Prince Tunji ADEOLA: A candle in the wind
By Taiwo Adeleye
Tunji , I was firmly lodged in the trauma of memory and rawness of current realities when I heard the shocking news of your untimely death.Though, nature never intended that all leaves must turn brown or yellow before they fall off the branches , nevertheless ,it is instructive that human life is opened to every trivial blast of daily or hourly circumstance , and that the web of our lives is of a mingled yarn good and ill together .
It is unfortunate that , most often , God does not accord us the privilege and opportunity of premonitory feelings, that a man’s life is at the brink or precipice , or his death is approaching with awful swiftness . In deed , this is a deflating reminder of the illusory nature of our cosmetic life : fluid , fast and foggy . A life full of inordinate plans , innumerable hopes and uncountable aspirations , regardless of omnipotence finality .Your death came like a dreaded disease ripping through the pores of a healthy body and ravaging it beyond repair . As you drown in the sea of eternity , we wailed for help into the passing wind , only to realise that in a flowing river , one cannot touch the same water twice . What a life of antithesis and complementary paradox !
As a friend , you were part of the eloquent history of my formative years , radiating so much zest in friendship and acquaintanceship . I recall the fond memories of our childhood days , our taunts and tantrums , our exuberance and prodigality , as well as our follies and foibles , as we played , danced , partied and exuberated in childish innocence .Your sociability and sense of humour in any human gathering was legendary , electrifying and second to non , where, in most cases , you commanded delightful and noticeable presence , creating an air and atmosphere of fun , laughter and conviviality , with jokes, jabs and jeers , relished by friends , foes and distant watchers .
As you lay stiff and lifeless Tunji , in nostalgia , I remember the naivity and rascality of our uninformed youth , both in our neighborhood at Odo Ese ; in our Primary School days at Saint Georges ; as well as in Messiah Secondary Modern School , Ijero Ekiti . I remember , sharing with me , miserly , part of your ‘Muke’ – food made of combination of beans , corn and some condiments , being sold to us by ‘Eye Oni Muke’ – Beans Seller, on the road leading to our primary school , in the morning . I remember the wranglings and disputations , the altercations and unnecessary virtuperations of those years that characterized our discussions , which usually cropped up after the school hours on our way home ; it was a time to settle scores and lay claims , an occasion to flex muscle and sound warnings by the giants in size; those who were blessed with bones to brawl , creating ripples and delicate balance of events; as well as creating an air of fear and fury, especially to frighten the ‘midgets’ and ‘diminutive’ lots among the students populace, without the prying eyes of the teachers . All these formed a euphoric and delightful experience which has been the characteristic nature of our social engineering that I still cherish till today.
In our sobriety and equanimous disposition , together we struggled for university admission .It was a period of academic interlude and educational interregnum , when gaining admission was tasking , herculean and problematic ; and realizing we had similar problem , we found solution to it within the same relevant frame of reference . While you went to Ife , I attended Ilorin . And sharing and relaying our personal or vicarious experiences from our different schools , during the holidays , was always fascinating and bewitching . It was a period to compare notes , using all forms of shenanigans to adumbrate , criticize and condemn , just to prove that one’s school was better than the rest in our juxtapositional assessment .That was the spirit of the time , as we whiled away time in idleness , with shattering clappings, deafening noise and uncoordinated arguments .
‘ Tunjeje’ as you were fondly called , each time we met , in your characteristically playful manner ,you would accuse me of not prefixing your name with ‘ brother ‘, to connote respect and asked me to prostrate to greet you in obeisance and submission , before you could shake hands with me . And any time I did , mockingly, you would laugh hysterically ,as you basked in the euphoria of such borrowed honour . Such was the depth of your playful heart without a dull moment.
In deed , we are bruised and battered , miffed and bleeding as we bear the brunt and unbearable pain of your loss , and also trapped in the nightmare of your memory . It is unfortunate that death had you on the brutal slab of destiny, and permitted its evil messengers to buffet you . It was an unexpected twist of fate we have accepted , that every iron must return to the furnace , and that , at a stage in life , tragedies do happen that will fracture the very foundation on which we stand and drain the strength of our existence . We also know that just like sex , extinction is an ineluctable part of life , the altimate fate of all species and not necessarily the lot of the unfortunate and i’ll – designed creatures . It is not a sign of failure or weakness.
As families , friends and well – wishers ruminate and cogitate over the reality of your sudden death , we have equally taken solace in the fact that , it is not the years in your life that counts , but the quality of life in your years . Even though we had thought you would live to comb your grey hairs , but , early enough , you lost the battle of life and worn the war of eternity. In the current state of sorrow, we have accepted the marriage of absurd and conjugal conspiracy of destiny and circumstance, in equanimity , believing that God is the author and finisher of our fate , that from Him we came , and to Him we shall return . However , It is our conviction that you still live with us because those we love don’t go away ; they walk beside us everyday ; unseen , unheard , unnoticed , but always very near !
TUJEJE , you are so Missed ! so Loved ! so very Dear !