DANIYAN – Selfless ’til the end

In the politics of the era and in the politics of then Kwara State, Daniyan was close to making history as the first Okun man to occupy the seat of government in Ilorin but his ride was cut short by the excision of Ebiraland and Okunland from Kwara and merger with Igala from Benue to form Kogi. That Okunland, the Yoruba speaking axis of Kogi, later became minorities in Kogi and has struggled for political relevance, is one of Daniyan’s regrets.

Daniyan was Chairman, CEO, Director of several multinational companies, and in the 90s he was referred to in some sections of the media as Lord of the Corporate World. As a national leader of the SDP, he was MKO Abiola’s representative in Kogi. His responsibility was to deliver Kogi to the SDP. When General Ibrahim Babangida annulled that presidential election, Daniyan was among those who mounted pressure to re-invalidate the election. However, the crisis led to the emergence of the late General Sani Abacha, under whom Daniyan became Minister of National Planning.

After his death on the 7th of December, Daniyan’s wife Edith said the one thing that drew her to him was his selflessness. “As a family, we were not deprived because our needs were not important but because he believed that as insiders we would be more understanding,” she said. “Only those who knew him enough appreciated that this was just a part of his giving nature.”