Chief Adegoke "Penkelemesi" Adelabu (September 3, 1915 – March 20, 1958

Gbadamosi Adegoke Adelabu (September 3, 1915 – March 20, 1958) was an important politician from Ibadan in the middle part of the 20th century. He was a self made man born into a humble family, but became an influential figure in Nigerian politics. He attended Government College, Ibadan and eventually became a business man. His successful political career was cut short when he was killed in a car crash, not long before Nigeria gained independence from Britain. He has been described as a particularly charismatic, intelligent and hard-working man.


Early life

He was almost the first beneficiary of a scholarship given by the United Africa Company Nigeria (UAC) for outstanding ability, the first Nigerian to occupy the position of manager at UAC and the first chairman of the Ibadan District Council. He was also a member of the Western Region House of Assembly and served as the federal Minister of Social Services and Mineral Resources. He was also a salesman, a merchant, a writer and a journalist.
Political strongman

Chief Adegoke "Penkelemesi" Adelabu was a fiercely independent-minded man who refused to be swayed by the herd mentality, and the politics of tribe and personality which governed politics in the Yorùbá-dominated Western Region of Nigeria in the 1950s; centered in Ibadan. As one of the leading Ibadan politician of his time, he championed the cause of the NCNC led by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. He co-founded Ibadan Peoples Party (IPP) with Chief Adisa Akinloye who later became his rival till death and was instrumental in the formation of the Ibadan Taxpayers Association. Adegoke Adelabu, described as the colossal figure in Ibadan between 1951 and 1958, became the leader of opposition in the western region house of assembly. At the time of his death he had already married 12 times and had 15 children.


Peculiar mess:

Adegoke Adelabu is often mentioned in Yorùbá and Nigerian history, almost nearly in parentheses as the author of that expression: "penkelemesi", a Yorubanisation of the phrase, "peculiar mess" which Adelabu, known for his deep knowledge of English, had used on an occasion to describe the opposition in the Western Region House of Assembly. Not understanding what he meant, the non-literate section of his audience translated the phrase into vernacular as "penkelemesi".
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