MAMA Deborah Adepate Akanke Togun was born on April 17, 1926 into the family of Baba Busari Oladejo of Fowomole’s Compound, Popo Yemoja, Ibadan. Her mother’s name was Mama Kalitu Oladejo. She was the first child of her parents. She had the late Saidu Oladejo, Amidu Adeyemi, Amusa Oladejo and Nafisat Ayinke to mention a few as her siblings. Mama and her parents journeyed from Ibadan to Okuta now in Kwara State where they settled down.

She had no opportunity of formal school education but she attended Elam School (a.k.a Iyawo School) as a Pastor’s wife, which enabled her to read and write.

She met her heartthrob, the Revd. Sunday Ayoola Togun who proposed to have her hand in marriage at Okuta. This proposal generated a lot of controversy because she was originally from a Muslim family and her father vehemently refused such proposal on religious grounds. It took a lot of persuasions and lobbying by some well-meaning people for her father to accept the proposal. After their marriage, which God blessed with children, her name was changed from Abibatu to Deborah.

The couple settled first at Irawo in Oyo State. Later, her husband was transferred to Ago-Ore as a (Nigeria Tobacco Company (NTC) instructor.

Mama worked relentlessly and tirelessly with her husband as a servant of God Almighty in the following locations: Baptist Church Modeke (now Zion Baptist), Igboho (1955 – 1956); Baptist Church, Ilesha Ibariba (1961 – 1965); Ogo Oluwa Baptist Church, Ilado Iseyin (1966 – 1982); Baptist Church, Isale Togun (now Oore Ofe) Lanlate (1982 – 1989); First Baptist Church, Gbagia Oja, Ondo State (1989 – 1993); and First Baptist Church, Ijaye in Akinyele local council of Oyo State (1993 – 1996). During these periods, Mama served as coordinator of the Women Wing of the Churches.

Mama never played with her tithes; she was a cheerful giver, peacemaker as well as very caring, loving, accommodating and compassionate. People admired her for her neatness; she was also a disciplinarian to the core. Mama liked to sing Eni ba gbekele Olorun YHB 245 every passing day before her demise.

She was an active member of Anjola Oluwa and Ajolaye Obinrin of Ogo Oluwa and First Baptist Churches, Saki, Oyo State, respectively.

Mama Togun is survived by children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.Our consolation is that she died ‘the death of the righteous… let my last be like His’ (1 Num 23:10b). Deborah Adepate Akanke has fought a good fight, finished her course and kept the faith. We love you but God loves you most. We will certainly miss you.
Sun re o; Akanke ori.

Edoga’s twin sister, Dympna holding his portrait and flan ked by relatives and friends during the unveiling of the deceased’s marked grave at the family’s Mgboko Aku compound on December 26, 2015.

DEATH, no doubt is a necessary end; it will come when it will come. But when death punctuates a life that began to flourish and nourish other lives, its tragic visitation can be very painful and traumatic.

This was what the Edogas of Mgboko Aku and the Ugwuojus of Amogwu Aku, Igbo-Etiti local council of Enugu state, relations, together with their teeming friends and well wishers went through on December 26, 2012, when all of a sudden, they lost one of their stars, Bernard Onochie Edoga (Ogbo), an upwardly mobile Atlanta (USA) based young and promising professional.

Ogbo, as he was fondly called, had suspended his activities in the U.S. to touch base with his fatherland with a project to establish a top quality Comprehensive Medical Centre to provide the finest health care services to Nsukka environs and beyond.

It was to be a quick and efficient trip and then jet back to Atlanta and to the waiting warm embrace of his beautiful wife, Nwanneka, and two lovely children-Emma and Chuma. But like in favourite Robert Frost’s poem, The Road not Taken, affable and innocuous Ogbo fell to the assassins bullets without rhyme or reason on his way to Aku to keep a date with Dr. Charles Ugwuoju and twin sister wife, Prof. Dympna Ugwuoju’s ’s palatial country home house warming ceremony, and also attend the yearly family meeting of the Edogas which holds every December 26; all of which turned to ashes in the mouth.

Three years on since the bizarre, shocking and callous assassination, December26 had always evoked sad memories for the Edogas and others in their web of family relationship. Even for us as friends, no December 26 passes without our reflecting in a collective mood and talking about Ogbo, the frailties of life and our collective transience.

The nagging question has been and still remains “who killed Ogbo Edoga? It is a question that simply will not go away for as long as the answer is blowing in the wind. Not a few relations and friends are bitter that three years after, the question of who killed Ogbo and who will salvage us from the current miasma is being asked — a question which no doubt stirs emotions.

Mr. Kachi Anwunah, a mutual friend and St. Theresa’s College (STC), Nsukka, classmate of Ogbo confided: “It makes me feel unsafe and sad. It makes me feel that in this country, anything goes.”

Friends of Ogbo have written to past governments and to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on this issue appealing for them to take it up. They don’t even get a reply because they are not interested. And that is why for a long time to come the question as to who killed Ogbo Edoga will continue to resonate and haunt the conscience of his killers. Ogbo’s friends miss him terribly but take solace in the fact that we see a lot of him in Emma and Chuma.

Thanks to the grace of God that has enabled Ogbo’s twin sister to overcome the spell of devastation, downcast, trauma, worries and clouds of gloom that attended the tragic death and burial of Ogbo. She championed a memorial mass at the Mgboko-Aku home of the Edogas for the continued repose of Ogbo’s soul and unveiled his marked grave on December 26, 2015. Even Ogbo’s mother (Nnedioranma) roller coaster of emotions appear to have abated as she moves on, personally deciding to forgive the assassins in her heart while the matter may not be forgotten.

Because carrying the burden of thinking of all these in her heart is like carrying poison along with her and she will be hurting herself. The capacity to forgive puts us in a position to recover from the set backs of today and muster the courage to face tomorrow. This is one good gift bestowed on mankind.

Truth is, the end of one’s sojourn on earth can only reaffirm the fact that we all entered the existential stage alone and will exit the same way. Nature has placed at the disposal of every human being the ingredients necessary to form the basic philosophies of life.

This means that even though not every one would become a thinker in the mould of Socrates, every average person is imbued with enough data to enable him embrace some fundamental lessons of life. A key message here is that life is short. Even if some one lives to be 100 years, it is still brief compared with the life beyond. And since the world does not revolve around you, don’t expect it to come to a halt when you depart.

Life would certainly go on. The earth would continue to revolve around the sun and rotate on its axis. People, no matter how close they are to you, would overcome the anguish or whatever emotion they exhibit at your death and move on with their lives. The length of time differs from case to case but the bereaved would surely overcome and move on. It is Ogbo’s time now. One day, it will be the turn of this writer to go the way of all flesh, to keep the inevitable date with his Maker.

Life would be more fulfilling if Ogbo’s killers internalise the key message here that at the end, we shall all die and use its simple lesson to redirect their lives on the right path of contributing to human life, rather than taking it. It is on this note that Ogbo’s friends reassure him that “our friendship chain may now be broken and only God knows why, but as God calls us one by one, the chain will link again. And just as your death leaves a heartache no one can heal, your time amongst us leaves a memory, no one can steal.”
Requescat In Pace, Ogbo.
Anekwe is Editor-in Chief of The Newstell.

Olabisi-Olateru Olagbegi

ON the 17th day in December 2015, Chief (Mrs.) Olabisi Ibijoke Olateru-Olagbegi died. Born on August 4, 1953 to the family of the late Justice Ezekiel Akinola-Cole, former Chancellor of African Church Inc., she attended the prestigious Queen’s School, Ede from 1966 to 1970, where she obtained the West African School Certificate in 1970 with a Grade One division. She studied for her A’levels in the combined Higher School Certificate (HSC) class of Queen’s School Ibadan and Government College Ibadan.

She attended the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), where he obtained a Bachelor of Law (LL.B.), and proceeded to Law school and was called to bar in 1975.

In a tribute service held in her honour, female politicians, civil society groups, colleagues, friends and family, eulogised the late icon who stood out in the quest to ensure that the common girl and woman’s right is respected.

President of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) Ghana and wife of former Governor of Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi noted that the late Olateru-Olagbegi, which is fondly called Auntie Bisi, gave her time, energy and significant intellectual resources to promoting a campaign against trafficking in persons.

“The period I first came in contact with Auntie Bisi was characterized by intense level of engagement at all levels with members of networks, donor partners locally and internationally, governments at all levels and peer movements around the world. The impression I formed of Auntie Bisi in those years was that of a woman who had passion, a brilliant mind, focused vision, integrity and limitless energy. My impression of her never changed till she sadly left us on December 17th, 2015. Auntie Bisi was a role model, teacher, mentor and friend to so many, either up close or from a distance. She was always impeccably turned out in lovely aso oke or adire, local fabrics, which she proudly promoted everywhere she went in the world.

Executive Director, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi noted that she was a patriot who dedicated her life to contributing to the global cause of women empowerment and emancipation. “She was a comrade who impacted positively on the social condition of women in Nigeria and in Africa as a whole. In 2013, with other friends in the movement, I celebrated you, coordinated your book launch and surprised you with a birthday gift. Your book launch and birthday was a celebration of your courage at battling breast cancer, your success in speaking out and coming out to say you were a survivor, on that day, we spoke about women’s health, and I looked back now and was happy that I led that initiative.

“In 2014, both of us were nominated under the civil society platform to the national confab; we ensured that we brought women’s issues to the fore, from the first day; we made the conference adopt a set of gender friendly rules of procedure. Your contributions at the confab and your leadership cannot be quantified.”

