A former Governor of Oyo State for three months, Dr Victor Omololu Olunloyo, is dead. The former governor, who was also Balogun of Oyo and OtunBobasewa of Ife, died yesterday.
Olunloyo, born on April 14, 1935, was a Nigerian mathematician and politician. His death was confirmed in a statement signed by a former Editor of the Nigerian Tribune, Oladapo Ogunwusi.
President Bola Tinubu has condoled with the government and people of Oyo State following the passing of Olunloyo. Tinubu also extended sympathies to the Olunloyo family and all who knew and respected the late elder statesman and scholar.
Also, Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum and Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has described the death of Olunloyo as a great loss to Nigeria and intellectuals around the world.
Abiodun, who expressed the southern governors’ condolences to Governor Seyi Makinde, the government and people of Oyo State in a statement in Abeokuta, yesterday, described Olunloyo as a titan who left legacies that every Nigerian should be proud of.
Makinde has described death of Olunloyo as the exit of one of Oyo State and Nigeria’s most cerebral former administrators. The Oyo governor, in a statement, noted that it was sad that the late Mathematical guru and administrator passed away few days before his 90th birthday.
In its condolence message, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, has said that the contributions left in the annals of Oyo State history by Olunloyo, particularly in the areas of education, governance and public service, will remain indelible.
According to the Yoruba group, in the statement signed by its National Leader, Reuben Fasoranti, to commiserate with Makinde and the people of the state, the vision commitment of the former governor for a better Oyo State was unparalleled.
The group described the death of the octogenarian as saddening. In the same vein, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji, has described the death of the former governor as the dropping of one the finest stars from Nigeria’s sky.
Adedeji said that the deceased was a genius of a rare breed. However, a former Postmaster-General of the Federation, Dr Ismail Adebayo Adewusi, has described Olunloyo as a rare gift that Nigeria really never appreciated.
Olunloyo, according to Adewusi, in a statement made available to journalists, was an abundant gift to humanity whose full opportunities Nigerians never tapped. He, therefore, urged Makinde to look for a more befitting way to immortalise the late academic and political icon.
