In the mass media, his primary constituency, Dr. Yemi Farounbi, OON, is a doyen. In administration, he is an administrator par excellence. In politics, Dr. Yemi Farounbi has carved niche for himself. Knowledgewise, he is very distinctive. In Igbominaland where “he first belongs before he became a Yorubaman,” Dr. Yemi Farounbi is a man much sought after in order to drink from the pool of his knowledge and wisdom, thereby every Igbomina son or daughter accords him the highest regard and honour. Even. The regard and honour have turned to a kind of adoration because of Yemi Farounbi’s noble character.
Any position he finds himself or whatever he lays hand upon, with the sense of courage and ardent believe in God always turn to gold. He turns hopeless situation round for the betterment of the present and future.
Dr. Yemi Farounbi is an idealist and a disciple of truth. In all ramifications, he represents all the adorations which William Shakespeare, poured to extol his friend, the Earl of Scotland in the Cymbeline “To what shall I Compare Thee?”
He once told Igbomina Today that he did not have any burning ambition but an aspiration. Having an aspiration instead of desperate ambition is one of the traits of a progressive mind because any ambition based on desperation is very devilish and this progressive mind manifested in his professional career when for political reasons, he was posted out of NTA Ibadan to Akure.
Farounbi related this incidence to the Igbomina Today thus: “By and large, I have always believed that everyday is a happy day in spite of ups and downs. When I had to be posted out of NTA, Ibadan for example, I was watching network news on the midnight of 21st December, 1980 and here on the network news was I the most Senior Manager being deployed to one of the smallest stations. People said I should be unhappy and I said no, my own training tells me that nothing happens to me except for my goodness.” He continues: “Now if I did not go to Akure, I would have been aiming to become the Director-General of NTA and I would not have had the opportunity of starting the Television Service of Oyo State (TSOS) now BCOS and have the opportunity of serving Uncle Bola Ige and meeting the likes of Rimi, Balarabe Musa, Muhammed Goni, Solomon Lar, Jakande, Ajasin and many others.
If Dr. Yemi Farounbi had wanted desperately to become an NTA Director General at that material time, he would have tried it with all means at his command to knock somebody or many down and climbed the ladder of Director General of the NTA, he is perfectly qualified to be because Engineer ‘Teju Oyeleye wrote glowingly about him in the book titled “20th” Anniversary: History of WNTV, First in Africa (now NTA) published in 1979 by Heinemann Educational Books (Nigeria) Ltd.
Engineer Oyeleye said: “Dr. Farounbi, one of the products of the rigorous interview technique and the progressive staff development scheme of Ibadan Television, has set out a vivid manner the development of Ibadan Television is to render service to the Nigerian community in general and its area of coverage in particular, Ibadan Television Service, in influencing government policy, utilizing a scientific management technique, providing the programme for the people and undertaking news in the public interest have been amply documented”. Although, one of his enlarged aspirations, according to him is: “to see Nigeria of our collective dream, because the Nigeria we have now is not the Nigeria that those who fought for our independence in 1960 dreamt of. I am still hoping to see a Nigeria which will cater for the greatest good of the greatest majority. A Nigeria that will see man (as Papa Awo would say) as a unit of development, that everything that we do in Nigeria will be geared towards the developing man”, Dr. Yemi Farounbi told Igbomina Today.
Dr. Farounbi’s principled stand on issue rather than political leaning earned him the Chairmanship of Osun State Broadcasting Corporation since 1999 during the tenure of Chief Bisi Akande as the Governor of Osun State and retained him in that position by his successor Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola. Recently in recognition of his contributions to the development of the country, he was honoured with the National Honour of “Officer of the Order of Nigeria (OON) by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and he was Nigerian Ambassador to Philippine.
Dr Yemi Farounbi is a leader of leaders who had made so much sacrifice for others upliftment. We love him