The Drums Beat, A Call to Action: A Tribute to Prince Jubril Adelagun

Prologue

This is a tribute to a mentor in communications and sports writing—Prince Jubril Adelagun.

It has been a year since the passing of a dear professional friend who inspired me to write often and to do research, not only on a national scale but also on an international level.

Prince Adelagun inspired me to write about sports, including American football and soccer. Although the seeds were planted as far back as 1999, I actually started writing about sports in April 2009 on Bleacher Report.

One of Prince Adelagun's children is continuing to publish The Houston Punch newspaper, and he has invited me to contribute sports articles, from time to time, in the future.

The Tribute

“A tree cannot make a forest”

Prince Jubril Adelagun is a friend that I will always remember. He impacted my life in a powerful way that resonates throughout my teaching at a two-year college in Houston, Texas and in the work I have done both nationally and internationally.

Prince Jubril heard the music and message of the drums in life. He moved with the rhythm and graciousness of a man who was strong and independent. Gifted with energy and a deep vision, Prince Jubril established a major Nigerian newspaper in America, almost single-handedly.

Yes, others contributed to the development of The Houston Punch, but Prince Jubril spent countless hours, and many days alone, sitting, researching, and writing articles on the Nigerian-American experience, and on Nigeria, a country that transitioned toward democracy, starting in 1999. He also recognized that sports unified people from around the world.

Jubril was a man who had a large presence and a solid value system. He once told me he was a man of God. He believed that I could help him travel the African continent to help people.

When I first met Prince Adelagun, I thought his vision was lofty. I was humbled by the magnitude of his dream to touch the entire planet. But now that I think back on his life and as I give him the respect and honor he deserves, I realize that his vision was completed in several ways and that his work continues through our lives and contributions.

Prince Jubril believed in helping people. He promoted Nigerian personalities and businesses, all for the purpose of empowering those people and businesses to help others. Prince Jubril wanted Nigerians to prosper in America so that they would help other Nigerians prosper in his homeland.

I watched Prince Jubril arrange to bring his children to America. One by one they arrived, and one by one these beautiful children are achieving a dream of which their father would take great pride.

One Christmas Prince Adelagun presented my daughter with a beautiful doll. She treasured it and placed it in a special place in her room. Now, my daughter is the mother of three children, and she often reflects on how Prince Jubril invited her mother to travel to two of the most outstanding historical events of the 20^th century.

Because of Prince Jubril’s regard for me as a professional educator, he invited me to Nigeria on three different occasions.  I personally witnessed the inauguration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, and with a Houston Punch entourage, we traveled with President William Jefferson Clinton’s entourage to Abuja, Nigeria; Arusha, Tanzania; and to Cairo, Egypt.

Prince Jubril helped to establish a uniqueness in my career. As a result of his invitation to travel to Atlanta, Georgia to meet President-elect Olusegun Obasanjo, I was presented before a Nigerian professional who invited several of us to the inauguration of President Obasanjo and to the Handover Service from military government to democracy in May 1999.

His accomplishments as the founder and publisher of The Houston Punch opened the door for Prince Jubril and his entourage to travel with President William Jefferson Clinton in August 2000.

Prince Jubril Adelagun was, indeed, a great man. How many of you who are reading this tribute can attest to the fact that you have been invited to travel with a President of the United States of America?

His wonderful children should thank God for the genes and the heritage that the life of Prince Adelagun established on this earth. Talented, prayerful, gifted, kind, and forward-thinking: all of these descriptors characterized a great father, friend, and businessman.

We all have missed the presence of Prince Adelagun in a certain form. I, testify, however, that Prince Jubril Adelagun lives on, and he is present with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Prince Adelagun lives on through the seeds that are blooming that he planted in the lives of each of us.

Prince Adelagun lives on through the genes in each of his children who will continue to produce grandchildren, great grandchildren, and to continue the legacy of the Adelagun family.

I believe that Prince Adelagun lived a life of compassion and service to others. He knew, by virtue of his support and contributions to the lives of others, that “a tree cannot make a forest.”

So, as Prince Adelagun nurtured, connected, prayed and became an intercessor for the Nigerians in America, the Nigerians in Nigeria, and for those all around the world, he was proactive in strengthening the trees in the forest in the 21^st century.

Prince Jubril Adelagun was taken up quickly, so quickly as to not be dependent on any  man. His dignified entrance into eternity was accomplished with the powerful assistance of the Comforter and the Helper, who is also our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We honor him, as we obey God’s call in our lives. We do all that we do with the fragrance of prayer, surrounding and giving an aroma of joy, hope, peace and love for our family, friends, and to mankind.

And because Prince Jubril Adelagun helped us, taught us, extended powerful invitations to let us see how God can show Himself in men and women’s lives, we will commit to excellence and we will continue the legacy of a man of God, Prince Jubril Adelagun.

Source of article photo