So my dad enjoys writing and has some notoriety in Facebook and WhatsApp groups for over 70s...one part of his recent piece on enjoying the lockdown caught my eye...in the 80s he was detained for 18 months by the Buhari regime as he was a commissioner in Ogun state...1

I have heard this story of Ayinla Omowura's death a few times, and his story of a fellow prisoner, but never quite put the two together...2

So in his words...
"One of my prisoner friends was a man called Baiyewu who was a childhood friend of Ayinla Omowura. When Ayinla became a famous musician Baiyewu was his Manager. They were both from a similar rough background, fought with knives and bottles...3

On one occasion they had one of their scuffles. Ayinla had sacked Baiyewu and desperately wanted to collect the motorcycle he had bought for Baiyewu. He rode in his Mercedes Benz in search of a motorcycle. They met and a fight ensued...4

Baiyewu hit Ayinla with a bottle on the head and Ayinla died instantly. By the time I became a guest in Abeokuta Prison, Baiyewu had given his life to Christ and became an incredible influence in the prison. Every prisoner felt the influence of Baiyewu... 5

He called them to prayer very early in the morning and late at night. This condemned prisoner became a good friend of mine. If any man was ever totally and completely changed by the in living of the Holy Spirit, Baiyewu was a truly changed man...5

He saw Christ before he saw death because he told me, in confidence, a week before his execution, that his end was near. Three days later Col. Diya came on a visit to the prison and signed that all the “fat” prisoners on death row be killed...6

His predecessors had left the prisoners alone. Baiyewu was hung along with 13 other prisoners in Abeokuta Prison wearing his best prison gear leading the others in song as they matched to the gallows. We wept bitterly. But that’s a story for another day" (end)