In the beloved children’s poem, we are instructed to “row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream: merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily; life is but a dream.” The truth in that singsong is of great weight, but applies to the fleetingness of life. For Ayotunde Medayese, the Chairman of Format Media Group, that dream is over.
Just a few days ago, the news of Ayotunde Medayese’s death flitted into Nigeria. Although the full details of his death are still unavailable at the moment, it has been determined that the man had succumbed to death in South Africa after months of battling with cancer.
The news of his death is disheartening to his relatives, friends and colleagues in more ways than one. Death by cancer is one of the most dreaded ways to go, as it is both painful and debilitating. But little can be done at the moment, other than mourn a life well lived, a life of impact, and a name familiar to many who thrived under the Ambode regime in Lagos State.
While alive, Ayotunde Medayese was one of the foremost allies of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. Although he was more of a behind-the-scenes backer and confederate of Ambode, he was one of those who enjoyed the Governor’s patronage in the form of numerous contracts befitting his status and station. By all accounts, Ayotunde Medayese was a jolly good fellow who got along with many people, especially those inclined towards the arts.
Ayotunde Medayese was a graphics man, a role that is evidenced by his Chairmanship of Format Media Group in South Africa and Formats POP Limited in Nigeria. He was a man of skill, and a product of the prestigious Yaba College of Technology, with a HND in Painting, Art & Design. He excelled as a Freelance Artist at Explicit Communications Ltd. and as a Visualizer at Rosabel Advertising.
He also enjoined the friendship of several other people other than Ambode. Biodun Richard Oshinibosi, the General Manager of Abelinis Limited credited Ayotunde Medayese with boosting the project-managing company as a start-up by giving them their first operational space for free. Medayese was also a steady presence at the shoulders of the former president of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA), the celebrated Kolade Oshinowo.
The details of his burial have not been released, but his was a life well lived.