Executive Director, Women Law and Development Centre Nigeria (WLDCN), Dr. Keziah Awosika said, “For about three decades, Olori Bisi (late Olateru-Olagbegi) and I were together in the trenches of activism on gender and development issues in Nigeria and at international level. With late Professor Jadesola Akande, we carried the message of Beijing 1995 to at least 14 of the then 19 states of the federation. At every stage, Olori Bisi was a lively spirit; she remained in the vanguard for women movement and development.”

Human rights activists, Oby Nwankwo who described late Olateru-Olagbegi’s death as shocking said she will be remembered for her contributions to the women’s movement in Nigeria and her principled advocacy for the empowerment of women, the girl-child and the promotion of human rights and social justice. “She has fought a good fight and left a legacy for us and for the next generation to follow. She is now at peace and lives in the hearts of the many who loved her and whose lives she has touched.”

Members of the Association of Nigerian Women Business Network (ANWBN) said that Olateru-Olagbegi made the association proud through her many works and her representation at the National Conference, a forum that provided crucial and fundamental suggestions for the sustainability of our nation; such was her passion on national issues.

Global Fund for Women Grantees Network in Nigeria in their tribute said she was a successful advocate in Nigeria because she understood Nigerian society; “we will strive to keep your flag flying, we will make you proud by immortalizing in your name and memory the campaigns against all forms of discrimination against women in Nigeria.”

For Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), West Africa, late Olateru-Olagbegi was a tireless women’s rights defender, an exceptional human being who you could always rely on. Her commitment to WiLDAF was not in dispute as we could always rely on her to arrange for the use of the Nigerian embassy’s conference room in New York for all our side events during the annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) while mourning Olateru-Olagbegi’s passage described her as a great mobilizer whose impact on rallying members of the civil society to take principled stance on several issues, earned her a place at the national conference in 2014 where she acquitted herself with great and insightful contribution. Until her death, she was TMG coordinator in Ondo State.

The late Olateru-Olagbegi commenced a career in legal practice with a very short stint as a lawyer in government service before moving into private legal practice. In 1982, she established her own law firm of Bisi Olateru-Olagbegi & Associates where she was the principal partner till death. She was also a licensed notary public of Nigeria.

In 1977, she joined the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), a global association of women lawyers committed to the enhancement of the status and welfare of women and having United Nations Consultative Status Category B. In 1984, she became the Vice Chairman of Comparative Law Committee of FIDA International, a post she held until 1986.

From 1989-1990 late Olateru-Olagbegi was the Publicity Secretary and Chair, Public Relations Committee of FIDA Nigeria during which period she initiated the publication of ‘LOYA’, a newsletter of FIDA Nigeria. In 1993, she became the president FIDA Nigeria and pioneered the launch of the ‘Street Children Project’, in Lagos. A member of Eko Lioness Club, she attained the office of President (1990-1991) and mobilised funds for the purchase and donation of wheel chairs and beddings for the Lagos Island maternity hospital, the refurbishment of the Children’s Ward in Mercy Hospital, among other things. She was also a member of the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) where she was the secretary of the Law and Status Committee from 1988 to 1992 and founding member in 2000. She was till death, the national Coordinator of the Nigeria Country Chapter of Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF).

Olateru-Olagbegi founded the Women’s Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON), a non-governmental organization to promote and monitor the enforcement of women’s rights and led the organization to provide one of the earliest national institutional mechanisms in response to the problem of trafficking. She was a member of numerous organizations and bodies across Africa and globally including Women Organisation for National Representation and Cohesion (WORNACO), member, Association of African Women in Research and Development (AAWORD), Regional Committee for the Adoption of the protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on Women among others.

An international consultant, she advised the European Union, United Nations, World Bank, UNESCO and ILO in various technical capacities.

Her community service spanned the church, cultural groups, women’s socio-economic and political participation initiatives and health initiatives, where she sat on boards and led community work. Among her national and international awards are: The Daisy George Award for activism in women’s empowerment by the Sisters to Sister, International Inc. of United states of America at the 50th session of the United Nations Commission of on the Status of Women (CSW) New York, March 2006; 2010 award of excellence for outstanding contribution to nation building and women empowerment by the Business and Professional Women Association of Nigeria and 2012 and ‘Golden Link’ award of mass medical mission and the national cervical cancer prevention programme 2009.

Peterside

Alabo M. C. A. Peterside was born on June 24, 1918, in the historical town of Opobo, in the old Eastern Region, which is now in Rivers State.

He began his early education at the age of six at Government School, Opobo, a step which was unusual for most of the children of his time. In his own case, he had the fortune of being born into nobility, into the enlightened family of Ada Sam Akara Peterside and Maggie Shoo Peterside. The school itself was the leading primary school in the immediate environment at the time.

It is little wonder that upon completing his primary school, he moved to the famous Government College, Umuahia, again one of the star secondary schools in the whole of Nigeria in the days past. With all this packed into his early life- good parentage and sound foundational education-the trajectory of his life was pretty predictable. And what was it: Reaching the peak of his career.

What often goes with such an attainment is leadership responsibility in the local community and the nation at large, especially in the emergent nation that was Nigeria, which was, and perhaps still is in dire need of well-trained, quality and high-minded people.

After finishing at Government College, Umuahia, being a brilliant pupil, he passed the London Matriculation as well as Yaba Higher College Examination. His choice was to go to England in 1936, an irresistible attraction beckoning to all young men, having passed his London Matriculation Examination. However, the outbreak of World War II halted his dream. Of course, only temporarily. He moved to Yaba Higher College where he spent three years.

He subsequently gained admission into King’s College, London, to do a pre-clinical course for two years, and on completion of the training, proceeded to St. George’s Hospital, London, for his clinical college courses.  

Alabo Peterside began his professional practice as a House Man at St. George’s Hospital, London, and then moved to Nigeria where he became a Medical Officer at the General Hospital in Lagos. From there he was transferred to Bauchi, Ilorin, and some other parts of the country, and became a Senior Medical Officer in Jos. 

His quest for the advancement of knowledge saw him return to Moorefield Eye Hospital, London, where he trained as a Specialist Ophthalmologist. 

On his return to Nigeria, Dr. Peterside was posted to Enugu General Hospital as an Ophthalmologist / Administrator and later transferred to Port Harcourt as First Specialist Ophthalmologist / Administrator in 1974. He rose to become the Controller of Medical Services, a position he occupied until he retired from public service. On retirement, he set up his own practice at Trans Amadi Clinic in Port Harcourt.

In 1950, on his 32nd birthday (June 24) , he married his heartthrob in London, Patricia Awune Gboloba Bob-Manuel, a princess from the Royal House of Abonnema, who was to become, for 65 years of their union, a jewel of inestimable value. The couple was blessed with three children: two daughters, Tonyefagha (we all call simply Mrs Tonye Unuigbe) and Biobelemaye (Belema Osibodu of the well-known Osibodu clan of Ijebu), as well as a son, Atedo, one of Africa’s frontline financial tigers and chairman of Stanbic IBTC. He is a leading light in the club of Dangote, Tony Elumelu, Fola Adeola, Jim Ovia, Femi Otedola and Co. Through his three children, Dr. Peterside was further blessed with 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. 

His distinguished medical career and exemplary life as a husband and father aside, Alabo M. C. A. Peterside will be remembered as a statesman, and for his nobility of spirit from the Ibani (Opobo) clan and Ijaw nation. 

In 1982, the son of Sam Akara, the grandson of Shoo Peterside, the great-grandson of Sunju Peterside, Michael Clement Atowari Peterside is install ‘Sunju IX and Head Chief of Biriye Polo, Opobo Kingdom’, a chieftaincy position he would hold for 33 years. Even before his ascension as the Chief of Sunju War Canoe House, Dr. Peterside’s passion for his people shone like a star and he rose to the call of duty representing what the Ibani clan and Ijaw ethnic nationality set out to be. 

He established the Opobo Union, and in 1976, successfully led the struggle for the merger of Opobo Town with Rivers State, driven by his vehement conviction that liberation of his people from other overly dominant ethnic minorities was the only way to empower them to repossess their own development and win a second independence from indigenous political arrangements.  

Alabo Peterside was relentless in what he saw as his mission to protect Opobo’s political, ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic identity. For this reason, he articulated the kingdom’s interests at national, state and local levels. In the quest to promote the Opobo Kingdom’s rich cultural heritage, in the early 1980s, he elevated Opobo’s music, song and dances to an art form with nationwide following. He recreated Opobo culture through Ereminaogbo Opubo of Opobo, with the revival of Ngunume and Ereminaekpete music and dance, which became spectacularly popular in many parts of the Ijaw Nation, and drew attention to the need to revisit the Ibani language of the Opobo Kingdom. 

A forthright and frank man, Alabo M. C. A. was not one to compromise his principles. His philosophy of life was predicated on “community first, self last”, and thus he deployed whatever position he occupied in the service of his people. His quest for service, led to his membership of the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA), where he lobbied the government of the day successfully for the embankment of Opobo and Queen’s Town, the first of its kind in that part of the country. He mentored what is known as Klub 67 of Opobo Kingdom, and championed their struggle for the demand of a separate local council. 

He served as a Councillor at the Bonny Local Government, and in 1979 contested election to the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the platform of the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) before deciding that he did not have the temperament for partisan politics in his part of the country.

Through his consummate leadership qualities, organizational ability and commitment to an unshakeable cultural renaissance, Alabo M. C. A. Peterside, Chief of Sunju War Canoe House, restored the chieftaincy institution’s lost glory. His kinsmen celebrate and acknowledge him as a man of honour, of consistently superior value, and a people’s servant.

