By Dupson Collins
The 70th Posthumous Birthday Colloquium for Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, held at the University of Ibadan International Conference Centre, was meant to be about legacy, law and security. Organized by the Oluwarotimi Akeredolu Foundation and the Southwest Governors’ Forum but history will remember Ibadan not just for the debate on state policing, but for a single emotional moment of reconciliation.
Governor Aiyedatiwa, the former deputy who succeeded Aketi, arriving at the hall, walked up to the former First Lady, Chief Mrs. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, the Ada Owere I, and he called her “Aunty Betty”. For him to call his former boss wife by name, that shows relationship and the passionate hug that came later, for those who understand Ondo politics in the last two years, that hug was heavier than it looked.
Governor Aiyedatiwa mounted the podium to eulogize his late principal, a man he described as a courageous statesman whose voice refused to be silenced. He noted that Aketi’s relentless advocacy for Amotekun, state policing and a decentralized security architecture has moved from being a regional agitation in the Southwest to a central driver of Nigeria’s national policy and constitutional debate today. Then, he deviated from his prepared text — and went straight to the heart.
He turned to the front row where Dr. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, the Ada Owere I, widow of his late boss, was seated. For context, the frost between them was not hidden. Before and after Aketi’s demise, the former First Lady and Aiyedatiwa, then Deputy Governor, were at loggerheads. She allegedly accused LUCKY of being over-ambitious, of plotting to take over while her husband was sick, a dummy sold to her by the die hard loyalists of Aketi.
The tension worsened over a statement credited to Aiyedatiwa after Aketi’s death, interpreted in Yoruba as _“A ku orire”_ — a phrase many saw as congratulatory over his boss’s demise. It created deep enmity. So much so that during the burial, the family was allegedly said to have sidelined the state government in what should have been a state funeral, inspite of this, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa played a significant role of giving his Late boss a befitting burial.
Don’t forget, Aiyedatiwa was once her “Handsome Groom,” a political son she held by the hand and introduced to everyone. That bond had broken but in Ibadan, Aiyedatiwa chose to rebuild it.
“I recognize my political godmother, my political mother, Dr. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu,” he said fondly, recalling how she used to hold his hand and present him as her political son during his rise. Hearing this, the hall erupted.
The camera panned to Dr. Betty. In a moment that melted the entire hall, she stood up, bowed gracefully and applauded the Governor. No long speech. No grudge. Just a bow that spoke louder than words. It was a public truce. A signal of mutual desire for unity. The passionate hug and exchange of pleasantries that followed was not just for the cameras — it was emotional healing.
For two years, Ondo politics has carried the weight of that feud. The Akeredolu family versus the Alagbaka Government House. Loyalty versus ambition. Grief versus power. But Aketi at 70 in Ibadan taught us three lessons: Legacy is bigger than feud: Akeredolu’s legacy on state policing, rule of law, and courage will outlive any political quarrel. Both Betty and Lucky know that to preserve it, they must be on the same page.
Secondly, gratitude does not expire: By calling her his godmother, Aiyedatiwa publicly acknowledged a debt. He reminded everyone that before the politics, there was a woman who believed in him. That matters.
And thirdly, Yoruba culture still wins: In the end, “Aunty Betty” remains an elder, a mother. And in Yoruba land, no matter the height you attain, you bow to your mother.
Is the feud finally over? Time will tell if the Ibadan hug was genuine, political optics or merely for the CAMERA. But what happened in Ibadan was more than a colloquium, it was a closure. And somewhere, Aketi, the man who loved drama and reconciliation in equal measure, would have smiled at that bow.
