As a result of some individuals will let you know water is overzealous when it bubbles up

Water makes the subtlest of exits; it steadily decreasesand leaves vacancy behind.

Everybody loves the flower although

They love the flower when it blooms and fills the air and nostrils with its fragrances

No person seems twice when it wilts and loses colour

Weary and brown, the flower falls off to nourish the subsequent plant.

The earth is a sphere; life is a cycle

We go spherical and spherical on this circle

Some will say we did it nicely; others will say we did it badly

On the finish of the cycle, we exit,

We relaxation, and every thing rests…

Days in the past, I referred to you as a “dwelling legend” in an article devoted to you, not understanding I would should discard the “dwelling” in a matter of days. Ayo, the person, the parable himself, your demise is nothing in need of an excellent loss to the group and the nation at massive. The eggheads you nurtured throughout your lifetime would go wherever you go, however now, this place you’ve got gone to is out of our attain. You will have left us behind within the mud.

You will have executed lots for people and the nation. You illuminated humanity. Your accomplishments on earth’s floor can’t be forgotten. The admiration and accolades you acquired all through your lifetime might be shining examples for eons to come back. Your records communicate for you, they usually communicate loud sufficient.

I’ve expressed my sorrow by means of writing on earlier occasions equivalent to this. But, the unhappyness your dyingbrings additionally insistently asks: To whom can we flip for consolation and your type of mind? Who, in your shut and prolonged social circles, can we belief for info and insights or the knowledge you’ve got bestowed upon your rapid group and society? I’m positive you’ll have cherished to remain longer and to do extra, however we are able to solely want and wish; all destinies belong to Windfall. He determined that it was time so that you can relaxation.

You have been a loving husband and a doting father. You can’t be changed within the hearts of the household you’ve got left behind. Nobody can fill your footwear; even when they may, it could by no means really feel the identical. Your demise is a superb loss on your individuals since you have been their pillar, their oasis within the desert. We pray the Lord upholds this household you nurturedand that His grace is enough for them in all issues.

There’s a profound sense of loss and grief when a detailed good friend passes away, and although society discouragesour gender from crying out in ache or despair, we, your pals, sob in our hearts silently and lose ourselves in soliloquy. The merry desk of mates will characteristic an empty seat. You brought life to the desk; even as we made merry, we’d steal out of your cup of knowledge. We’ll miss you. You will have created a void that can not be stuffed. No newcomer can take your house amongst us. The vacancy of your seat resides in our souls perpetually.

Males like you’re a rarity. There are just a few of your sort in each technology. Now that you’re no extra, when subsequent would the world discover somebody such as you? It’s painful, however the fact stays that society suffers when the likes of your self are usually not round to information its affairs. You have been a treasure, like treasured stones that present affluence. Dropping you is a giant blow to Nigeria as a result of who can substitute you? Nobody.

I recognized you as an àgbà as a result of you heraldedmany issues for Nigerian society. In a forthcoming ebook, I devoted two chapters to you and the way you served because the voice of Nigeria by means of your weekly column. You issued warnings in completely different methods and created the mandatory consciousness to make sure the nation’s progress. When the nation wanted a guard to warn and steer it again to the trails blazed by our historic heroes, my good friend, Ayo, you served because the nation’s “Olutona”, sounding the alarm towards the nation’s speedy descent into catastrophe and chaos.And when the nation’s improvement required a griot who wouldn’t solely recount historic occasions but in addition analyse the current and challenge prognoses for the longer term, you have been the“Olukoni”. You used tales from the previous to make the populace conscious of how historical past might both repeat itself positively or negatively.

You constantly put the nation first in deeds and fervour. Even within the face of political intolerance, you by no means gave up. You didn’t hesitate to wrestle for a simply nation we might reside in in the present day; you additionally fought for future generations. Fact be advised, you noticed the highs and lows of life and had to endure the assorted adjustments the nation went by means of. Now you’re no extra! Who will proceed the noble path that your searing intelligence has blazed? Who will liberate and stay a mentor? You spoke fact to energy with out worry. You upheld the mental integrity that rendered your opinions neutral, demonstrating your love for Nigeria and Africa.

Expressing grief is an acknowledgement of the position the deceased performed in our lives whereas they have been alive. We mourn to display how priceless the soul now we have misplaced is and how embittered we’re by the loss. Family and friends members endure tremendously when a cherished one passes away, and at occasions it could appear as if the ache won’t ever stop, however we take solace that regardless that the ache will linger perpetually, the Good Guide has assured us that:

“Blessed are those that mourn, for they are going to be comforted”. – Matthew 5:4

Ayo, this tribute is to honour you as a singular particular person and for your vital impression on individuals’s lives throughout your time on earth. Although life dealt you its fair proportion of challenges, as it’s doing to all of us, you have been a hero since you labored and fought for the longer term in order that individuals who come after us received’t should endure.

Our hearts will sing as soon as extra

For individuals who completely depart from us

by no means to be seen once more

from a stressed, worn-out world

right into a clouded heaven.

Sleep nicely, my good friend.