Press Releases

Olowopopo, Chairman LASUTH Management Board Buried
• “He gave his all to serve others”, says Fashola

Mar 17, 2010 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Wednesday described late former Chairman of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Management Board, Dr. Nurudeen Olowopopo as a man of exceptional character who gave his all to serve others.

The remains of Dr. Olowopopo, who passed on last Sunday were buried on Wednesday afternoon at the Vault and Gardens Private Cemetery, Ikoyi.

Speaking with newsmen after the Fidau prayers hosted by the former Governor of the State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at his Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi home, Governor Fashola declared, “The character he displayed, giving everything to serve, will inspire others to give more of themselves in the service of their brothers and sisters”.

The body of the former LASUTH Management Board Chairman, was first taken to the Secretariat Alausa Central Mosque where relations, colleagues and friends prayed for the repose of his soul.

It was then driven in a motorcade to the Cemetery in Ikoyi where the body was received by the Governor and later conveyed to the burial ground where the final prayers were said before interment.

In his short sermon before the burial, Chief Imam Mohammed Akinola Ibrahim exhorted the living to learn a lesson from the nature of death saying they should live each day as if it is their last.

According to the Muslim cleric, death is an inevitable end and no matter the nature in which it comes to a person, the important thing is the legacy the individual leaves behind and with which he will be judged.

One of the highlights of the Fidau prayer session was a short lecture delivered by another Muslim Cleric; Imam Abdul Hakeem Kosoko, who exhorted Muslims to imbibe the habit of giving saying that real joy comes from rendering service to others.

Imam Kosoko described death as an appointment that no man can avoid keeping.

Quoting copiously from the Quran, the Muslim Cleric declared, “But death does not recognize a professor or a doctor or what ever title or profession a person has. We should prepare for death at every turn. When we wake up in the morning, we should relate to others as if it is our last day on earth. And when we return to the house at the end of the day, we should give thanks to Almighty God for sparing our lives”.

According to him, “Only God can determine the time of death of any individual, and he does not share this right with anybody. So we must be prepared at all time. Let us not be deceived by the trappings of the world because when the soul is taken away from the body, it becomes useless”.

Among the personalities who were at the funeral ceremonies were the Deputy Governor, Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Barrister Opeyemi Bamidele, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, among other members of the State Executive Council, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji and other legislators, Local Government Chairmen, Party Chieftains, representatives of the Oba of Lagos, the widow, Mrs. Cilla Olowopopo and other members of the Olowopopo Family, friends, and colleagues of the deceased as well as other top government functionaries.