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| Gov Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti paid condolence visit to Adetiloye's family |
The former primate of the Church of
Nigeria,Anglican Communion, Dr Joseph Abiodun Adetiloye is
dead
Primate Adetiloye,83, gave up the ghost at his Odo Owa
Ekiti country home in Ijero Local Government area of Ekiti State at
about 1.30 am on Friday after a brief illness
He is survived
by a wife, Mrs Titilayo Adetiloye and two children, Adeola and
Adedoyin.His first child, Mr Adeola ,a Mining Engineer teaches at
the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti
According to Chief Sunday
Adetiloye,one of his siblings,he said his late brother finally gave
up the ghost at about 1.30am on Friday
"Prior to his
final exit, he had came down stirs and he went upstairs,he was.
restless
"He asked me many questions,he asked about the
welfare of my children and blessed each of them,he said they ought to
have come home
According to Odofin Idogun of Odoowa
Ekiti, he said the late cleric suddenly became unconscious and was
running temperature and a doctor attended to him
"Shortly
after this,he was not talking and could not sleep,we decided to call
doctor again,before the doctor came,he gave up the ghost
Also his
first son,Adeola,who claim to be the most closest person to the late
cleric ,said he had called his father last week( Wednesday) and asked
about his state of health where he assured him that he was
okay
According to him,he said his late father had prayed for him
fervently while talking to him through phone
Meanwhile, Ekiti
State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has described the late former
Primate as a “global citizen who lived well, served well and
died well.”
Fayemi made the remark when he paid a condolence
visit to the family of the late former primate at his hometown,
Odo-Owa yesterday
The governor urged the family of the
deceased and Ekiti people at large not to mourn the demise of the
cleric but to celebrate him for living a fulfilled life and living
for the people he served
Fayemi promised that the state government
will be fully involved in the obsequies of the late primate as soon
as the family announce the burial plans.He noted that Adetiloye’s
tenure as the spiritual head of the Anglican family in Nigeria was
“great and remarkable” as the late primate used his position to
advance the cause of the truth, equity and justice.
The governor
recalled the roles played by Adetiloye during the long struggle to
enthrone democracy by standing on the side of the people in the dark
days of the Gen. Sani Abacha-led junta which earned him the sobriquet
of “NADECO Bishop.
.“We are not mourning him but celebrating
him because Baba does not belong to Nigeria alone but his place in
the annals of faith is important and secured.“He was a global man
and we owe him a duty of following the values he stood for.“Despite
his pedigree, he was very humble to have returned to his country home
although the government of Lagos State wanted him to stay in
Lagos”,
Also the former governor of the state and the
National Vice Chairman (South-West) of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), Chief Segun Oni has described the death of Ekiti born former
Primate and Archbishop of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion),
Archbishop Joseph Abiodun Adetiloye as a sad loss to Ekiti State, the
entire Christians in Nigeria and the Anglican Communion worldwide,
saying; "We have lost one of the masters of God's word in
Nigeria."
Reacting to Adetiloye's death through his Chief
Press Secretary, Mr. Lere Olayinka, the PDP Chieftain said Primate
Adetiloye will be sorely missed as a great man of God, who decided to
become an Anglican priest at a very young age of six and followed his
dream till the end.
"Though Baba was 82, his death still
came to me as a rude shock. This is because Baba was one of the
beacons of hope for Christianity in Nigeria and a great apostle of
God's word."
"No doubt, Baba's passion for
evangelism and missions brought tremendous growth to the Anglican
communion particularly in northern Nigeria.
"He was a
shining light in the Anglican Communion, a religious icon, whose
devotion to evangelism and religious tolerance in Nigeria cannot be
over-emphasised. He will be sorely missed," Oni said.
Primate
Adetiloye was born at Odo-Owa,Ekiti State on 25 December1929
.He
lost his father aged 3years old, which was adevout Christian,
beingraised by his mother likehis siblings. He entered school in 1937
and it was reported that "he wasalways neat in school eachday
despite the fact thathe had only one uniform".He decided to
become anAnglican priest at a veryyoung age.[1]He passed with
distinctionis first school leavingexamination in 1944 andwas a
teacher for 6 years.He was the acting churchagent at St. Paul's
Churchin Ara-Yero, now calledAraromi at his 6th year.He decided to
attendMelville Hall, in Kudeti,Ibadan, in 1949, tobecome a priest. He
wasfurther educated inEngland at King's CollegeLondon (BD), and
WycliffeHall, Oxford. He wasordained a deacon at theend of 1953 at
theCathedral Church of Lagos,by the first Archbishop ofWest Africa,
Leslie Vining.He was a curate at St.Peter's Church, in Ake,Abeokuta,
since 1954,latter was a chaplain toArchbishop Vining andafterwards to
ArchbishopHowells. This enabled himto move to Wycliff Hall, inOxford,
England, tocontinue his studies. Hewas involved in someparish
ministries at St.George in Leeds and was acurate at St. Mary's
Churchin Plaistow. Returning toNigeria, the Rev. Adetiloyewas a
teacher at theImmanuel College ofTheology in Ibadan, forfour years
and threemonths. On 10 August1966, he became vicar andprovost at the
CathedralChurch of St. James, inIbadan. On August 1970,he was elected
andnominated bishop of theDiocese of Ekiti, latterbeing transferred
to theDiocese of Lagos, of whichhe was bishop from 1985to 1999.He was
enthroned as thesecond Primate of theChurch of Nigeria on 26December
1986, thefollowing day to his 57thbirthday, at the CathedralChurch of
Lagos, by hispredecessor, ArchbishopTimothy O. Olufosoye. Hewould
retire on December1999, after 13 years inoffice. During his
tenure,the Church of Nigeriabecame a fast growingchurch, increasing
from 27dioceses in 1986 to 76 in1999. In 1997, the growthof the
Church of Nigerialead to a division intothree
ecclesiasticalprovinces. Archbishop Adetiloye headed the Province
One, consisting of the dioceses in the West, while remaining Primate
of All Nigeria.