Father of Tonye Unuigbe, father of Belema Osibodu and father of Atedo N.A. Peterside (CON), Alabo M.C.A. Dr., Chief, Peterside, born into nobility, has taken his exit a nobleman, a national icon, a cultural ambassador and a bright star of the Opobo Kingdom.

All roads will expectedly lead to Port Harcourt first on Tuesday, February 9, and to Opobo town on Saturday, February 13, 2016, for funeral ceremonies.

BORN in Adagbe Avomimi village Enugwu-Ukwu, Anambra State in October 1929, Okeichie Robinson Amazuilo Okonkwo, the Obaludikegwu Enugwu-Ukwu na Umunri, was the only son and youngest of the three children of his parents, Nwokonkwo Okeke Oraekwe and Mgbafo Igili Nwogo, who unfortunately died during child birth.

Nwokonkwo was a very hard working farmer/smoked fish dealer of average means who raised, nurtured and inculcated the culture of hard work in his children.

Okonkwo attended Emmanuel Church Missionary Society (C.M.S.) Schools, Enugwu-Ukwu, for the acquisition of Pre-school One and Two (1941 – 1942). He subsequently acquired Standards One at St. Peter’s School, Amawbia and Standards Two-Six at St. Peter’s Abagana (1943 – 1949). When his father couldn’t pay his school fees in Standard Five, a benevolent Mr. Christian Beluchi Adaba intervened and sponsored him and at his demise in 1948, Pa Benedict Adaba sponsored him through Standard Six. Okonkwo passed his Standard Six Certificate Examination with Distinction, a feat he remained proud of throughout his lifetime.

Life out of school was quite challenging, but being very energetic and industrious, Okonkwo engaged in farm work, menial jobs and traded on local crops and domestic birds to keep body and soul together. A simple job recommendation to cover a compound wall with raffia for an old lady marked a turning point in his life from a village boy to a city dweller. His client, Mrs. Bekee Nnatu was so impressed by his diligence that when her son, Michael visited home from Ibadan, she recommended Okonkwo to him to serve as his houseboy. Michael took him to Ibadan in 1952 and both established a lifetime relationship.

At Ibadan, he ventured into various businesses. He traded on selected groceries – dried meat, “kwundu”, groundnut, groundnut oil, rice and onions at the famous Dugbe market. From the huge success made from his trade, he invested in real estate both at Ibadan, Enugu and Enugwu-Ukwu.

Okonkwo was born of pagan parents but through the inspiration of Mr. Christian Adaba, he became a Christian and was baptised with the Christian name, Robinson. He served selflessly in various capacities in churches in all the cities and regions he traversed, committing time, energy and personal finances to advance the course of God’s work. He also encouraged his children to give generously to the church.

The late Okonkwo married and wedded an affable soul, and a paragon of beauty, Victoria Nwanneka Chinweoke Okonkwo (nee Okeke-Ifeagwu) from Nawfia in 1957 and they were blessed with two girls and three boys. Together, they built a very hospitable home for their children, relatives, friends and visitors that has stood the test of time. They nurtured their children in love and instilled discipline and good virtues in them. He was a very dutiful and responsible family man.

Okonkwo was also a sociable man. He loved people from the depth of his heart. He mingled with the rich and poor alike. He served Enugu-Ukwu in various capacities for which he would be well remembered.

He died in the early hours of Saturday, October 24, 2015, at 5.15am in the midst of all his five children.

His body will be received by ECDU Onitsha branch on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 while his remains will be laid to rest on Thursday, February 11, 2016, after a funeral service at Immanuel Anglican Church, Enugwu-Ukwu.

He is survived by five children, Lady Adaeze Okonkwo, Mr. Anenechianya Okonkwo, Mrs. Mukaosolu Onubogu, Mr. Chikaodili Okonkwo, Mr. Ifennamnacho Okonkwo and many relations.

Adieu Obaludikegwu.

THE late Alhaja Limota Adunni Hassan (nee Babalakin), the Iya Adinni of Nawar-Deen Central Mosque, Gbongan and Iya Suna (Alasalatu) of Isale Oja Mosque Gbongan, was born into the Yesufu Adeoye Babalakin dynasty of Isale Oja Gbongan.  She did not have any formal education not because her dad could not afford it but because not much premium was placed on the education of the girl-child during her time.

The story is told of how her father that eventually produced a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Retired Justice Bolarinwa Babalakin (rtd), refused to send his daughters to school.

Young Limota was only privileged to attend Quranic lessons where her other siblings knew she was a very brilliant girl.  She always excelled in the recitation of the Quran. However, her father soon married her out to the late Iyaniwura Taiye Hassan, whom he wanted him to marry.

Her husband, who was much older than her died in 1968, which placed on her the burden of taking care of her four children. She worked hard and did not fail in her duties.

Limota was an astute business woman. What she missed in formal education she gained in her trading. She was popular with the kind of items she traded in. She became one of the most successful women traders among her peers.

The late Limota ensured that her children imbibed the spirit of hard work. According a close family source, “anytime she came visiting you, you had to wake up along with her at 4a.m. the following day. There was no day in her life that she woke up later than 4a.m. or slept earlier than 11p.m. until she breathed her last on January 15, 2016. She never took ill; she was never admitted into any hospital.”

Alhaja Limota Aduuni Hassan, your fellow traders, customers and friends would miss you. Sun re o.

THE late Edmond Azuka Mbaso, a lawyer, was born on August 31, I942 in Kano, Nigeria to Chief John Festus Chukwudebele Mbaso and Mrs.Theresa Nwinyaya Mbaso. At the day of his birth in Kano, there was a great rainfall and his father needed help from his brother, Chief Paul Uzuukwu Mbaso to get his pregnant wife to the hospital. This made his father give him the name “Azuka” which means having people behind you is better than riches. This indeed would characterise the late Mbaso’s life as he placed credence on relationships more than the pursuit of wealth.

Eddie, as he was fondly called, started his primary school at St. Theresa’s Catholic School, Yola, before transferring to St. Michael’s Primary School, Eziora, Ozubulu, Anambra State, to complete his primary education. He later proceeded to Zickson Grammar School, Ozubulu where he finished his secondary education.

He started his working life as a Clerk at Onitsha, Anambra State in the Ministry of Finance in 1967 around the time of the outbreak of Biafra civil war. He was subsequently, at the heat of the war, recruited at Enugu into the Special Trained Force of the Biafra Army headed by Lt. Col. Onu Aguruchi. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant upon conclusion of his training.

The Special Trained Force was renowned for their extreme dangerous missions; they engaged in multiple combat missions’ throughout the length of the war. However, in a counter offensive battle launched by regrouped offensive soldiers, he was shot on the patella and he lost his kneecap as a result and was transferred to a Medical Camp and treated for his injuries.

This, as fate would have it, was where he met his wife and the mother of five of his children. Bridget Ego Mbaso (nee Oliagba) was visiting a family friend, Captain Aghaabunam who was injured in the war and also recuperating at the Medical Camp where she met Eddie. Eddie confessed to his children years later that it was love at first sight and the lovebirds eventually got married on December 31, 1969 barely a month to the end of the Biafra War. After the end of the war, he attended Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu where he graduated with a Diploma in Accounting.

Eddie and his wife relocated to Kaduna where they began their family together. He started working with Peugeot Automobile Manufacturers (PAN) while his wife was employed at General Hospital, Kaduna. He later left PAN to start up a Construction Company — Eddico Contractors Ltd — with his best friend, George Okoye.

Having nursed a long time ambition to become a Lawyer, Eddie in 1984 embarked on a Law Degree programme at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria from where he graduated in 1989 and proceeded to the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, after bagging an LLB Hons degree. He was called to the bar in 1990. He was also the Principal Partner at E.A. Mbaso and Co. law firm from where he retired in 2013.

Eddie, albeit not a die-hard religious man, he was nonetheless a member of the Catholic Church. In Kaduna, he was a member of Catholic Men Organisation through which he contributed his quota in the service of God and humanity.
Because of his belief in God, he ensured that all his children were christened in the church.

As a mark of honour to him and recognition of his sterling qualities as one of the leading lights in his community, he was admitted to the exalted membership of Agbalanze in the Obi’s Cabinet, Ozubulu, where he was given the title of Agbalanze Ononenyi. He also acted as the life-long Legal Adviser for the Peoples Club, Kaduna Chapter and was a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Kaduna Chapter. Left to mourn him are his wife, children and other relatives.

Eddie, who died on December 15, 2015, was buried on Tuesday, February 16, 2016 at Mbaso’s Compound, Udoji Road, Ebgema Ozubulu.

THE late Christiana Nnenna Chukwunenye, Lolo Omumeagwuaku I of Eziachi, Orlu, Imo State, was born to Nze and Lolo Ihezuo Onumajuru of Umuori, Eziachi, Orlu, on June 4, 1935. Born of titled parents, she got married to a titled man, into a highly titled family and kindred in Eziachi.

She lost her hardworking and loving mother at the tender age of five years and had to be raised by her father and his three other wives. Growing up for her and her junior sister, Elizabeth (now of blessed memory) was difficult. They soon embraced the Catholic faith. Joining other children in church activities such as the Block Rosary soon became her source of hope and courage to carry on in life. She later travelled to Port Harcourt with her father where she was enrolled in school up to Standard Three. She enjoyed schooling and looked forward to going to a secondary school.

Her dream of finishing primary school was truncated, as was the common practice in those years, when a suitable suitor approached her father in 1950 at the age of 15 years. The girl child education then did not have much worth to society.

