By Bamidele Ademola-Olateju
It is a year since you left. That fateful morning, I woke up at 4:00am. I felt a certain unease that is unmistakable, yet difficult to explain. At exactly 4:11am ET, 9:11am in Nigeria, I sent you a message on WhatsApp. Your lovely wife, later told me, you drew your last breath around that time. As I struggled to sleep around 7am my time, that dreaded call came in, announcing your transition.
Your death shattered me. I fell into a panic spiral. The uncertainty of life hit me like never before. I played our last Skype session with Samuel, Pius, Ade and Bayo in my brain over and over again. All five of us had this grand plan we were so excited about. Not for once did the specter of death cross our minds. Our plans for Yoruba Children World Festival, DAWN Professorial Endowment in Oodua Philosophy, Solving The Higher Education conundrum went up in flames! I was in a daze!
Your death ate me up. I was not in Nigeria to see you really ill. You never told me you were in the hospital. I wanted to know why you hid the enormity of your condition from me. I looked for answers everywhere. I finally gained acceptance late last year when it occurred to me that you were protective of many of us till your last second on Earth. You wanted to bear your burden alone. You avoided the agony of final separation.
Your death changed me. Your death gave me a new appreciation for the Urgency of Now. Your death renewed my commitment to service and self-sacrifice. Your death showed me the futility of life and the spirituality of being. The gift of your friendship continues giving, even in death.
Ronke and the children are coping. Tofarati made distinction looked easy in his exams shortly after your death. His SAT score made me proud and hopeful. At the colloquium in your honor yesterday in Ibadan, I told myself, we will have the Yoruba of your dream someday. I will do everything I can from my little corner, until my own time comes. The Afenifere Renewal Group, the Yoruba Academy and DAWN Commission are all trying hard to derive a positive meaning from your early death. Many who were not so close to you in life, are standing by you in death. That is a measure of greatness. You are greater in death than in life. Sleep on, my beloved friend. May God make your death a true rest.