Ese, the first son of the late Gamaliel Onosode, has said he is glad to have been able to fly his father back into the country 24 hours before his death.
Onosode was flown in from London in an air ambulance on Sunday. He died on Tuesday at the Gold Cross Hospital, Ikoyi, Lagos, aged 82.
Ese, who spoke with our correspondent at the family home in Lagos, said the deceased technocrat had warned his family never to let him die abroad.
“He had bone cancer and that entailed a lot of chemotherapy. He was managed in the United Kingdom for two years but he had warned us never to allow him die abroad. I am glad I was able to fly him back home on Sunday, 24 hours before his death,” he said.
Ese also said that his father’s most outstanding achievements were his integrity and consistency in a corrupt business environment.
The boardroom guru was a former presidential aspirant of the All Nigeria Peoples Party.
Despite his imprints in the private and public sectors, however, Ese said his father never compromised on integrity and faithfulness.
“He was consistent to the end. He was unwavering as a Christian. That was the most impressive part of his character. Despite the fact that he was working in an environment that is easily corrupted, he was not known for taking short cuts and not playing by the rule. His contemporaries felt he was born in a wrong country. Any attempt to bypass rules to gain profit was abhorrent to him,’’ he said.
Ese also revealed that his father was happy with President Muhammadu Buhari’s election, but was worried about the quality of his cabinet.
“I know he was happy at the outcome of the election. He was a chairman of the LNG under Buhari. So, he knew Buhari’s management style. He was happy that a straight man like him was elected the President. His only concern was whether we can have the kind of cabinet that will reflect Buhari’s values. He also thought we could have done better as a nation. He knew Nigeria has a culture of waste and bad management. He could not understand it. But he was still optimistic about our chances of remaining one nation. He never gave up on the country,’’ he said.
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