She got married off to a dashing, educated, young man with a good job in Lagos, who had come back to the village, looking for a spouse. She later completed her primary education through evening school.

In 1951, she travelled to Lagos to join her husband. On the journey, she had some premonition of what lay ahead for her. Life was going to be tough and hard, but God was going to give her many gifts. She indeed faced a lot of hardship on arrival in Lagos. Barely six months later, her sister-in-law’s husband died, leaving behind two young sons that she had to start looking after as if they were her own. It took about three years of trying and seeking help before she had her first son. In all, she delivered nine children.

As the Good Lord continued to bless them, the typical Lagos landlord wahala started. A couple of times, the police had to be called in stop quarrels. Eventually, they decided to buy a bungalow from L.E.D.B. in the early 60s, fulfilling one of the ‘premonitory gifts’. But this was after they had built a set of bungalows in the village.

In 1967 when the civil war started, the family of nine relocated to Eziachi, Orlu LGA, Imo State. Life gradually became very difficult. Even feeding once a day became very difficult for the family. But by the grace of God and hard work, she managed to see her family through the civil war period without losing any member of her immediate family. The civil war period was also characterised by bitter incidents like the road traffic accident on a day with rain storm, when she and the step mother-in-law found themselves suddenly under a lorry, limbs broken, and muddy flood water attempting to drown them. After the storm had stopped, they were rescued from under the lorry by passers-by.

There were also bitter quarrels in the extended family, but the good Lord always sent helpers to rescue her in each situation. After each bitter experience, she sues for peace among all involved.

After the war, the good Lord continued to bless her and her husband and children. The last child was delivered after the war in 1971. By 1972, she started trading in women’s clothing at the famous Tejuoso and Balogun markets in Lagos. By 1974, she was running a provisions shop, having stopped the trade in cloths. She continued trading in provisions until around 1985 when she ventured into bakery, establishing and running the famous Christy Country Bread.

Being lovers of good education, she and her husband expended tremendous amount of money and energy to train their children and children from other families up to the tertiary level, including those whose parents had traumatised them during the civil war period.

On May 29, 2000, she lost her husband following a gruesome attack in his village house.

Lolo died on December 30, 2015 following a brief illness at the age of 80 years, six months and 26 days. May her soul rest in perfect peace, Amen.

When I finally summoned the courage after about a week of Tony’s passing to inform a few mutual ex-UNIJOS friends of his demise, the reaction were similar — all-round-shock, disbelief and dismay. For Audu Inalegwu, speaker of the University of Jos Student Union parliament in 1980/81 session, it was; “Oh No! Mr. Integrity has gone?”  For Justice Simon Aboki of the Nasarawa State High Court, who was a member of the UNIJOS athletic contingent to the West Africa University games in Yamasokoro, Ivory Coast in 1981, “it can’t be true that our Tony is no more!”

Tony was already in the Economics Department of UNIJOS by the time I was admitted in 1979. By my second year, I was elected into the Students Union Parliament, while Tony was elected as Director of Sports in the Student Union Executive Council during the 1980/81 session.  The Executive Council leadership, in the course of their tenure, ran into troubled waters with the university’s authorities. As a result of this, the entire executive was probed towards the tail end of their tenure. All but Tony were asked to refund various amounts to the coffers of the Students Union by the probe panel. This was the origin of the appellation of “Mr. Integrity” after Tony Iwobi’s name by his contemporaries at UNIJOS. My colleague in the 1981/82 Students Union Executive Council, Mr. Seun Salako, recalled this vividly at a memorial meeting we had in Abuja recently after Tony’s demise.

Tony was very passionate about everything that had to do with our alma mater. Despite all the later day problems of our university system, our Tony contributed generously to any cause as long as it was about the wellbeing of UNIJOS. In this respect, Tony kept ties with ex-UNIJOS graduates everywhere in the country whether they were of his generation in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, or of a much younger generation to him. He was happier when he heard of an ex-Josite excelling in his or her chosen profession.

Tony’s loyalty and fidelity to friendship was extra-ordinary. It amazed me to no end that as Tony’s friend, each time you met with him, he asked after the welfare of each and every member of the family by name.

Tony graduated in 1982 and went on after exiting from the civil service at the Federal Department of Forestry, where he had worked before coming to UNIJOS to establish a carrier in Banking; he created a reputation as a go-getter and star in the banking sector.

I graduated from Unijos a year after Tony. After national service, I returned to my department in UNIJOS to do a post-graduate degree, and then joined the service of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) at the beginning of 1987. Tony followed my progress in the Labour Movement very keenly. When he came to settle in Abuja at the end of his banking carrier to nurture his own business, we were regularly in touch discussing current national affairs and sharing our fears and frustrations with the way the Nigerian governing elite were mismanaging the affairs of the country. My family knew Tony to be among my trusted friends outside the Labour Movement, and his generosity towards the family was sometimes beyond belief.

When some trade union colleagues chose in 2010 to mark my golden anniversary (50th birthday), Tony was the only non-trade union member on the organising committee. He brought his acumen for organising and his sense of detail and decency into the arrangement and ensured that we had a first class and memorable event.

Tony was a friend who would be there for you, would go the extra mile, even at the expense of his own comfort to please friends. During the latter part of his battle with cancer, because he wouldn’t want to hurt people he sat through even while in pains, for many hours receiving visitors. When this was raised as been counterproductive to his recovery process, he said he did not want to be disrespectful to those who took the trouble to come and see him. When our mutual friend, Comrade Peters Adeyemi, returned to the NLC leadership as Deputy President at the end of the February/March 2015 conference of the NLC, Tony insisted that there must be a reception for him. It took the combined effort of both of us to dissuade him from going ahead with the plan given his health situation.

Tony had many sides to his personality. As a community and cultural person, he was a rallying point in Onitsha community development activities in Lagos, Abuja and in Onitsha itself. He regularly mobilised to participate in the annual colourful Ofala Festival in Onitsha. This perhaps explains why he was at home with both the average person on the street and with royalty. In the course of his illness, on one of my visits to his Apo residence in Abuja, I was told I just missed the visit of his Royal Highness, Obi of Onitsha, who came to see how he was doing.

Losing Tony on January 7, 2016 is doubly hard for me because within a space of six months, I had lost two great friends of Onitsha extraction to the cold hands of death. In August 2015, Emma Nnamdi Ezeazu, former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) (1986-1988), and my Best-man when I wedded in 1995, died. Going to bury 52-year old Ezeazu in the presence of his aged mother was an unforgettable experience. And now this!

Throughout the battle to overcome his illness, his wife, Ozo, was a constant pillar of support. Tony would talk passionately about her loving care and constantly expressed how proud he was of her. A woman of deep religious conviction, she was not only a caregiver to her beloved husband; she was also a constant prayer warrior by his side. Under Ozo’s guidance, Tony became a better Christian and better prepared for the homeward journey for his rendezvous with the Lord.

Tony, you had a good sojourn in this world! You touched many lives in very positive ways, and you played your part well and will forever be remembered for your noble deeds!

Go well; your children – Afamefuna, Onyekachukwu, Nwamalubia and Ifechukwulugeme – whom you groomed in your righteous ways, will carry on from where you stopped. They will look after Ozoena and represent you well as far as Ma Ekwutosi is concerned.

Good night my Friend!
Odah is the Executive Secretary of the Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA).

THE late Pa Enoch Folarin Akanbi Oyadiran, JP (Baba Sowowa) was born into the family of the late Pa Elijah Ladeji Oyadiran of Sina’s compound Ole Osupa, Ogbomosho and the late Madam Ayandotun Esuola Oyadiran of Kotokango’s compound, Masifa Ogbomosho November 19, 1942.

He started his primary education at Osupa Baptist Day School, Ogbomosho, in 1952 and later completed it at Baptist Day School, Saja.

Oyadiran lost his father when he was 16 years old in 1958. Being the first born of his mother, he thought it was wise to be an apprentice under the late Pa Zacchaeus Ora Olayanju of Lebe House Isale Ojaigbo to learn carpentry. Without having money for feeding, he often joined labourers that were working on the field at Baptist Medical Centre, Ogbomosho, now Bowen Teaching Hospital.

Because of his faithfulness and loyalty in discharging his duties, one of the white men who was one of the supervisors on the field asked him to be working with him in the house. Again, he discharged his duties without blemish there.

On May 4, 1961, he was given an appointment for the post of gateman by the then L. Neil (Rev) Hospital Administrator. He was very diligent and committed to his work. He was taken from the gate to be working in the Maintenance Department as security official.

In realisation of his diligence and outstanding performance, he received a certificate of commendation for four times from 1989 to 1992. He also received Long Service Award, on March 20, 1994 after 33 years of service to the Baptist Medical Centre, Ogbomosho. During the centenary celebrations of the medical centre in 2007, he also received Distinguished Service Award. He retired from the Baptist Medical Centre on January 31, 1998, after 37 years of service.

The late Oyadiran got married on September 26, 1968 to Madam Mary Oyebola Alake Oyadiran (nee Adedokun) of Akworaja’s compound of Okelerin Ogbomosho. Their marriage was blessed with children and many grandchildren.

He was a member of Masifa Baptist Church, Ogbomosho. He was a member of Ireti-ogo Society of Masifa Baptist Church.He was a disciplinarian; he hated stealing and laziness. He was such a man that was content with any situation he found himself.He gave up the ghost in the early hours of Friday, January 8, 2016.He survived by his wife, children, grand children, brothers and sisters and in-laws.

Hart

It has been said that a good mind possesses a kingdom. This holds true for the late Mrs. Mercy Tamunobarabinye Hart who passed away in Port Harcourt on December 27, 2015 after a long battle with ill health.

