Reminiscences of My Friend, Dr. Olumide Awe
For more than 45 years we were first of all class mates at Igbobi College, old boys of the same school but most importantly, friends. For all of those years, it was my privilege to know a most magnanimous gentleman and one with whom I shared some wonderful moments. My thoughts of Olumide always revolved around his devotion to his wife, Bola, children Adedamola, Eniola and Ayobami, his commitment to friends and his alma mater, Igbobi College. A number of times I shared in his joy as I congratulated him on the honours bestowed on him, and the good fortune of a wonderful family that always surrounded him. As he was with his nuclear family, so he was with friends, and often I would ask him where he got all that energy.
My thoughts go back to our days in Igbobi College, when as little boys initially, then teenagers, we all struggled to find a foothold in life. Olumide was ever so confident, always smiling, dominant in school activities, very neat and excelled academically. I missed the High School (HSC Class) days because I went over to Kings College, but I heard a lot about the leadership qualities that propelled him almost to the No. 1 spot among the great school’s prefects. After our school days in Nigeria, we went separate ways, he to Canada and I to the UK. It was in the early eighties that we came together again to rekindle the flame of friendship, and a couple of times he visited me in Port-Harcourt where at the time I was working for Shell.
Later in the mid-eighties, I remember Olumide always challenging me for not attending ICOBA 67-71/73 monthly general meetings, and to assuage him I offered to host the ‘boys’ at a meeting in Satellite Town soon after I got married in 1986. Igbobi College and our set was always uppermost on his mind. We all thought we would miss him when in the mid-nineties he relocated to the UK to be with his family, but what surprise as he would plan his journeys to Nigeria to coincide with the first Sunday of the month to attend ICOBA 67-71/73 set meetings, and when not in Nigeria, he would call in to, as best as he could, participate in same meetings. His hospitality in the UK was legendary, with yours truly being a major beneficiary. For my visits to the UK, I became regular at the Holiday Inn at Elstree and Borehamwood. As soon as I checked in, Olumide would arrive with his Jaguar, and depending on what time of the day, we would have breakfast, lunch or dinner together. Of course, he would always arrange an evening out with our other classmates in the UK. A couple of times we would take long drives into the UK country side to places like Cambridge and Birmingham to attend wedding ceremonies and other events. During such journeys, we would share a lot of reminiscences about our school days and also discuss our children, and how they were coming along.
The last two years have been difficult, but thankfully Olumide was able to be at Adedamola’s wedding, and in his usual manner, ensured all his guests, especially those of us from outside the UK were well looked after. When he visited me soon afterwards in Lagos, I discussed his health but with a lot of optimism, he assured me that he had just one procedure to go through and he would be back in good health. Indeed, later on he confirmed to me that he was feeling much better, and then he undertook a trip to the US to attend the annual ICOBANA outing. I saw the photographs and was happy that he could travel. Alas, that was to be his last visit to the US.
It was with shock that I received the sad news on Sunday September 21 2014 that he had answered the call. It was with great difficulty, pain and immense sadness that as Chairman of the ICOBA 67-71/73 set, I had to announce his departure to the great beyond.
My friend was a devoted husband and father, Chairman of ICOBA 67-71/73 in 1996, Chairman of ICOBA UK, later Europe from 2009 to 2013, recipient of the ICOBA 67-71/73 Merit Award in 1996, the ICOBA UK/Europe Merit Award in 2011 and the ICOBA Central Body Merit Award in 2012. He set the bar very high.
In ‘As You Like It’ it was William Shakespeare who wrote: All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their entrances and their exits; and one man in his time plays many parts …
Adieu, my friend. You will be sorely missed.
Olugbolahan Sobande
October 10 2014