Tribute to my Husband, the love of my life ( ADEDOTUN ODUNFA)
Dear Yinka,
I have woken up every day waiting to realize that this is all a dream. I’m still waiting to hear your voice again as usual, but instead, all I hear are echoes of my own many mind boggling questions. It is hard to believe that you are gone, and no longer here to listen to my many untiring speeches, after which you would tease me saying that your wife is a ‘parrot, who can talk for Africa’! Yinka, the pain is hard to bear, but the fruits of our lives together give me many reasons to be thankful.
Thank you for being an incredible husband, an amazing father and a loving grandfather. You have done well; Myself and the children are extremely proud of you. You have stood by us and fought for us in countless ways – providing, loving and being the sturdy reliable man that you have always been. You have stood strong till the end, and it is clear to see that you only left after you ensured that you left things in a good state.
Thank you for the many memories of a loving relationship. I think back about starting our married life together as a young couple – exploring places and growing up together. I remember lots of late night crawling - visiting our favorite beaches together, making plans for our family, and then the joys of settling down to nurture our young family. We have always been equally passionate about families and togetherness, so it was easy to respect and love your family, as you did same to mine. We were both fond of saying that, ‘let there be love in our families’, and we would fondly joke about how both our families together alone are enough crowd for a happy party!
Thank you for your diligent devotion to our children. You would always say that your children are your life’s investment, so all of your toil and labour was invested in their future. You extended this same care to our nephews and nieces – also encouraging them to aim high with their education and professional careers. You would often joke about how a first degree is only a first step, and so firmly supported their endeavors at professional qualifications, postgraduate studies and entrepreneurial accomplishments.
Thank you for providing a real life example of hard work and excellence. You proved yourself to be an expert in your chosen career. You loved your accounting profession with such passion. You made me proud to be the wife of a seasoned auditor with your brilliant work experiences at Nigerian Breweries, UTC, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Omega Bank and your own private practice at SYO Management services. You worked tirelessly and I can’t remember a day when you excused yourself from work or any official work duty. Even till these last days, you were ensuring that you delivered on your promises.
Thank you for being a praying husband. You loved and served God all of your life. You always explained how you appreciated priestly duties because you grew up with your uncle, Late Reverend Canon Ogunbanjo, and how that inspired you to commit to services as a lay reader within the Anglican Church. You would wake up early in the morning to study your Bible, and also nurtured a family that grew up praying together and so stayed together by praying together. I can see that God blessed your faithfulness, and also your final prayers of ensuring that you were among your family and loved ones at your final days.
I have many questions Yinka, and it is painful that we do not get to live our final dreams of retiring together to enjoy peaceful holidays together like we planned, but God knows best. Thank you my husband for everything – for being the love of my life and the father of our children and grand children. And I thank God that now you have gone to rest without anymore pains. So sleep on my dear husband and rest well in the boson of our creator. We love and miss you so much, but God loves you more.
Ma sun Olufe, Sun ko si ma sinmi; Gbe ori le aya olugbala re. A fe o sugbon Jesu fe o ju.
Sunre! Sunre! Sunre!
Adedotun Odunfa
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