THE death of the Apagunpote of Egba land, Chief Oluwole Olumide, under circumstances yet to be ascertained is both saddening and strange. It has sparked many questions that only a thorough and transparent investigation will answer. The Egba chief reportedly committed suicide by drowning in the artificial lake of the Abeokuta Golf Resort which heowned until lately. Indeed, recent untoward happenings in the life of Chief Olumide, popularly called Apagun, have reportedly given him much cause to worry. The state government, acting on the recommendations of a judicial commission of enquiry on land matters, had first demolished the Water Parks facility owned by the deceased on the ground that it constituted a security threat to the state secretariat. The government also revoked the certificate of occupancy of his 150-room Golf Resort Hotel.Olumide was an avidgolfer and one-timechairman of the Nigerian Golf Federation.The resort is said to be a project most dear to his heart and one in which he had poured resources for two decades. More recently, he was quizzed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over his business dealings with the erstwhile government of Otunba Gbenga Daniel. Would a man of Olumide's age, life's experience, means and social standing, be so rattled by these adversities as to choose suicide' Olumide who would have been70 in May, was a very successful architect who designed and supervised the construction of the National Ecumenical Centre, Abuja and the OPIC Plaza in Lagos among others. It may appear logical that a man with an uncommon (in these parts) sense of shame might resort to so drastic a final act, as it happens in other climes.Yet, it is worth asking whether one who holds two high titles in Yoruba land and is, it can be assumed, sufficiently steeped in the norms and taboos of his culture to know the implications (and wider repercussions on self and family reputation) would thustake his own life. Can the challenges that lately befell him warrant the taking of his life' Granted that every man has his threshold of tolerance, but given his 70 or so years of exposure to the ways of the world and the vicissitudes of life, it should reasonably be expected that he would be man enough to hold himself together.The controversy over the necessity or otherwise to conduct an autopsy has fuelled too, suspicion as to the cause of death. Ordinarily, and given the situation around it, there is good justification to conduct medical investigation to determine the cause of death of so notable a personality, or any other person with such circumstances. The state government was quite right therefore to insist on an autopsy, the result (even if a preliminary one) of which, again, ordinarily should be out in a few days. A week after, the appropriate authorities have nothing to tell the public that, for good reasons, is interested in the matter. Chief Olumide was not only a public figure of sorts;he was involved in public sector-related business. Indeed, the story was becoming more curious, as one electronic medium claimed that an autopsy report had indicated the chief was strangled to death. The police and the family of the deceased have denied this. Yet nagging doubts remain.There are lessons to learn from this unhappy incident. One, doing business with government may indeed be lucrative for those lucky and well connected enough. But it is necessary that all parties play by the rules every time. No administration lasts forever and where due process is circumvented, sometimes, somewhere, the connivers pay for sacrificing the public interest for a selfish agenda. Besides, both the loss of good name and resources can be too steep a price to justify the risk. Two, It is general knowledge that, in the high stake world of business cum politics in which Chief Olumide played, the rewards can be enormous, but the risks can be correspondingly high. And the players in the game can be mean, nay ruthless, to one another. Prospective players must be well informed and be prepared accordingly. Of greater concern is the need to ensure that people who are suspected of wrongful financial dealing, and interdicted by law enforcement agencies, do not just turn at home to kill themselves, with all their secrets buried with them. In any event, in the case of Chief Olumide, he had not been charged with any offence to justify a final solution such as suicide. On the strength of the many questions yearning for answers, the sudden and strange death of Chief Olumide calls for swift and transparent investigation; as well as full public disclosure.
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