‘An unusual thing she did at her last meeting before death’
How her death will affect commerce in Ikenne
A comic way a local journalist announced her death
AS expected, the expansive home of the Awolowos in Ikenne, Ogun State, has in the last one week been a boisterous spectrum of excitement. Indeed, since the matriarch, Chief Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo, breathed her last at the age of 99, last Saturday, the home has been playing host to a long stream of the low and the mighty, who have been paying their last respect to a woman of many parts and a woman who, like her legendary husband, had tremendously affected her world.
As the tradition holds in Yorubaland where the very aged are celebrated rather than mourned at death, it has been eulogies and praises galore by all and sundry, celebrating the glorious exit of a woman famously described by the her legendary husband as ‘my jewel of inestimable value’.
Ibadan beggars throng Ikenne to show last respect
Even the most scorned of the society, the beggars, have refused to be outdone in the orgy of the celebration of a glorious passage. They came from as far as Ibadan, Oyo State, to pay their respect to a woman they all called Mama.
As they sat at the main gate, while also soliciting alms from the people, they told The Nation that they knew HID Awolowo in Ibadan. “We came from Ibadan after we heard that had died. We knew her at Imalefelafia in Ibadan, where the Nigerian Tribune has its head office, and she was a good woman. An interesting feature at the entrance of the deceased’s house was the presence of some beggars who claimed to have travelled to the community from Ibadan.
“We had known Mama for close to two decades as a loving and caring woman. She treated us as her children all through the years. This is why we deemed it necessary to come all the way from Ibadan on a condolence visit to the house. We are actually no strangers to the wives of many past and present governors, especially here in the South West. They treat us like their children, “one of the beggars told The Nation.
Editor, Baba West’s own way of announcing Mama’s death
Meanwhile, in the middle of the town, a local journalist, Baba West, found a beautiful and ingenious way to practise his trade. But, in place of pen, paper or computer, all Baba West needed was a piece of chalk and a blackboard. Written boldly in flowery Yoruba language, was the story of the death of HID Awolowo. And at the end of the story, it was signed off as ‘Editor, Baba West’.
While efforts to trace Baba West did not succeed, a neighbour described him as the information officer of the neighbourhood. “The editor also handles advertisement for traders by typing and pasting information about their businesses on conspicuous places in the community. That is his own creation and some people identify with him,” the neighbour said.
The HID Awolowo story, by octogenarian nephews
At the family home of the late HID Awolowo at Itunkija, the surviving eldest person in the family, Pa Sunday Akintayo, an 84-year-old nephew of the deceased, popularly known as Dagama, told The Nation stories of the youthful days he shared with the late HID Awolowo.
Though it had been four days since her death, Pa Akintayo still finds it hard to believe. According to him, it was hard for him to believe, because she passed on less than one hour after he left her, having just been part of a family meeting.
“Mama was the head of our family, while I am the deputy. We hold meetings regularly, and on Saturday, we were there for the meeting. We discussed so many things, including her 100th birthday. When it was time to pick the aso ebi that we would use, it was mama that chose the one that everybody would use. I left after the meeting, but soon after, even before I got home, I was called that she had died.”
Speaking further, Pa Akintayo said: “We all lived together in this family house before she got married. She was the one who brought me up. She really loved and cared so much for me. At a point in time, I went to Lagos State to take up a job. After a while, I came back to the community and sought to take up a job at the local council, but she chose to get me engaged. She asked me to be spending some time in the house. I accepted and always went to pass the night in the house with her. I have done that for the past 30 years.
“She facilitated a meeting of our immediate family members so that we could get to know ourselves and also discuss pertinent issues. We always held the meeting every third Saturday of each month. The Saturday she died was the meeting day for the month. I had the premonition that something was amiss when the meeting was about to start. Before that day, Mama would always make us wait till every member was present before we would start. But on that very day, she said we should start the meeting when only four of us were around. When I asked why, she said the other members would join us wherever they met us. The decision triggered some suspicion in me, but I couldn’t say anything further because we had important issues to discuss.
“Top on the list of our discussion was her 100th birthday celebration. We discussed cloth to wear and after so much deliberation, Mama chose a particular aso oke and we all agreed to it. We concluded the meeting on a very high and cheerful note, looking forward to carrying out all the plans we had mapped out for the celebration.
When I left Mama’s house around 1:00pm, I decided to attend to some personal issues before going home. I had hardly finished what I went to do when I received a call informing me that she was dead. It was really shocking because we had just held a meeting together where we planned for her birthday. The news though shocking confirmed my suspicion when she started the meeting unusually.”
The late HID Awolowo, according to Pa Akintayo, was more spiritual than many people knew.
“There are some many things about Mama that were not known to many people out there. One of this was that, as a business woman, she would always not collect money from her debtors on a Sunday because of her Christian belief that the day is strictly for service to God. She was always telling her debtors to bring the money the following day (Monday). Unfortunately, the debtors started abusing the opportunity. At that point, she decided to get somebody that would always collect it from them whenever they brought it on Sundays, but she never personally for once collected money from any debtor on a Sunday.
