Ogun mourns Iyalode Alaba Lawson, to set up burial committee

Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun has disclosed plans by the state government to set up a committee that will work out a befitting burial for the late Iyalode of Yorubaland, Chief (Mrs) Alaba Lawson.

Iyalode Lawson died on Saturday at the age of 72 after a brief illness.

Prince Abiodun, while paying a condolence visit to the family of the late educationist, philanthropist, business woman and women rights advocate in Abeokuta on Saturday, also described the deceased as a passionate and selfless woman who was also a great advocate of women’s rights.

The governor said he was saddened by the suddeness of her death, adding that the committee to be set up by the state government will liase with the Lawson family to begin the process of giving her a befitting burial.

“We will be with you throughout this very trying period. We are setting up a committee of the state to interface with the family so that we can begin to plan the final rights to give Mama a very befitting passing,” he said.

“Your mother was many things to many people. She was a very hard-working woman, a very principled woman, she will call a spade a spade, she will say it as it is. Whatever she won’t say in front of you, she will not say it behind you.

“She was a very intentional woman, very passionate woman, a very selfless woman, she was a big philanthropist, she gave with her heart and soul.

“Besides being a foremost educationist, she was an advocate for everything that stood for the emancipation of women.

“Anything that spoke for women, anything that gave women a voice, anything that interpreted to mean a better representation for the women fold, she was at the vanguard of it,” he said.

Abiodun added that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, upon hearing about the demise of Iyalode of Yorubaland, has instructed that a condolence message is announced in respect of the late women advocate.

“We are very happy that Iyalode lived a very impactful life and when I informed Mr President this morning, it didn’t take him five minutes to instruct that condolence message should be immediately announced in respect of her person,” he added.

Responding on behalf of the family, the son of the deceased; Akinola Lawson, while thanking Governor Abiodun for supporting the aspirations of their mother, also acknowledged him for looking out for the welfare of their late mother during her period at the hospital.