The Abese Olubadan of Ibadan and Media Guru, Chief Lekan Alabi died on Saturday 1st August 2026 in his Lagos house.
Alabi was born at his maternal house at Ile Ekerin Ajengbe Sw1/131 in Ibadan that owns the Iponriku Masquerade of Ibadan on 27th October 1950 and would have been 76 in October this year.
He was born to late Pa AbdulRaheem Oladosu Alabi aka RIGHT TIME who is from the Olundegun family of Isale Ijebu and mama Mopelola. His father worked at the Marketing Department of old Daily Times Newspapers which exposed Oloye Lekan Alabi to reading and Journalism.
Trained at the famous College of Journalism, Fleet Street in London he was Chief Press Secretary to four old Oyo State Governors 1983-1989 before becoming Director of Media and Publicity of the Odua Investment Company. He had worked in NTA Ibadan under the first Nigerian TV Sports Reporter, Fabio Olanipekun who was then Head of News and Current Affairs. Also worked at the defunct Sketch Newspapers, Ibadan.
He was the first Cultural Ambassador of the National Museum and Monument, Ile-Ife.
A strong discipline of Prof Wole Kongi Soyinka he wrote a letter to encourage him in prison in 1967 when he was a 17 year old pupil in form 3 at the African Church Grammar school, Apata-Ibadan.
Media Aide to the Olubadan, Mr. Oloko who broke the news of the demise of Oloye Alabi who have not been in public circulation for a while, from the Palace on Saturday and said he would be buried on Sunday in Ibadan according to Islamic rites with further information of the burial process to be announced by his family.
The Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Oyo State Chapter, Mr. Goke Adelakun, has described the demise of the renowned public relations guru and image maker/manager, who was also the Abese Olubadan of Ibadanland, as a monumental loss to the public relations family, not only in Oyo State but in Nigeria as a whole.
The Chairman of the state chapter expressed this view in a release issued on behalf of the executive and members of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Oyo State Chapter, and made available to newsmen in Ibadan.
Mr. Goke Adelakun noted that the news of the veteran public relations guru came to the NIPR family as a rude shock, particularly now that his experience and professional acumen would have been needed by the NIPR as the country is planning to host the World Public Relations Forum in Abuja in November this year.
The Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Oyo State Chapter, recalled with nostalgia the invaluable services and significant roles played by Oloye Lekan Alabi during the formative period of B.C.O.S as a core reporter, at Odua Investment Company Limited as General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Sketch Publishing Company Limited, and as Chief Press Secretary to four successive governors and stated that his legacies would be difficult to surpass or erase in the annals of history.
Mr. Adelakun also acknowledged the significant roles played by Oloye Lekan Alabi towards the growth and development of the NIPR, Oyo State Chapter.
Mr. Goke Adelakun further observed that the late Oloye Lekan Alabi made use of public relations till he breathed his last and will forever be remembered as a professional who made professionalism, excellence, and value addition his hallmark and watchword throughout his lifetime.
While praying for the repose of the soul of the veteran public relations guru, Oloye Lekan Alabi, who always carried himself with a touch of culture, tradition, and elegance wherever he went during his lifetime, and prayed that Allah grant him Al-Jannah Firdaus, Mr. Adelakun also used the medium to commiserate with the immediate family, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, the Nigerian Union of Journalists, the people of Oyo State, the NIPR family, and the numerous radio and television stations admirers all over the country that will miss his services, and prayed that God grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
