By The Nation
An accomplished architect. A successful businessman. A respected community leader. A prominent and active member of his church. A loving father and husband. A socialite. Chief Oluwole Olumide, the Apagunpote of Egbaland, Balogun of Imo, Abeokuta, Baba Ijo of Methodist Church, Imo and owner of an exotic but disputed golf resort in Abeokuta, seemed to have everything to live for. He would have been 70 in May and his friends, family and associates would most certainly have celebrated a fulfilled life. But it all tragically came to an end for Chief Olumide last Friday when he was found dead in an artificial lake at his golf resort.
The mysterious nature of his death has raised baffling questions on whether it was a case of suicide or murder. The story reads like fiction. Chief Olumide had been conveyed from his home to the resort by his driver. He dropped by the lake and requested the driver to fetch some security guards from his house. On the driver's return, his boss was nowhere to be found. A search party later discovered the deceased's cap, shoes and later his corpse floating on the lake. The report of his demise understandably caused consternation within and beyond Ogun State.
The possibility of suicide was initially raised in some quarters. This insinuation was predicated on the running battle the late chief, a close associate of the immediate past Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, had been having with the administration of Senator Ibikunle Amosun over the golf resort. A committee set up by the present government had recommended, among others, the revocation of the property's Certificate of Occupancy and the issuance, upon application, of a fresh one with the correct and exact land dimensions to the Abeokuta Golf Club and handed over to the registered trustees of the latter.
Could the late chief have taken his life out of frustration at this development? We consider this unlikely given his wide experience, vast social contacts and the mechanisms available to him for legal redress if he felt his rights had been unjustly abridged. If it had been a case of suicide, would the shoes have been floating separately from the body? Did he remove the shoes after he had dived into the lake? This seems implausible.
This case assumes a more complex dimension given the reports that shortly before his death, Chief Olumide had been interrogated in Lagos by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over his alleged business deals with Otunba Gbenga Daniel, former Governor of Ogun State, whose tenure has been under scrutiny by the anti-graft agency. He was said to have cooperated fully with his interrogators. Indeed, the agency reportedly found the information obtained from Chief Olumide so valuable that it had agreed to release his seized passport to enable him travel abroad.
Now, would a man who apparently was planning a foreign trip suddenly have taken his own life? Did the chief's continued existence constitute a threat to some sinister elements who decided to get rid of him? We are happy at reports that the EFCC plans to work with the police to unravel this mystery. Equally commendable is the insistence by the Ogun State government that an autopsy be conducted on the body before Chief Olumide's burial in Abeokuta last Monday. The result of the autopsy should contribute significantly to getting to the root of this tragedy. This should not be another of those suspicious deaths that underscore the precariousness of human existence in contemporary Nigeria.
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