REMEMBERING REAR ADMIRAL DAVID BADERINWA ALABI (RTD) 1950-2008

Late Rear Admiral David Baderinwa Alabi (rtd) 

If Rear Admiral David Baderinwa Alabi (rtd) had been a politician who helped himself  to the public till, pocketed jumbo salaries, received mind-boggling allowances and took dubious pensions, the nation would have stood still in his memory on May 17.

There would have been a barrage  of activities, sports competitions, colloquium, music, dance, the nation’s flag flying at half mast and the media awash with paid for in memorial adverts all in his memory.

But Rear Admiral Alabi was never a politician. He was a detribalised Nigerian, a naval  officer, a visionary, a community leader, a philanthropist, a change agent who in his lifetime did more for humanity than several politicians in the country lumped together.

And sadly, ten years after his very painful death on May 17, 2008 at 58 years, not one event was organised in his memory, in spite of his multitudinous contributions to nation building.

There was a remembrance service on Sunday,May 13, 2018 at the First Baptist Church in Ikoyi, Lagos where his widow and a handful of friends congregated to offer prayers for the departed.

But on the anniversary date of May 17,  not even a word was offered in his memory from individuals, organisations and communities that drank from his fountain of kindness.

Yet without a doubt, Alabi in his lifetime did enough to take a place among the nation’s icons for he touched lives and transformed communities.

For one who was close to the Rear Admiral, albeit for a very brief part of his life, I was saddened by the way he was snubbed on May 17, 2018.

But truth be told, I was not  in the least surprised.

In our society, which has a warped set of values, where champions of villainy are celebrated as icons, while the real statesmen are despised and treated with scorn, the Alabi story should not surprise anybody.

Though hurtful,this disdain displayed for Admiral Alabi, is not enough to obliterate the fond memories I and several others have of him and more important the enduring legacies he left behind.

Alabi’s inspiring story,his rise from a grim childhood to the pinnacle of his military career would be told in full someday in the future but for the purpose of this tribute I would highlight a token of his enormous contributions.

I was privileged to be close to this angel in human form as the Editor-in-Chief of Eripa Tennis Club News.

If Admiral Alabi had his way, he would have discouraged this tribute because he was a man who never wanted his good deeds to be celebrated by the media.

He was a man whose right hand gave and his left never knew. In fact, Alabi’s life was defined by his large heart.

His obsession was giving, giving and giving.

Several persons, men and women, high and mighty, low and downtrodden, Christian and Muslim, atheist and African traditional religionists were beneficiaries of his very large heart.

Indeed,he had a heart for everyone and his dream was to inspire those who came in contact with him to be better persons, assets to themselves, families and their communities.

For those who desired education but were handicapped by lack of funds, Admiral Alabi had a robust scholarship programme to cater for them, at any level.

For the artisans, peasant farmers, and the unemployed, Admiral Alabi also had an empowerment scheme to address their challenges.

No matter how hard one tries, it would be difficult to chronicle all the good deeds of Admiral Alabi in a tribute like this for they are legion.

However, I would like to recall an incident which I witnessed in Admiral Alabi’s home. It was a very brief drama, but very revealing about the personality of the admiral.

It was during one of my visits to his Lagos home in Victoria Island.

As he was seeing me off, he met the sentry at his gate, a rating in the Nigerian Navy, a young man in his early 20’s and a six footer.  The following  conversation ensued

Sentry: Good afternoon, Sir.

Admiral Alabi: Afternoon. How’re you?

Sentry: Fine sir.

Admiral Alabi: What’s your name?

Sentry:(he gave his name)

Admiral Alabi:  When did you join us?

Sentry: Two years ago sir

Admiral Alabi: What is your qualification?

Sentry: West Africa School Certificate sir

Admiral Alabi:Do you have five credits?

Sentry: Yes sir

Admiral Alabi: Including English and Math?

Sentry: Yes sir

Admiral Alabi: Okay. The Nigeria Defence Academy(NDA) form would be out soon. Once it is out, go and get a form and see me.

Sentry: Okay sir

This encounter captures succinctly the very essence of  Admiral Alabi’s lifetime pursuit.

In spite of his numerous good deeds, Admiral Alabi could have remained largely anonymous until his retirement from the Nigerian Navy in 2008(after serving the Navy meritoriously for three decades) as the Chief of Account and Budget.

But a sports project which he initiated ten years earlier to positively engage the youngsters in his village shattered his anonymity.

On March 15, 1998, Admiral Alabi who at various times served as chairman of the Nigeria Navy Tennis Association and the Armed Forces Tennis Association launched a tennis project in his country home Eripa, a sleepy, agrarian community of less than 5,000 inhabitants in Osun state.

The vision of the club was to positively engage youngsters in the community and deter them from vices by playing tennis.

Education was also made compulsory for the youngsters.

In just a few years, the Eripa tennis project flourished in a way that exceeded the wildest dreams of Admiral Alabi.

From its humble beginnings in his compound with a tennis court and a handful of youngsters, the Eripa tennis project spread like harmattan fire to not just other villages but across the country.

With four standard tennis courts and youngsters from different parts of the country as members, Eripa Tennis Club was now a regular feature in the nation’s tennis circuit.

The very promising players of the club were challenging the status quo in various competitions across the country.

From being Admiral Alabi’s pet project, the tennis club became a communal project with the involvement of all Eripa sons and daughters,both at home and in the Diaspora and from the royal father to the common folk.

Eripa, the hitherto sleepy, small rural community assumed a towering stature as the tennis Mecca in the south west.

And the Eripa Tennis Club became the identity of the Eripa people.

For Admiral Alabi,who hitherto enjoyed operating anonymously, the club launched him into the limelight. His name was now synonymous with Eripa Tennis Club as without a dispute the heart and soul.

It is however saddening to note  today, that just ten years after Admiral Alabi’s demise, Eripa Tennis Club is now a sad shadow of its boisterous past.

The club has disappeared from the national tennis circuit since it has stopped participating in tournaments due to lack of funds.

And for Eripa which in the hey days of the tennis club was always in the news for all the good reasons, the village is slipping back into its anonymous profile.

Yet in the midst of these sad developments, Admiral Alabi’s name and good deeds will last for ever, not only in the yet- to-be written history books of Eripa, the Nigeria Navy, but also in the memory of those whose lives he touched and transformed.

I think there is a lot for us all especially the Nigerian politician to learn from the late admiral in the realm of giving and service to the people.

Admiral David Baderinwa Alabi gave his all to the people and left the world a better place than he met it.

Alabi’s sojourn in flesh was brief, taking a bow at 58 years, but his place among immortals is guaranteed. History will accord him the honour he truly deserves.