Robert Adeyinka Adebayo was a Nigerian Army Major General who served as governor of the now defunct Western State of Nigeria, 1966–1971. He was also Chief of Staff of the Nigerian Army and was Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy.
Early life
Adeyinka Adebayo was born in 1928, the son of a Public Works employee from Iyin Ekiti, near Ado Ekiti,, Nigeria. He was educated at All Saints School, Iyin-Ekiti, and later attended Eko Boys High School and Christ's School Ado Ekiti. He joined the West African Frontier Force in 1948 as a regiment signaler and later completed the Officer Cadet Training Course in Teshie, Ghana from 1950 to 1952. After passing the War Office Examination for Commonwealth cadets in 1952 as well as the West African qualifying examination in 1953, he was commissioned as an officer in the Royal West African Frontier Force as the 23rd West African military officer with number WA23 and 7th Nigerian military officer with number N7 after completing the War Office Cadet Training in Eaton Hall, England. He later attended the Staff College course in Camberley in 1960 and the prestigious Imperial Defence College, London in late 1965 where he was the only African officer.
Career
Adeyinka Adebayo became an officer in 1953. His key career milestones are listed below:
As governor of the Western region he promoted agricultural extension services in particular the establishment of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Moor Plantation, Ibadan.
Biafra War
Adebayo advised against the use of force in resolving the Biafran crisis. In one of the most prescient and articulate quotations of the war, he declared:
I need not tell you what horror, what devastation and what extreme human suffering will attend the use of force. When it is all over and the smoke and dust have lifted, and the dead are buried, we shall find, as other people have found, that it has all been futile, entirely futile, in solving the problems we set out to solve.
At the onset of war, Colonel Adebayo, then governor of the then Western State ordered all bridges into the West be demolished to prevent the Biafran rebels from reaching Lagos the capital of Nigeria via his state. The rebels went as far as Ore in present-day Ondo State about from Lagos. After the war, he was appointed by the head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, as the chairman of the committee on the and integration of the Ibos back into the Nigerian fold.
Farmers Revolt
Major General Adebayo was the governor during the infamous farmers' "Agbekoya" revolt over taxation which was eventually resolved peacefully and harmoniously. Robert Adeyinka Adebayo retired from the Nigeria Army as a major general in 1975.
Later life
Adebayo is the chairman of the YorubaCouncil of Elders. His eldest son Otunba Niyi Adebayo was a governor of Ekiti State in Nigeria from 1999 to 2003. Another son, Adesola Adebayo was the Commissioner for Works and Transport, Ekiti State under Dr Kayode Fayemi led Administration from 2010 to 2014. Another son, Adedayo Adebayo, played rugby for Bath and for the England National team winning six international caps between 1996 and 1999. Another of his children, Leke Adebayo is an actor, writer and producer in London and has appeared in and scripted various productions. His grandchildren include Angela Adebayo, Richard Adebayo, Cyril Chukumah, Alexa Chukumah, Keji Belgore, Tomi Belgore, Wuraola Belgore, Damilola Adebayo, Morolake Adebayo and Adejimi Adebayo. Other than politics Major General Adebayo's legacy and bloodline continues to live on in other spheres of life through his grandnephew, Jake Adebayo who's story and work through SkillPatron has gone on to become an exemplary example of a new generation of successful African entrepreneurs operating bootstrapped tech-based startups and his grandniece Vanessa Adebayo who is the founder of the foundation for Africa's Mental Health.
Death
One day prior to his 89th birthday, Adebayo died on 8 March 2017 in his Lagos residence.
