Prince Bayo Osiyemi, an ex-Chief Press Secretary to Lagos State’s first civilian governor, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, has disclosed how Chief Mike Adenuga, CEO of Globacom Limited, was secretly transported into exile during the Major Gideon Orkar-led military coup against the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida administration on April 22, 1990.
Osiyemi in his memoir due for launch in February next year to commemorate his 75th birthday anniversary, stated disclosed that the Globacom boss had to ferried out the moment the coup was announced because of his closeness to the former military president.
This he said he did in conjunction with a friend, Titus Fapohunda, using a brand of Volkswagen car popularly called Beetle, because they feared that Adenuga could become a target for the coup plotters.
He said: “I had experienced Otunba Dr Michael Adeniyi Isola Adenuga in diverse ways – his uncommon knack for hard work, his relentless pursuit of excellence and his legendary generosity.
“But his adaptive power came to the fore during the Major Gideon Orkar abortive coup, which could have aborted the dreams of one of Africa‘s wealthiest son of Ijebu Igbo, nay all of Africa!
“From my underground security network, I learnt of the Orkar coup in the wee-hours, and my instinct told me I must reach out to my divine helper and townsman and ferry him into safety.
“I designed a smart move and called out one of the most loyal subordinates I had in my Jakande years to please lend me a Volkswagen (Beetle) car to be used to take Mike Adenuga away from his then Oko Awo Street residence in Victoria Island to a safe hiding place.
“Thank God he ran a 24-hour office, and an unexpected call to him through that office demanded that he should be woken up from sleep to get ready for me to help him to exit the country.
“The reason I made the move was simple: from the coup-speech of Orkar, Mike Adenuga, being a close ally of then military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, would have been a sure candidate for instant elimination by the drunken coup plotters.
“Titus Fapohunda, my subordinate and friend for life until death took him away a few years ago, volunteered, also at the risk of his own life, to embark on the rescue journey to Victoria Island from our Ilupeju (Lagos) neighbourhood.
“Mike Adenuga was ready for me by the time we arrived at his residence. Visibly shaken, he bundled his bulky frame and adapted himself into the back seat of the choky vehicle. We were to ferry him across the border for him to escape to London through Cotonou.
“But as we approached the Ojo Military Cantonment, its frontage on Badagry Expressway had been blocked with a ferocious-looking military saladin tank. Graciously, a crowd had massed opposite the Cantonment at the break of dawn to watch the events unfolding.
“All three of us – Mike, Titus and I – were overtaken by fright, but as journalists, Titus and I decided to device a method to secure Mike’s safety, which was what mattered most to my friend and I at that point in time.
“I asked Mike (Adenuga) to jump into the drainage channel while Titus and I put our legs on him inside the huge gutter. After a short while, I again decided to move Mike from that spot into Ojo town, to seek refuge in the house of a senior party man and colleague in Jakande’s government, Chief Richard Ege.
“We were there enjoying Ege’s hospitality until the national radio declared in breaking news that the coup had been foiled.
“From there, Mike Adenuga, now saved from a waiting death, escaped to the UK until Babangida reclaimed power, and returned after a short stay in self-exile.”