She would mostly be remembered for her singular commitment to the teaching profession as she taught in many primary schools in Bonny Kingdom for more three decades, thereby helping to impart knowledge and discipline to generations of youths in Bonny Kingdom.

Hart was the quintessential teacher who saw the profession as a unique opportunity for building the leaders of tomorrow.  She approached her work with missionary zeal. Having been brought up in the “old” tradition, she used to go to the parents of her pupils either to commend the children or to complain about their conduct and the need for the parents to ensure that the children were serious with their studies.

When she was posted as headmistress to the Community Primary School, Dema-Abbey, a village in Bonny, the school was on the verge of collapse, as most parents had withdrawn their children to other schools or to join them in their vocations at home. She revived the school as she went from house to house to appeal to parents to bring back their children and wards, as the school had entered a new era. She even had to convince the parents to allow her make uniforms for some of the pupils on credit. Some never paid back.

In one of the journeys by engine boat to one of the villages, the boat she was travelling in collided with another, overturning it. Miraculously, she found herself on top of the overturned boat.  It was from there she was rescued. She continued the journey by another boat to her duty post. On another occasion, while travelling to resume work in one of the village schools, she sank almost to her waist in the mud when she had to come down some distance from the shore, as it was ebb tide. Certainly, sitting down does not make footprints on the sands of time.

The late Hart was born in October 1942 at Gogara, a settlement of Banigo Major House to the late Mr. Marcus Banigo and the late Mrs Martha Banigo, who hailed from Umuahia Ibeku, in Abia State. She started her primary school at Banigo Isileogono, and Boyle Memorial Primary School, Bonny, where she read up to Standard Six and got her First School Leaving Certificate in 1956. She was married in 1958 to the late Mr. Maxwell Hart, who was then working at the P & T Engineering Section in Kano. Her husband died during the Nigerian civil war.

It is said that if life gives you lemons, you make lemonade out of it.  To enable her take care of her children, she did a number of trades before joining the teaching profession. In the course of her career as a teacher she obtained higher qualifications including the Grade II Teacher Training Certificate at the Women Teacher Training Centre, Isiokpo, which she attended from 1979 to 1982, and the NCE in 1993 through a sandwich programme of the Ondo State College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti.

Right from childhood, her life had been guided by Bible principles. But the major turning point in her life was when she heard the public Bible lectures of Brother Ebenezer Otomewo, the late President of God’s Kingdom Society when the Feast of Tabernacles was held in Kano in 1963.

She remained active in church and community programmes in Stewart Hart and Hart Major House, including the Hart House Women Association in Grand Bonny, as well as Dema, Samanga, Akiama villages, where her honesty, generosity of spirit, humility, frankness and hospitality, among other virtues, were amply demonstrated.

To paraphrase Leo Tolstoy, we may feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less without that drop. Mercy Tamunobarabinye Hart played her part well. We all should contribute our quota to the betterment of humanity. Those living in riverine areas know that it is when the tide rises that all boats will be lifted. We shall see her again on the day of resurrection by the grace of God.

Damola

The late Dr Irene Ebisan Rewane Damola was born in Lagos on April 29, 1944, to the illustrious family of Dame Esther Jemine Rewane (nee Awani) and the late Chief (Barr) Ogbemi Newe Rewane (Ologbotsere of Warri) both from Warri, Delta State. She was not only the first of seven children but also the first grandchild of the family.

Irene spent her childhood both in Lagos and in Warri. Upon her father’s departure to England in 1952 in search of the proverbial “Golden Fleece”, opting to study Law after qualifying as a Surveyor, she had to move to Lagos to live with her famous uncle, Pa Alfred Ogbeyiwa Rewane, the redoubtable and indomitable martyr of Nigerian democracy who was assassinated under the despotic regime of Gen. Sani Abacha at the ripe age of 79 in 1995. Irene’s maternal grandfather, Mr. O. E. Awani and members of the Awani family were also resident in Lagos and she had a delectable childhood full of doting love, care, generosity, affluence, security and supervision.

She started her early education at LADILAC Institute, Yaba; Baptist Girls High School, Agbor and Hussey College, Warri.

Upon the completion of secondary school, she gained admission into the University of Lagos (UNILAG) in 1965 to study Medicine, where she met her heartthrob and future husband, Dr. Adebiyi Damola who was also a student at the university. They were such inseparable swans. Upon completion of her PRELIM, she was admitted into the College of Medicine at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in 1966 until 1971.

In 1972, Irene and ‘Biyi, got married at what would now be deemed a “society wedding” with up to a 1,000 guests, a pre-wedding breakfast at Federal Palace Hotel with the late sage, Pa Obafemi Awolowo as chairman of the wedding. Irene always recounted memory of this momentous event to her children with immense joy.

Later that year, they had their first child Toyin (now Barr/Mrs Akinrolabu) before proceeding to England the following year for their respective areas of specialisation and postgraduate studies. While in England, they had their second child Biyi Jnr (now Dr Biyi Damola) in 1977. By this time Irene had specialised in Radiology and was working as a Senior Registrar.

In 1978, Irene joined the service of LUTH as a Senior Registrar in the Radiology department. In 1979, she gave birth to their third child, Folakemi (Mrs Folakemi Damola Mayo). She became a Consultant Radiologist in 1981. In 1983, she gave birth to their fourth, Bukolami (Mrs Bukolami Oluanuiga-Aka Ebisan) while juggling creditably the dual responsibilities of a wonderful mother and consummate professional. She remained at LUTH till 1986 before opting for private practice with her husband at Tiofili Clinic in Lagos. She worked there briefly before setting up her own practice, O.N Rewane Memorial X-Ray Clinic, Warri, in memory of her beloved father in 1987. Her practice still exists in Warri till today.

In 1989, they both left Nigeria for Saudi Arabia to continue their practice and sustain their professional skills as a result of the dwindling fortunes and state of the Nigerian health sector. They both lived and worked in several cities in Saudi Arabia including Jeddah and the capital Riyadh. During their sojourn in the Saudi Kingdom, the family spent every holiday together either in Saudi or in Lagos.

Having successfully trained their children to the highest levels of their respective fields of specialisation and endeavours; the couple dreamt of retiring to Nigeria and reuniting with families and friends and spending the winter of their lives travelling and doing the traditional “grand parenting duties”. She longed to retire and enjoy the simplicity and status of being a “house wife”. Unfortunately, in 2007, her darling husband passed away in Saudi Arabia much to her shock, sadness and despair.

Irene stayed on in Saudi Arabia till her retirement in 2014. She actually spent 15 years at Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Centre, Riyadh (1999-2014) where she served as Acting Head of the Radiology Department. On the job, she had responsibility for arranging and coordinating work schedules for all staff. She also helped to set up a branch of the hospital in another city within the Kingdom. She was deeply and dearly loved by colleagues and patients for her professionalism, passion and compassion.

She belonged to many professional associations including the Nigerian Medical Council (full and special registration 1972 and 1978), Saudi Council for Medical Specialties, and General medical Council, among others.

She was a Fellow of the Faculty of Radiologists of the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland (1977); Fellow of the Medical College of Radiologists, Nigeria (1981); and Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons, West Africa (1987). She was also a Visiting Fellow, University Of Lund Teaching Hospital, Sweden.

The late Irene lived a fulfilled, happy and successful life until February 10, 2016, when she answered the inevitable and ineluctable call to glory and eternity. May her sweet soul rest in perfect peace.

It was tributes galore for the late John Nwabueze Obonna recently when his colleagues and relatives paid him their last respects during his burial at his Ohokobe Ndume country home in Umuahia North Local Governemnt Area (LGA) of Abia State.

The late Obonna was a lawyer, the oldest in Umuahia at the time of his death. He was a former chairman of Umuahia branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA). He was also the Chancellor of the Diocese of Umuahia (Anglican Communion) as well as the traditional ruler of Ndume/Amaoforo autonomous community.

At the commendation service held in honour of the late Obonna at St. Mary’s Anglican Church, Ohokobe Ndume, the Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Aba and Bishop of Umuahia, Most Rev. Dr Ikechi Nwosu, commended Obonna for the enviable roles he played in the Anglican church, noting that he served as the Chancellor of the diocese till his death on December 13, 2015 at the age of 81 years.

In her tribute, the Chief Judge of Abia State, Justice Theresa Uzokwe, said that Obonna’s private legal practice was full of verve and vitality.

Current leader of the NBA, Umuahia branch, Mr Okey Amechi (SAN), who served as a lawyer in Obonna’s chambers, in his tribute, extolled Obonna’s virtues, noting that he had an exceptional practice.

Awoboh-Pearse

Aremo Fola Awoboh-Pearse was a quintessential accounting professional and an embodiment of honesty, integrity and family values. With a ramrod and athletic figure, the Aremo of Lagos, lived a life of courage, dominating his spheres with a “can do” spirit. That he was an exemplary family man was obviously not in doubt, but his giant strides in the Accounting profession in Nigeria had all the telltale of a worthy colossus.

He joined the accounting firm, PKF, in 1965 and built a reputation that towered above his peers. He was recruited from England where he had a successful academic career and was first interviewed by the legendary Chartered Accountant, Mr. Akintola Williams.

The Aremo was appointed a Partner in 1969, becoming the first Nigerian to occupy the position. He became the Managing Partner in 1987, following the retirement of the last Expatriate Partner. During his headship, the firm grew exponentially, forging the local offices — Lagos, Kaduna, Jos and Kano — into one integrated entity.

