) tenure as Governor of Lagos and Osun states.
The Prince of Okuku said “I received with heavy hearts the glorious transition of your illustrious father and the patriarch of the Babalakin family, Hon. Justice Shehu Tijani Bolarinwa Oyegoke Babalakin, JSC (Rtd), CON, LLD. The death of the jurist, at the age of 95, has robbed our country of a foremost patriot and a selfless statesman. It is a great loss to all of us who were his mentees and to our country, Nigeria. It is the end of an era.
“Although it is painful to lose him even at an advanced age, the consolation, however, is that Justice Babalakin lived a life of fulfilment without stain in a country where public service is full of intrigues.
“I recall with gratitude to him all the moral support he gave me when I administered Lagos and Osun states. This he continued to give even after I left public service and he was well advanced in age. He was a father-ligure to me.
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Oyinlola said his prayers is that Almighty Allah will grant Wale Babalakin, the entire Babalakin family, Gbongan-community and “all of us” the fortitude to bear this huge loss.
