It is an undeniable fact that every single step of our life, consciously or unconsciously is a sure-step to our graves. An Ebira musical masquerade of high philosophical prowess called Achewuru, succinctly fictionalised the activities of men at burial ground as an interplay of potential corpses carrying the dead, potential corpses digging grave as well as would-be corpses interring the dead body. Little did I know that this scenario was at play on Friday, 24th February, 2017, when Dr Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba and the rest of us, were at Gudu Cemetery in Abuja, to bury the daughter of our brother, Alh. Mohammed Aliyu.
Typical of Dr Onukaba, after the funeral prayer at the Area 1 Central Mosque, he rushed to exchange pleasantries with the publisher of the defunct Democrat newspapers. He later told us he was his senior colleague in journalism, hence his respect. That was essential Onukaba at play- humble, unassuming and respectful. After the interment, we discussed a whole lot on the transience and vanity of life. We ended our discussion by concluding that one must handle worldly successes with cautious and measured excitement.
March 6, 2017 was a dark day in the history of Ebira nation, a day one would have wished never existed in the calendar. Exactly nine days after our philosophical pontification about our existence, I was woken from sleep with the sad news of the death of the same Onukaba, the quintessential hardworking Secretary-General of Ebira People’s Association.
Jolted by the fact that Dr. Onukaba is dead, completed his cycle, gone to the place from which no one returns, I was consoled by the fact that he served humanity with all his strength and prayed hard as a devout Muslim while living. He is with the Lord now, I consoled myself. This reality makes life more horrifying because of the unimpeachable fact that the next victim could be any other walking or working corpse including me. This underlines the truism in Ebira adage that ‘The trumpet blown to eulogise the dead is a frightening reminder of an impending and or similar fate in the minds of the living’.
In Ebira People’s Association National Executive Council where he served, we are in pain, even as we recognised his exit as having robbed us of a big man whose shoes are going to be hard to fill. It is a season of wailing in Ebiraland. Even our monarch, His Royal Majesty, Dr Ado Ibrahim, wept for the loss.
A flip of a page on any social media or newspaper reveals the near state of anarchy to which the nation is heading. Tragic loss of lives has become habitual news as the nation looks helpless and forlorn. He went the way of the many hapless others that paid the supreme price for the ineptitude of the security agents. I can assure the good memory of Onukaba that though his country failed him, his compatriots, friends, colleagues and family won’t. His struggles for a better society lives on.
Dr. Onukaba was a gentleman to the core. No amount of work was too much for him and no time was too precious for him to spare to attend to any individual irrespective of his/her status. He was an incredible team player who patiently listened to others before drawing conclusions. As the Secretary General of Ebira People’s Association, he made sure every arrangement was neatly and timely made before any meeting. In the last Executive meeting we had in Lokoja just about twenty four hours before his death, he made sure he arrived early at 9.30am (30mins before the commencement of the meeting) to arrange all the chairs, the tables and placed the agenda files of the meeting before everyone prior to the arrival of other members. He made sure all letters went through proper vetting and inputs before being sent out. Such was the team spirit in him that no one would work with him and not miss him in further team works. Onukaba’s commitment to the organisation was unparalleled.
We agreed on building an Ebira House for our people, just as we agreed on mobilising all the personalities across the country that we know, in helping to put pressure on the government to complete the Ajaokuta Steel Plant. We agreed on his writing a book on EPA and Ebira history in the last 50 years to commemorate the golden jubilee (1967-2017) of our foremost organisation, EPA. We agreed on initiating the building of a cultural museum for Ebiraland. All these we discussed prior to our last Executive meeting in Lokoja, where he took down the minutes of the proceedings about sixteen hours before his untimely death. He was a committed patriot of every community he belonged. In his native community, he was regarded as humility personified and an astute statesman. Amongst friends, he was seen as truthful, reliable and dependable.
Onukaba was an erudite scholar who learnt more from listening to his students, his peers and his inner mind. He was an aggressive knowledge-hunter who would sacrifice his last dime to acquire same. He was the master biographer of great personalities, who didn’t live long enough to write his own. He was a variegated human personality that could adapt and blend to any situation or system. His pen was like a nozzle of a deep intellectual fountain. When he wrote, it oozed with words and flowed non-stop without a detour from his object of discourse. His write-ups may not be flowery in words but he constructed sentences using words with polished edges that impacted heavily on its targets without blisters.
Adinoyi never kept a vault of gold and silver, but he possessed a bank of character, virtue, honour and morality. So trustworthy was he that you could almost make a metaphorical safe-keep of salt on his tongue and yet retrieve same without the loss of a grain. He could disagree without dissenting, he persuaded people with superior facts during arguments rather than cajole and manipulate. He respectfully beckoned without an order and cracked jokes without jest. He was a dedicated family man above every other thing.
No mortal ever prepared hard enough for this eventual mortality and therefore the death of Dr. Onukaba was no exception. We were all frightened at the suddenness of his death, making all of us realise that we own nothing in life, not the least our lives and we should therefore be very careful when we make promises. In spite of this mortal fear in us however, we, the entire executives are however hopeful that if God gives us the grace of more days on earth, we shall keep faith in our pact with him, sustain our relationship with his children and work harder for community as he would wish we do.
This is because his legacies in our association and community are enough illumination that foretells consolation of humble achievements in future. The son of Onukaba Shuaibu, the grandson of Pa Ikutemi and the great grandson of the legendry Adayi Avuche has gone to unite with his ancestors. Ebira people miss you, Kogi misses you, Nigeria misses you and humanity at large still weeps endlessly on your demise. Farewell and rest in everlasting peace, amen.
Dr. Abdulrahman is the President-General of Ebira People’s Association. He wrote in from Abuja.