He was chairman of PKF West Africa Region and served on the firm’s International Council where he contributed immensely to the body of accounting practice until his retirement in 1997. It was in recognition of these contributions that the PKF Nigeria Headquarters building in Lagos was commissioned in his honour.

Integrity was his watchword and anything short of that was fraud. He had written and spoken severally about the responsibility of Accountants in managing firms; how holding tenaciously to integrity would sustain the viability of companies.

Awoboh-Pearse’s ethical standing was an open book, and any suggestion of inducement in the course of his work was considered an insult. He was known to decline any audit engagement if any of the directors or promoters had integrity issue.

His honesty and integrity were sometimes perceived as stubbornness, with his penchant for taking tough decisions even in difficult times. Yet these virtues helped nurture the firm that he built.

I am one of the many professional accountants that passed through his tutelage and drew inspiration from his professionalism and commitment to ethical standards.

On hearing about Awoboh-Pearse’s death, I had a sober reflection on my relationship with him from the day he interviewed me for employment at PKF over 23 years ago.
I cannot fully imagine my career success without the mentoring of this great professional. I, like hundreds of my colleagues, owe him a debt of gratitude for making us the well-rounded professionals that we are today.

His service to humanity transcended the accounting profession. Among others, he was Chairman of the Tribunal of Enquiry for Lagos State Development and Property Corporation and Related Parastatals (1984), Chairman of the Committee appointed to review the Funding of Low and Medium Income Housing Programmes in Lagos State (1986), Chairman of Lagos State Water Corporation (1986 and 1987) and Member, Consultative Assembly on the Reform of Company Law.

He was a consummate athlete and arts connoisseur.
To the children and Pearse’ family, my partners, staff, my wife and I extend our heartfelt sympathy. We thank you for sharing this legendary man with us. We will forever cherish his contributions to PKF in Nigeria, PKF International and the Accounting profession in general.

• Akande is Senior Partner, PKF Nigeria.

The pain of death, mortal man can hardly overcome. Neither the grace of old age nor the strength of character or maturity could subdue the impact of such a devastating occurrence. Like a thunder bolt, the news of the sudden death of Chief Mike Iyida, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and an Insurance guru, recently, after a brief illness, sent shock waves to the hearts of those who knew him, especially, family members, The Nigeria Police, colleagues, associates, staff, his community, friends and well-wishers spread across the country and beyond.

A brilliant and well-rounded officer and gentleman, the late Iyida, aged 52, hails from Imufu, in Enugu-Ezike, Igbo-Eze North L.G.A. Enugu State. He attended Nsukka High School, Nsukka, Enugu State and later proceeded to Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUTH) where he studied Insurance and graduated in flying colours in the ’90s. While in the Nigeria Police, he acquitted himself creditably in all postings and duties assigned to him by his superiors.

He was at various times Divisional Police Officer in several towns and cities both in the northern and eastern parts of the country, MOPOL Commander, and most notably the head of Insurance Unit of the Nigeria Police at the Police Headquarters in Abuja, a position he held satisfactorily, without blemish, for several years. No wonder, in recognition of his meritorious service to the country, he was recently promoted to the elite rank of an Assistant Commissioner of Police, after which he was posted out of Abuja to the Force C.I.D, Alagbon Close, Ikoyi, Lagos, as head of General Investigation, until his untimely death.

To those who saw him or had interactions with him only a few days before the sad news broke, it was more like a fiction scripted for the movies. In their consciousness was a man full of life, enjoying a flourishing career in the Police Force and never one whose demise was only a breathe away. But alas, the dreaded morbid news was true and a pall of grief had enveloped the land. Alive today, and tomorrow no more. Certainly, Shakespeare, the wordsmith, was a kindred spirit when he enthused that “Life is but a walking shadow…full of sound and signifying nothing.”

The greatest impact of death is felt not in the agony engendered but rather in it’s finality. With death, life no matter how well lived and progressive or how bad and retrogressive comes to an end.

It is therefore important that we live our lives not for what we can enjoy in it but for what we can leave behind for posterity, knowing that death is a sure banker for all living beings.

The conventional wisdom which posits that the hood does not make the monk find clear vindication in the life and times of the late ACP Iyida. The premise for the foregoing aphorism is anchored in the fact that as human beings, we are defined, not by what we are but by who we are. Therefore, if a man is intrinsically bad, it is immaterial what he is in life whether spiritual or temporal. But if a man is good by nature, it is immaterial what he is in life; his good nature always defined his conduct.

Here was a man who, though a Police officer, was a humanist to the core and who lived his entire life for the good of humanity. Time and space will not be enough to chronicle his imperishable and outstanding record of accomplishments, in his earthly sojourn, having been celebrated as the Nigeria Police “Mr Insurance,” an indefatigable crime buster, a consummate family man, worthy community leader, mentor, a successful businessman with vast interest in hospitality and allied industry, a philanthropist and above all a committed Christian and Knight of the Catholic Church, to mention but a few.

True to his calling as a distinguished Police Officer, he was passionate about the security of lives and properties of all Nigerians in general and his community in particular. In the wake of recent upsurge of criminality in his Enugu-Ezike community, he had blamed the unfortunate development mainly on the paucity of policing in the area. According to him, it was incredulous that a town as big as Enugu-Ezike which was reputed as the single largest homogenous community in West Africa could only boast of just a Police Station, built during the time of the colonial masters, thereby underscoring the need and imperativeness of creating more Police Stations to cater for the security needs of the large population. In this regard, a security summit to be held in the town, and anchored by Ezike Diamond Club Nigeria, was top on his mind before his sudden demise.

Now that he could no longer realise this lofty dream in his life time, we believe that the best legacy to immortalise this great hero is for the Nigeria Police to gracious grant his dream by creating at least two more Police Stations in the town to bring security closer to the people. The community as a unit would readily avail the Police authorities every needful co-operation and assistance towards the actualisation of this project, even within the shortest notice.

As plans are afoot in major towns and cities, particularly, Lagos and Abuja, to accord our fallen hero a befitting burial, which holds from March 31 to April 2, 2016, our hearty condolences go out to his beloved wife and children, his employers, extended family, staff, Imufu village, his teaming dependants and entire Enugu-Ezike people. Be consoled by not just the fact that he lived a fulfilled life but also the assurance of a divine re-union in heaven.
May God grant his gentle soul eternal rest, AMEN.

*Chief Agbedo is Head of Crown Chambers, Barristers and Solicitors, Lagos

Braithwaite

I was in my fifth year in secondary school when one day I walked up to the notice board, just in front of the dining hall, and saw something that struck me hard.

A photograph of General Sani Abacha. Written underneath it is:

“Whom the cap fits.

Whose cap? What head?”

It was a photocopy of an advert by MD Yusufu, candidate for president set to run against military ruler, Abacha in the 1998 elections. The advert was a response to the General’s “Whom the cap fits” ad campaign. Our proprietress–a warrior herself, Sheila Solarin –had made it a point of duty to update the students as to what was happening with Abacha wanting to become a democratic president.

I had grown up to know Nigeria as a country with no soul, no principles, and no heroes. The only man that came close to heroism, in my space of limited history, had been dispatched to jail after winning an election in 1993, and kept there.

His friends had abandoned him, joining the government of the man that jailed him, or even helping him steal the mandate their man had won.

Those who were brave at all were curiously in exile, far away from the scene of danger. The rest of the country had coalesced around the “five fingers of one leprous hand,” five parties begging one man to run for office – with the man who would be president intimidating anyone else who was thinking of challenging him.

It was a terrible time to be a Nigerian, and an even worse time to hope.

Of course, there where patriots –those like Beko Ransome-Kuti, Chima Ubani, Kunle Ajibade and others – who were fighting the despot to something of a standstill. But in politics there was no one. Abacha was about to get an easy ride into civilian office.

Then suddenly, from what seemed to this 13-year- old like nowhere, came the duo of MD Yusufu and Tunji Braithwaite. With their parties, the Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM) and the Nigerian Advance Party (NAP), they decided to wage war against Abacha.

It was such a breath of fresh air. Running as presidential candidates of their parties in a time when no one dared to do, they put themselves directly in the line of fire, not just by that singular act of defiance, but also by waging a vigorous media attack against the dictator.

They took out pages in the newspapers to mount protests via dramatic full page adverts, they went on what television they could afford to go on and spoke against him with heart and gusto, they blanketed the pages of The Guardian and Vanguard newspapers that I read, whenever and wherever they could, denouncing the collusion of the cowardly, they held press conferences and said all that they possibly could with anger and with vehemence, resolutely slashing the spiral of elite silence that threatened to strangle Nigeria.

I adored them.

They made it possible for me to see another Nigeria, and to see its leaders in another light. That it was possible to speak truth to power, even at risk of life. That men remained who could choose honour over collusion, and dignity over the proximity to power.

They taught this young man that there is always another way. It might be unpopular and dangerous, but it exists. And no one has the excuse to claim fear or doubt when they can stand up to be counted.

They brought those remarkable stories of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King home to me, so much so that I believed that the Nigerian blood that flowed in my veins and around me had as much possibilities to be true and to be fearless as the best of the world’s.

They made me feel proud to be Nigerian, and proud of other Nigerians. They taught me about a place called Courage.

The rest of their lives didn’t continue in a straight line, of course. Sometimes they made questionable choices, as politicians are wont to do.

But one of the tragedies of our inchoate cultural march is that very few young people know the complete and nuanced histories that they should.

Because if we knew what we should then we would be grateful for these men (and women) who demonstrated the kind of courage you thought you would find in fiction. Who fought when the risks were much more than losing followers on Twitter, and who stepped on the streets when the risk was live bullets.

