DADDY YOU REMAIN UNFORGETTABLE
Daddy you went too soon. It is just like yesterday and quiet unbelievable that you indeed left us 17 years ago. You were a rare gem and great personality that left us with giant shoes to fill.
You were ever compassionate, caring and a selfless personality that touched many lives positively. The recounts of the experiences of those you impacted resonates with me and touched my heart in so many ways.
I remain grateful to our Almighty God for coming through you to this world and benefiting from your immense fatherly guidance that has in no small measure helped in shaping me to who I am in life today.
Daddy was very supportive at all these times. I remember particularly his support during the time that mum traveled to New York for the Master’s Degree program in 1978. He tried his very best to make me not to feel her absence so much, as I was still very young. I had to travel so many times with him in the course of his work just so that I should not be unattended to. I therefore became so popular with him on his travel entourage, so much that a former Military State Governor, Col. Ifere came to know me as the youngest member of his entourage. That was the extent of love he had for us all. I guess this made me naturally very close to him.
Am comforted that you and mummy are happily united with our Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven. We praise Almighty God that all of us your children and grandchildren are moving forward in all our various ways holding firmly the batons of GOOD NAME you bequeathed to us all.
I remember as a little child how you were very passionate and took care of your parents at Okoro-Gbedde & Ilorin till they passed on at various times, in obedience to our Lord’s commandment to honour our Fathers and Mothers. I am thankful to God that I had the grace and opportunity to also do this for you and mummy within my capacity while you both were with us.
I am forever grateful to you and mummy for the right values and upbringing you inculcated in us and thankful to Almighty God that these core values helped in molding all our lives to where all your children are today. We pray to replicate these also to our children.
You were an exceptionally great man of very many parts; an educator, a humble family man, a community builder, a unifier, a sacrificial giver that touched lives positively in differing ways. This is evident in the recount of experiences shared of your impacts by your brothers, sister, your extended family members, your in-laws, your friends, your community, family friends, your children, your grandchildren, your students etc.
I testify that you were a great loving father, quiet, humble with a heart of gold and deep genuine concern for welfare of your brethren, often times to your own discomfort. Daddy was such a great man with a natural charisma with people and he assisted so many people in his lifetime. His life between July 1935 and April 2003 was a blessing to people all around him.
You fought gallantly with ill-health between 1993 and 29th April 2003 when you eventually passed on peacefully to eternal glory. You remained positive and tried to remain happy with yourself and us all through this time. Always calling to check up on us all.
You were a true Christian; in actions and fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ. I am comforted and fully persuaded that you are resting peacefully with our Lord Jesus Christ.
You were a loving, resourceful, responsible, focused father and a man of integrity. You built 3 houses in your lifetime, one at Okoro-Gbedde and two at Ilorin. You left us a legacy of integrity and a good name which is better than Gold or Silver. May God help us all to maintain and improve on this good name.
Adieu daddy, continue to rest peacefully now in company of mummy and our Lord until we all reunite till we part no more. You live in us and you truly remain Unforgettable.
A Poem for Daddy in Heaven
“I know you can hear me
way up in heaven
because we talk
through our hearts.
Dear Daddy in heaven
I miss you every day
and I know you miss me too.
No matter how old I get
or how long you're gone,
I hear you, Daddy,
up in heaven
through the love
in my heart.
A great soul serves everyone
all the time. A great soul
never dies. It brings us together
again and again.”
