Tribute to Dr Ore Falomo (September 1940 - November 9 2019)
My path and that of Dr Oluwatamilore Akinlade Falomo crossed nearly three decades ago. As a personal physician to my adopted father, Chief Moshood Abiola, it was impossible not to meet and know him reasonably well.
The first thing that fascinated me about Dr Falomo was his dress sense. He was always impeccably turned out, clean and debonair. He was a successful medical practitioner who was well known beyond his industry.
What fascinated me the more about him was his love for Chief Abiola. Theirs was not a Doctor/Patient relationship. They were like brothers. Abiola was born in August 1937 and Dr Falomo was born in September 1940, but they interacted like brothers separated by only months in age, not 3 years. They lived like they were children from the same family. Interestingly, three of Chief Abiola’s children, Kolawole, Ayodeji and Agboola lived on the same road with Dr Falomo, just a stone throw away in Anthony Village.
The most unforgettable things about Dr Falomo were his uncommon courage and powers of elocution and elucidation. He was such a brave and powerful speaker and he remained one of the few Nigerians that had the audacity to rant and rail endlessly against the dreaded General Sani Abacha regime. Perhaps if there were more of him now, our nation would be a better place. I often wondered how Dr Falomo escaped Abacha’s snipers or detention. He spoke passionately and vociferously against the detention of Chief Abiola. As Abiola’s Medical Doctor, he regularly told the Dictators, Abacha and General Abdulsalami Abubakar, of that insane period, who detained Abiola about his patient’s worsening health conditions and warned that he might be damaged beyond redemption if his wrongful incarceration continued. And his prophecy came to pass within a few years. Whether Chief Abiola died of natural causes or not, the great African businessman and philanthropist died in detention on July 7, 1998. I later met with Dr Falomo a couple of times at the functions of Capitalfield Group Limited of which he was the indefatigable and tireless Chairman. His integrity was remarkable as attested to by many who knew him and interacted with him, hence it wasn’t difficult for his colleagues to make him Chairman of this pre-eminent financial conglomerate.
We spoke a few times about writing an authoritative book on the Abiola and June 12 saga. I was willing and ready and in his own way, so was he, but our hectic schedules meant we were unable to find a convenient time for both of us. Not too long ago, I decided to take the bull by the horns and sent the head of Ovation Books and Publishing, Mr Sola Ojewusi, to book appointments with Dr Falomo in order to kickstart the laudable and necessary project by getting background information. However our attempts bore no fruit for a variety of reasons.
As I received the news of Dr Falomo’s demise, the first thing I said was “my God, we have lost a goldmine of contemporary history...” It is always painful to me when we lose such great men and women. Documenting history is extremely important and necessary.
Like all extraordinary and sentient icons, Falomo seems to have had a premonition of his death. He went on a 2 week holiday to the UK and America with his young friend and Group Managing Director of Capitalfield Group, Raphael Lewu, and shared several stories with him. One of these was the fact that having marked his 79th birthday, the month before in September 2019, he was prepared to join his Maker because he had done at least one year better than his late father.
Dr Ore Falomo came to this world to serve humanity. It reflected in his everyday life as he was larger than life. His physical frame belied his great stature in all facets of his social, economic and political life, not to mention his medical career where he simply excelled. Dr Falomo gave hope and succour to the rich and the poor. He touched the lives of almost all those he came into contact with for the better. May his soul rest in perfect peace.
Good night to an eminent, noble and revered personality...