Tribute to Elder J.B. Bello
Daddy, they say you cannot be everything to everyone. But you were everything to everyone who knew you. You were a mentor to those who needed to be mentored. You were a coach to those who needed to be coached. You were a sponsor to those who needed to be sponsored.
You were a man of the people. I am yet to meet anyone who genuinely loved people the way you did. They say it takes a village to raise a child. You were that village to not only many kids but also full-grown adults within and beyond your community.
I know all these because you were my coach, my mentor, and my sponsor. You were a father to me and to everyone who had the good fortune to cross your path - young, old, male, female, no matter who they were or where they came from.
You were a selfless man who would go above and beyond to give a helping hand to anyone in need, sometimes at the expense of your personal convenience. I remember when you would travel to Lagos from Ajaokuta once every quarter or so, for as long as a week, sometimes two weeks at a time, running errands on the busy and congested streets of Lagos, from one bank to another, or from one stockbroker to another, on behalf of people whom sometimes you barely even knew. You showed many how to get their finances in order, how to invest in the stock market, and prepare for retirement. And indeed, that was a life saver for many people and their families when they either lost their source of income or due to non-payment of salary by their employers.
Your work ethic was unparalleled. Even though you were sixty and retired when I lived with you, and I was just nineteen, I couldn't keep up with you! As your so called 'secretary' for more than a year before I went to Unilorin, I remember the thousands of letters, emails, affidavits, and texts messages you drafted on behalf of the people you were helping, to process their stocks and shares transactions. And much more…
What more can I say? Words would fail to do justice to all your good works while you were here with us. You were a man full of wisdom and I will never forget all you did for me and how much you taught me about life. Also, I can't forget my mock interviews with you, to prepare me for my very first job interview after I graduated from Unilorin. That was how invested you were in people! You would do anything you could to help people succeed. I consider myself fortunate to have lived under your roof and it was the greatest honor of my life to have known you personally.
Daddy, my heart is broken that you left us too soon, but I am consoled by the fact that you are now in a better place.
Go on now sir, and rest well at the bosom of Christ.
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