death

Asiko L’aye (Part 1)

Adeola Aderounmu

Words have continued to fail me in trying to come to terms with the demise of one of my closest friends Adelanke Temitope Osunmakinwa. A couple of years back, I had this idea about writing a book that the title would be “It’s our turn to die”. Even while trying to write this tribute, I thought about the book I never wrote: It’s our turn to die. I come from a world where writing or talking about death is almost a taboo, despite the fact that it is the necessary end to all of us. The last time I checked, it had not been reported that someone left this planet alive.

I met Tope around 1988 when he started at my high school Festac Grammar School. We were already in the 4^th year of our 5-year high school journey. We became friends too easily for a few reasons. We both spoke the same language, though he had his Ekiti dialect which he took with him from Idanre, Ekiti state. He was living in the same neighbourhood which makes it possible to walk to school and back together. He came often to my place where he would play with my nephews who were small at the time.

I spoke to my friend in Germany after Tope’s demise on 7^th May 2024. I told him that Tope deserved more in life than what he got. He agreed with me and said that aptly described a summary of Tope’s 53 years on planet earth. Each time I’d visited Nigeria since 2002 that I left Lagos, Tope and I have been in touch. In 2018, he followed me to my house in Lusada and was very happy for the progress I’d made-getting a roof over my head.

When we left high school, my personal expectations from Tope were high. He was an average student, but there were a lot of things that were in his favour at that time though I’d not go into the details in this essay. I will also not discuss his weaknesses in this essay because we all have our weaknesses. We all have our weak points in life. We have all failed at some points. That ability to utilise our second chances can be a very important determinant in going forward. My absence from Nigeria made me unaware of Tope’s second chance(s) and how he responded.

One thing I know for sure: he died serving Lagos State. He went to work and was still online at about 18:45 on May 7^th, 2024, he was somewhere in the service of motherland.

There are so many memories of him that will stay with me while I am still above the ground. The days we went to school. The days he drove around Lagos dropping Christmas gifts to friends and families. The days he came around to play with my nephews. The days he would talk to my dad and siblings like he knew them from genesis. There were days we did what boys would do: we drank for sure and sometimes went over the limits. We ate and merried together.

He honoured my invitations when I call for a small house party. I cannot forget the days of Festac Town. I cannot forget the days of Satellite town. I cannot forget the visits to the girls we never married. I cannot blame myself or anyone for the bad times or for the times when things didn’t go as we planned them. Adelanke, I will keep the memories of the good times and the laughter.

My dear friend, farewell and have a good time with the ancestors.

By Adeola Aderounmu

Maryam was 61 when she finally succumbed to the cold hands of death. She battled with ovarian cancer for several years.

Maryam for the record was the wife of one of Nigeria’s former evil ruler-Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. Babangida is famous for plotting coups and he ruled Nigeria for 8 wasteful years (1986-1993).

Babangida stole more than 12 billion dollars during the gulf war alone. It is not known how much he stole in 8 years of tyranny. Maryam Babangida was obviously part of the evil reign of her husband.

Babangida could probably learn a lesson from the death of his wife and give us back our money. Life is transient and nobody will leave this world alive!

The money stolen by the Babangidas was meant for millions of Nigerians who are now living in extreme poverty and hopelessness. Meanwhile the Babangidas have been living large and far beyond the means of their military father.

There are a lots of online responses to the death of Maryam and many of them have not shown any sort of sympathy to the Babangida family. This ia largely because they consider Maryam to just be one person like anyone of us. Therefore her death is a childs’play compared to the effects that the rule of her husband had on the nation.

Babangida is reputed to have institutionalise corruption in Nigeria. his greatest evil against Nigeria and Nigerians was that he oversaw the annulment of the June 12 1993 elections. That election remained the only peaceful, free and fair election in the history of Nigeria.

But Babangida annulled that election that would have brought MKO Abiola to power as the president. MKO was killed later in detention by the Nigerian military and probably with the help of some American collaboration. Abiola died while receiving visitors sent by Bill Clinton. One question the US has not been able to address…what roles did the American entourage play in the death of Nigeria’s legitimate president?

Anyway, Babangida annulled the election/ results and created confusion that resulted to the deaths of hundreds of Nigerians in the aftermath as riots broke out nationwide.

It is not uncommon for Nigerian politicians to pay homage to Babangida. This is because the man stole Nigeria’s money like no other; he allowed corrupt people like him to occupy key offices and indeed many useless politicians in Nigeria owe their wealth and breakthroughs to Babangida. This is why the Minna home of the Babangida has become a point of rally for evil and political absurdities.

So don’t be surprise by the eulogies that will come from the political circle to honour Maryam and don’t be surprised that in the next few months from today-all roads lead to Minna.
This is Nigeria, the land of bad politics and tyranny.

Maryam is dead. Is there anything that she would have changed if we could turn back the hand of time? What were her last wishes? Definitely nothing close to evil desire of looting money!

Are there any lessons for our greedy politicians about the essence of life? Is Babangida going to give back to the Nigerian people the money he stole or would he continue to live above the law?

What will happen in Nigeria or to Nigerians that will lead to the re-emergence of good?

Judgment is coming to town and those who have eyes, let them see. Those who have ears let them hear. Yar Adua is wasting away in Saudi Arabia. There will be no greater judgment than the “feedback-evil” befalling those who knew the right thing but ended up doing the wrong thing.

Those who are still looting and doing one little thing or the other that adds up to destroy Nigeria will be rewarded accordingly while they are alive and before our very eyes.

As I close this blog entry I am completely indifferent to the passage of Maryam. If her husband and the rest of the evil rulers in Nigeria have done what they ought to do, she would have been in a Nigerian hospital rather than an American hospital. Now that Yar Adua is in Saudi Arabian hospital, let it be known that judgement may have come to town.

Death is certain, life and power are transient.

Live and let’s live..!