“From God we have come; to Him we shall return”
‘Leave of absence.’ Friends I won’t be around for the next few days. Thank you. – Prince Ayeni Adewole
Mystical death! Unknowingly, Prince was telling us in his last post on Facebook that he was going to a place where we’ll all meet to part no more! A very poetic imagination. Death is an existential mystery that human beings need to demystify. When death creeps in and saunters spontaneously to snatch a beloved one from a joyful family and friends, the family mourns; the friends wail; the admirers gnash teeth in an unending anguish. But in the dead, one has unloaded the agent of death as the dead one cannot be a victim of death anymore.
In the ethereal, the dead one becomes the extraterrestrial being to feel empathy for the living beings. As the dead one deconstructs death itself, Prince Adewole’s shortlived life reminds us that death is a necessary end, it will come when it will come. In the efforts of man to attain self-actualization, man struggles with worthlessness of life. In that struggle, we are also reminded that life is void, void is life in itself; and life is saturated with nothingness. The man-alive with wisdom will understand the futility of life and what it entails! We are daily romanticized and entangled with the nothingness of life.
It is profoundly shocking and sad to hear the news of the death of our social media father, uncle, and articulate savvy brother. Prince Ayeni Adewole was a social critic and unassuming political activist, and a man of undying faith. His distressing death few days ago is existentially instructive and painful to all of us.
Prince Ayeni Adewole’s was a meek man you will not love to hate. He never shied away from owning his mistakes inorder to correct them. Prince epitomized the dignity and respect a man should command. He was an outsized and tireless man who would discomfort himself for people’s satisfaction. He was a man who calls spade a spade and not minding what he tends to lose by nurturing his conscience with the truth.
I remember our last conversation, when he labeled me as “a man with the fiery and golden pen.” He asked after my family and admonished me to “please keep up the good job.” I felt honored and encouraged by his magnanimity. I vouch never to disappoint him, even in his death. Again, death should be demystified! Its power of myth is too scary for me to fathom!
In my last conversation with Prince, I never knew that was going to be my last chat with a man of the people. I had a lot of respect, love and admiration for the Prince of Ila. A lucky man who was born and grew up in a terrific town of Ila, Osun state. A state that gives humanity the definition of love, hard-work and respect! He fought and mobilized us for the emancipation of youth in Nigeria.
Uncle, your death stunned us like a stun gun; we will not question the Almighty God for reverently sanctioning your demise. It will amount to sacrilege if we do that but the dysfunctional healthcare system in our country-Nigeria shares from our agony and your untimely death. As you’re joining your totemic home to suffer no more, we celebrate your achievements as a man who cemented youth’s harmony on social media. Your posts on issues that burden Nigeria will be remembered for posterity in our collective consciousness! One of the good things we would remember Prince Adewole for was his unquenchable love for nature! Baba was a subsistence farmer and environmentalist who loved to camp under the Mongo tree, Banana tree and other fruity trees in his farms, and at the backyard.
My admonition to us all is to show love to others and remain unrepentant advocates of the less privileged and the disadvantaged people in the society. Those are the legacies we can live behind after our journey to eternal bliss or to the unknown. We are all borrowers of the space we’re currently occupying! How we embellish the space is what we will be remembered for! Anything short of these nuances are ephemerals and inconsequential to our peace and existence. Prince, as we morn your inconvenient demise, may Almighty God give your beloved family and friends you left behind the fortitude to bear your irreparable loss. To live in the hearts of those you left behind is not to die!
May God grant you blissful eternal life!
Goodnight, man of the people!
