Adegoke Adelabu

Adegoke Gbadamosi Adelabu was born on September 3, 1915, in Oke-Oluokun, Ibadan. An exceptional student at Government College, Ibadan, he worked with the United Africa Company (UAC) before entering commerce, journalism, and public life. Combining intellectual brilliance with populist grassroots charisma, he became the undisputed political titan of Ibadan.

Adelabu rose to become Chairman of Ibadan District Council, Western Leader of the NCNC, and Federal Minister of Natural Resources and Social Services in 1955. His fiery anti-elitist speeches and defense of the urban underclass earned him messianic popularity. When he criticized political corruption as a 'peculiar mess', his Ibadan supporters adapted it phonetically as Penkelemesi. His untimely death in a road accident on March 25, 1958, triggered massive riots across Ibadan.