If we knew more and we knew it right, we would celebrate and honour them more extensively, we would learn the lessons of their lives, and, to honour their sacrifice, we would do much more than the pitiable resistance that we presently put up to those who put our nation and its future, at sore risk.

MD Yusufu used to sign off his heroic ads with copy that struck deep with my soul, “May God give us the will and the way to act.”

As he and Mr. Braithwaite take a bow in honour, in dignity and in glory, almost exactly within a year of each other, and as I thank them most deeply for showing us the way and the truth, one can only hope that their prayers are answered.

For this generation, and the next.
Jideonwo is co-founder and managing partner of RED (www.redafrica.xyz), the media group to reach and inspire the largest number of African youth at any time. He also teaches media and communication at the Pan-Atlantic University.

Idoko

Born on Thursday, February 18, 1954, into the family of Nkpozi Felix John Odo Idoko Aaji Eze of Umueze clan, Onicha Enugu-Ezike, and Mrs. Rebecca Nwaelugwu Idoko (nee Abugu Owaa) of Umuagada Okwor clan, Umu-Agama Enugu-Ezike, Enugu State, the late Dr. Godwin Chukwuma Patrick Idoko was the first son of the family. As expected, his birth was a source of joy to the family and he lived to add to the joy of the family and others until death took him away recently.

The late Idoko’s parents were devout Catholics. His father was an ardent lover of western education, having studied up to Standard Four under the early Christian missionaries at Enugu-Ezike. He promptly enrolled Godwin into St. Patrick’s Primary School, Olido. However, the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War disrupted the late Idoko’s early education.

He obtained his First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC) in 1970. He enrolled into Igbo-Eze Secondary School in January 1971 and finished in June 1975. He was a good footballer and athlete while in the school. His exemplary character earned him the appointment as Senior Prefect in his final year.

After his secondary education, Idoko proceeded to Dennis Memorial Grammar School (D.M.G.S.), Onitsha, where he obtained a Higher School Certificate (HSC) in 1977. Thereafter, he gained admission into the University of Lagos, graduating in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. In 1996, he enrolled into a Masters Degree Programme in Public Administration at the same university. He bagged the Degree in 1998.

The late Idoko continued to demonstrate his unflinching flair for research when in 2007 he registered for a Ph.D programme at Nassarawa State University, Lafia. But fearing that he might be delayed, he withdrew his research and applied to Life Leadership University, Mission Hills, California in 2009. By sheer dint of hard work and the guidance of his supervisor, Prof. Lubusa N’ti Nseendi, to whom he remained grateful, he completed his research and submitted his thesis to the university in record time. He was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D) Degree in Human Resource Management (with High Honours) during the university’s 16th convocation ceremony held on November 9, 2013, at the Abuja Study Centre.

Godidoko kpe (as he preferred to be addressed) had his work history as follows: Clerical Officer (Exchange Control Department) at Central Bank of Nigeria, Lagos (1977); NYSC at Government College, Umuagbai, Rivers State (Teaching) (1980 – 1981); and Federal Government Girls’ College, Shagamu, Ogun State, Educational Officer (Teaching) (1981 – 1982). He also worked in various capacities at the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) from August 18, 1982 to May 30, 2015, during which time he rose to the position of Deputy General Manager (Human Resources and Cooperate Services) (2009 – 2015).

He was a member of Nigerian Economic Society (since 1984); an associate member of Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (since 1991); and a member of Nigerian Institute of Management (since 2011).

Towards the end of his career at NITEL, he established a consulting firm – Ceteris Consulting limited – which specialised in the training of managers of industry. Through it, he made reasonable impacts in capacity-building and human resource development, a job he so much cherished.

Godidoko kpe was until his death the President General of Onicha Enugu-Ezike Aborigines Union (a.k.a. Abroad Union) now incorporated with Corporate Affairs Commission, all to his credit. He was better known as a bridge builder between society’s two social extremes (a.k.a. Agenda 1) aimed at dismantling the vestiges of social discrimination in 21st century Onicha Asadu, Ngwode or Elugwu, so that we can move forward and progress. He abhorred all forms of social injustices and fought hard to eliminate them.

Godidoko kpe, we love and cherish you. We find it extremely difficult to come to terms with the reality that you no longer share this mortal life with us. But the events surrounding your last days on earth easily console us. A discerning mind would judge that you had a smooth sail to the bosom of your Lord and God.

While on earth did, God chose to call you on a divine mercy Sunday, allowed you to come back to life and share experiences with us – your dear ones surrounding your sick bed – and finally took you home on the solemnity of Annunciation of the Lord just a few minutes before the great hour of mercy? What a glorious exit! This for us is a sheer reward for your strong and rare faith in Him throughout the time you were sick. You depended solely on God, who is our healing and wholeness, to restore your health even amidst some other suggested alternatives. You were calm amidst pains and tribulations. You were indeed a believer and lover of the Cross. No wonder your journey home was in the Holy Season of Easter at the great hour of mercy.

To the God of mercy and compassion who prepared you for a successful journey home through this sickness, and gave you opportunities to receive the Sacraments of the Church to strengthen you for the journey, be all the glory even as we mourn that we can no longer see you in this mortal flesh.
Adieu, our great friend and dear father! Ladoore o!

Nkwoji

Come Thursday, April 28, this year, the peaceful town of Enugwu Ukwu in Anambra State will play host to guests from all walks of life across the country as the remains of a great and illustrious son of the town, the late Sir (Chief) Mike Chukwujekwu Nkwoji, will be laid to rest. Mika, as his mother and siblings fondly called him, was a successful business man who was renowned for his business foresight and unbridled philanthropy.

Born in 1943 to Bessie and James Nwanaemeka Nkwoji in Umuezenwona clan, Umuatulu Awovu Village, Enugwu Ukwu, he was the youngest child of his parents.

He attended St. Peter’s School, Coal Camp, Enugu, for his primary school. He lost his father during the period of his primary education. To make ends meet, he assisted his mother in her petty trading while also going school. Being a determined child, he scaled through his primary education and proceeded to Okongwu Memorial Grammar School, Nnewi, for his secondary education.

Mike continued helping his mother in her business while in secondary school. He was not ashamed that while his peers were basking in the euphoria of “ndi college” he was selling fruits under electric poles at Coal Camp just to help his mother make ends meet.

He, however, later left school and travelled to Onitsha where he commenced apprenticeship in trading. He later joined his elder brother, Sir Gab Nkwoji, who was already in Radios and Record business at Aba. He served him for several years before setting up his own business.

In 1963, he opened a shop known and called “Mike Radios” at 1/3 Asa Road, with less than 10 pieces of radio sets but with loads of empty cartons arranged as if they contained radio. He relied on “Oso Afia” on a daily basis to break even and it paid off. He was honest and trustworthy, and his business flourished before long, leading to his becoming a distributor’s representative. He was honest, focused, efficient and hard working.

As time went by, he rose from being a distributor’s representative to becoming a distributor himself. He maintained robust business relationship with all electronics firms in Nigeria including Philips Nig. Ltd., Waides Co, Adebowale Electronics and other private individuals who dealt on importation of electronics at that time.

The outbreak of the Nigerian civil war in 1967 affected his business as expected but he was able to sustain his family by engaging in “Afia Attack”. This involved taking the risk of crossing over to Nigeria, buying tobacco in cases and coming back to Biafra to sell them with huge profit. Mike’s gift of deciphering and making wise investment decisions made him to invest all his Biafra currency in buying and storing cars as if he knew that the currency would be useless should Biafra lose the war. When the war ended, Mike had five cars — Holden, Mercedes, Passat and two Peugeot, which he sold. With proceeds from the sale, he re-started his business at Aba and established branches at Onitsha, Umuahia and Enugu. He also married his heartthrob, Ongodi from Odi in Bayelsa State.

The late Mike ventured into the importation of Records in 1972. In 1973, due to the success of the business, he incorporated Mike Merchandise Company Ltd with Head Office at 10 Asa road, Aba.

In 1975, he became the sole agent for the importation of Sierra Electronic Products into Nigeria. When the importation of electronics was banned, he registered Mikko Electronics solely to assemble imported knocked down parts in the country. Mikko products went viral and competed very favourably with other electronics in the market at that time.

Endowed with good managerial skills, Mike acquitted himself creditably as Chairman Monier Construction Co. (MCC) Limited; Director, Nigerian Central Packaging Industry; Chairman, Invae Chemicals Industries Ltd; and Chairman, Regency Finance Ltd, among others.

Mike’s Christian life was worthy of emulation. He maintained his Christian faith till he passed on. He hardly missed Sunday worships and other activities of the church. He served God with passion and always gave for God’s work with a cheerful heart. He inculcated these virtues into all his children.

A Knight of St. of Christopher, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, he contributed immensely to the development of the Church. He remodeled his home church, Emmanuel Church, Enugwu Ukwu, which his father was known to have contributed towards its building in 1913. He also built and donated St. Monica’s Church, Enugwu Ukwu, to the community. He also made meaningful donations to the other churches in Enugwu Ukwu irrespective of the denomination. At Aba, he paid for the terrazzo floor in St. Michael’s Cathedral. He was also a major donor to other projects in the cathedral.

Okpata worldwide had a foundation which awarded scholarships to hundreds of secondary school and university students. An active sports man, he contributed substantially to the development of Aba Sports Club especially the Golf Course as well as the Enugu Golf Course. Mike was simply a philanthropist extraordinaire.

In the affairs of the Enugwu Ukwu, his hometown, he was the front line development agent, in other words Obuzogu. He pioneered the construction of Enugwu Ukwu Sports Club as well as Umunri Palace.

He is survived by his wife, Chief Mrs. Ongodi Nkwoji Onodugo, Enugwu Ukwu na Umunri; five children and 12 grand children. He will be sorely missed.
A commendation service will hold in his honour at St. Michael’s Cathedral, Aba on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. His funeral service holds at Emmanuel Church, Enugwu Ukwu on Thursday, April 28 after which his body will be interred.
May his very generous soul find rest in the bosom of the Lord, Amen.

Matriarch of the Ogunwusi royal family in Ile-Ife

Olori Agba Marian Ayeyemi Ododa Anipele Ogunwusi, who has died aged about 104 years, is the mother of Prince Ropo Ogunwusi, the father of Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, the current Ooni of Ife who mounted the throne of his forefathers on December 6, 2015.

She was born into the family of the late Prince Joshua Omibeku Ishadipe, a prince of the lineage of Ogboru Ruling House, Alaka Compound in Ilode quarters of Ile-Ife, Osun State.

In his tribute to the late matriarch, Yinka Olabisi wrote that some of her children would be inconsolable as her body is interred today.

“No amount of consolatory words and teary, heartfelt empathy can soothe the pain of the death of their beloved mother, grandmother and great grandmother. The centenarian died peacefully in her sleep. Their grief is understandable. She was not a run of the mill mother. Mama was a cut above the rest, an epitome of venerable motherhood. She was not just their biological mother; she quadrupled as their friend, confidante, adviser and role model,” Olabisi noted.

He recalled that since the late matriarch lost her beloved husband, the late Prince Joseph Adefisibe Olaobaju Ogunwusi, a successful produce buyer, transporter and farmer from the Giesi Ruling House, and grandson of Oòni Òjájá, about 18 years ago, she had been the nexus of the vast, prosperous family.

He added: “Though frail due to old age, she remained firm and decisive till her last days. The Ogunwusi children are especially conscious of the fact that with Mama’s glorious transition, they have lost that singular person they could turn to in times of adversity or when they need direction through the labyrinth of life. They know, more than sympathisers from far and near can ever imagine, that the only person on earth who knew them from the day they were born was no more and, in effect, whatever is left of their childhood was gone with her. It is a tough but bearable epiphany. The Ogunwusi children are consoled, however, by the fact that she lived a good life, impacted the people that crossed her path and was known to love God unconditionally. Given the peace and prosperity of her family and living to the age that she did without losing a limb or experiencing senility, it would not be a misnomer to state that Mama was one of those select few that God showed off with. She was indeed an apple in God’s eyes.

“In and around Ile-Ife, Iya Alaso, as she was popularly known, was a devout Christian who committed her time and resources to the service of God. While Mama was alive, it was common knowledge that except due to circumstances beyond her control especially the occasional illnesses that came with old age, she never missed the daily morning prayer in her church, St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Aiyegbaju, Ile-Ife. She was an active member of the ‘Egbe Cornelius, Obinrin Moore’ and the ‘Egbe Ajumo Gbadura’ of her church. Also a redoubtable community leader, Mama was very accommodating and was reputed for freely dispensing with whatever she had for the betterment of humanity. Nothing was too big for her to give out. Thus, till her last days, her house was always a beehive of activities as people trooped in and out. Everybody was her child. She never discriminated.

“In the midst of this grief, however, is an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the Ogunwusis. Mama lived a fulfilled life. Apart from making peace with her creator, she lived long enough to see her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her offspring prospered and multiplied before her very eyes. And the culmination of her glorious life would be, unarguably, the crowning of one of her grandsons, Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, as the Ooni of Ife few months before she joined her makers.

“Mama was a lover of children who did not limit her caring disposition to her own biological children alone. In return for her exceptionally good character and deeds, Mama was well respected by all and sundry including her numerous customers and neighbours, both in the secular and religious circles.”

Olabisi further added that to ensure a proper and befitting burial for their departed matriarch, all the Ogunwusis, particularly Prince Adetunji Adeyemi Ogunwusi, the chairman, Primewaterview Holdings, a conglomerate of diverse companies based in Lagos, were leaving no stone unturned.

The remains of the late matriarch will be buried today after a funeral service at the St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Aiyegbaju, Ile-Ife, Osun State, at 11a.m. Thereafter, guests will be entertained at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH) Ground, Phase 2, Gate, Ile-Ife.

“Adieu, Olori Agba. This is a long night that will never find a day!” Olabisi mourned.
Olori Agba Marian Ayeyemi Ogunwusi died on February 8, 2016

Political scientist, lawyer and journalist jailed in 1984 for writing a satirical column about the military regime

Ahmed Rufa’i Ibrahim, who has died aged 66, was a bright political scientist and lawyer, but was better known as a leading radical journalist on the Nigerian Left — easily among the best of his generation. An alumnus of the University of Ibadan (1971–1974), where he graduated among the top in his set, and latterly Jos (1987–1990), Ibrahim went into journalism, first briefly at the NTA, Jos, and then the New Nigerian, after his one-year NYSC in Oron in the then South–East State in July 1975.

Ahmed Rufa’i Ibrahim, who has died aged 66, was a bright political scientist and lawyer, but was better known as a leading radical journalist on the Nigerian Left — easily among the best of his generation. An alumnus of the University of Ibadan (1971–1974), where he graduated among the top in his set, and latterly Jos (1987–1990), Ibrahim went into journalism, first briefly at the NTA, Jos, and then the New Nigerian, after his one-year NYSC in Oron in the then South–East State in July 1975.

Shehu Othman, who grew up with Ibrahim, but now based in Oxford, England, in his tribute wrote that “Ibrahim was born into power and privilege in both the traditional and modern spheres, yet no one who ever had any dealings with him could fail to be disarmed by his humility, simplicity, integrity, patriotism and unwavering empathy for, and commitment to, the poor and voiceless. His weekly column on Peoples Daily, the national newspaper he co-founded in 2008 and of which he was until his demise its Director and Editor-in-Chief, was aptly titled “For the Masses”.

Othman noted that Ibrahim was originally a Kanuri from Lafia but born in Bauchi, where he spent his formative years before going several places with his high-flyer civil servant father.

Othman’s tribute reads in part: “Ibrahim was a formidably good man, who I’ve never ever known to raise his voice against anyone and yet was fiercely committed to his high principles and convictions — personal and political. I trusted him more than I ever trusted myself.

“Politically, he belonged to the leftist community that was centred and active around the now deceased historian, Dr Bala Usman of ABU, Zaria, where Rufa’i was a Graduate Assistant from October 1975 to May 1976.

“Many came to refer to Rufa’i simply as Malam, following his passionate involvement as an ideologue and activist in the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP)-era politics of the now late Malam Aminu Kano and its splinter grouping around Governors Abubakar Rimi (now also deceased) and Balarabe Musa of Kano and Kaduna States respectively during the Second Republic (1979-83).

“In 1984, he was jailed for nine months without trial, or even the courtesy of a single interrogation, by the Buhari military junta for merely daring to pen a satirical column about the regime. For his sin, the Nigerian Gestapo once hurled him down into a pitch-dark dungeon where he instantly fainted, but mercifully recovered hours later.

“In the period before and after Gen. Ibrahim Babangida’s political transition that ended in fiasco in 1992, Rufa’i joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and sought vainly to be its national spokesman.

“Having returned to the Daily Times from 1990-1992 as Editorial Consultant, and qualified as a barrister during that time. He turned his energies to private legal practice and media consultancy to governments and non-state entities, notably, the Nasarawa State Government, the National Population Commission and the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (Oputa Commission) until June 2007.

“In 2010-11, Rufa’i led a small band of Nasarawa State citizens in a “Think-Tank” to provide ideas, coherence and inspiration to what many initially saw as a joke gubernatorial pursuit by Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.

“Working largely quietly behind the scenes every weekday, and armed only with bubbling ideas and passion for change, they helped achieve what many felt was well-nigh impossible then — the defeat of an incumbent State Governor by someone on a 10-month-old-party platform barely known in the state — Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

“In the event, this was the only governorship contest the CPC won in the 2011 General Elections. It was testament to the thesis by the famed American anthropologist, Margaret Mead (1901-1978), about the dynamic of change when she famously wrote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

“This was Rufa’i Ibrahim’s credo, too. Wherever he went before or thereafter, whether at the New Nigerian (Kaduna), Daily Times (Lagos), The Triumph (Kano), The Guardian on Sunday (Lagos), the Nigerian Standard (Jos), The Analyst magazine (Jos), the Nasarawa Publishing Company Limited, or the Nasarawa Broadcasting Service, he left behind him indelible footprints of professionalism, integrity, personal honour, service and passionate commitment to the best Nigerian ideals.”

Giving an insight into what led to Ibrahim’s death, Othman disclosed that he (Ibrahim) had been diagnosed with a very rare form of skin cancer (Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma/ Leukemia Mycoma Fungerids/ Sezary) in October 2014.

He added: “After careful research I arranged for him to receive treatment in one of only half-a-dozen dedicated global specialist centres at the University of Frankfurt Teaching Hospital in Germany. The ailment appeared to have been contained, but he then relapsed and made a second visit in December 2015.

“We all felt he was on the mend, only to relapse again soon after, and died of resulting complications at the Gwagwalada Hospital on Saturday, April 2, following brief therapeutic interventions, where he had taken himself. Up until that moment, he had carried on bravely; he was never really bed-ridden. If you phoned him and he didn’t say it, one couldn’t tell he was in any discomfort.”
Ahmed Rufa’i Ibrahim, born April 2, 1950, died April 2, 2016