“Another thing that many were oblivious of about her was the depth of her spirituality and belief in God. There was a time that a boy in the community had a deep wound and was being taken to different places for treatment, but to no avail. When Mama learnt about it, she said they should not apply anything to it again and that the boy should be brought to her. When the boy was taken to her, she prayed over a bottle of anointing oil and started rubbing it on the wound. We didn’t take her action seriously because it appeared like chasing the shadows. To our surprise, the wound that defied treatment healed up after some time.
“She loved taking pap and always loved to eat fresh soup. She would not touch any soup, no matter how sweet, if it was a leftover from the previous day. She had always been a kind-hearted person from her childhood days. She was like a magnet that pulled the whole family together before she got married and after she got married. If there were family issues to be resolved and you go to her house to table it, she would tell us to converge at her mother’s house, where all of us would have the time to sit and discuss at length without distractions that would ordinarily happen if the meeting held at her home house because of the huge number of visitors that were always visiting her.
“We would really miss her, because she was the light of the family and the Ikenne community as a whole. My regret is that she didn’t live to fulfill the promise she made to me. She promised to give me money to start a business after I suffered serious injury that made it difficult for me to work or do any strenuous task. She had assured me that she would set up a business for me, but that hope has been dashed by her death.
“I will also miss the opportunity of seeing and meeting prominent Nigerians now that she is dead. When her son, Wole, was alive, he took me to notable places where I had the opportunity of meeting the late Ooni of Ife, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and many others. In the course of staying in Mama’s house, I also saw and met many notable Nigerians. All of that will not be possible again as I would have to return to my rural life.”
80-year-old Pa Olanipekun Awodipe is another close relation of the deceased, who death may have robbed of a big opportunity of being related to an Awolowo. He too was present at the last public function the late HID held-the family meeting.
He said: “Mama took the family meeting very seriously. She was always present at all the meetings. To tell you how much she cherished the meeting, on one occasion, she pleaded with us to do everything possible to make sure it continues to hold, even after her death. For her, Christian and family gatherings are important because, according to her, they help to shape and further the peace of the society. She believed and insisted that the meeting was necessary, because it would help family members to know one another and work for common good of all.”
The house first occupied by the Awolowos after marriage
A few distance away from the house where HID spent her childhood was the home where she and her husband, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, first lived as husband and wife.
Though a modest bungalow, but it must have ranked among the best in the neighbourhood at the time of their marriage. The new occupant of the room and parlour apartment the Awolowos first stayed, 78-year-old Madam Stella Okunuga, who claims to be a relation of Chief Awolowo, said she is proud to occupy the room where the ‘great Awolowo’ once lived.
Speaking on HID Awolowo, Madam Okunuga described the late HID as a rare and exceptional woman. According to her, “She was an exceptional woman in the sense that she didn’t discriminate between her family members and the in-laws. She knew everybody’s name
and always greeted and related with everybody with respect. People always perceive us as important people in the society for the fact that Baba (Chief Awolowo) once lived here and also because we are his relations. It does give us a deep sense of joy to be accorded such respect in the community. It is a rare privilege and we are happy about it.”
The HID we knew, by in-law, retired Appeal Court judge Madam Funmilayo Adegbenro is the daughter of the late deputy leader of Action Group and successor to Chief Obafemi Awolowo as Premier of Western Region, Dauda Adegbenro.
Aside from the two families’ political ties, Madam Adegbenro’s first son is married to Awolowo’s granddaughter. She spoke of HID, both as a mother and as an in-law.
“I am an in-law to the deceased’s family. But before we became in-laws, my father and the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo were friends and political associates. My father, back then, was his deputy. Mama was like a mother to us all those years, and at a point in time, we lived together.
“Incidentally, we never knew that we would move from being family friends and political associates to becoming in-laws. When our children came to inform us in 1986 that they were getting married, we were shocked, and wondered how they came about the plan. We were very happy about it because it fostered the relationship between the two families.
“Mama was a very religious person. She loved and served God with all her energy. She was also vibrant in social and political matters after the husband died. She did not only sustain his legacies, she took them to higher heights. Any person that knew her well would wish she could live longer than she did. All, the same, we are very happy with the good and exemplary life she lived.”
83-year-old Justice Onalaja Omotayo Morounkeji is a retired judge of the Court of Appeal. As a lawyer, the judge still holds fond memories of being the lawyer that signed the contract of the construction of Cocoa House, the first sky scrapper in the Western Region.
He said: “Mama was the ‘godmother’ of my daughter and was a bosom friend of my great mother in-law. I was the solicitor to WNTV and also signed the agreement for the building of Cocoa House at Dugbe, in Ibadan. That is to tell you my relationship and closeness to the family. The Awo family is a gift to the country, particularly the Yoruba race. The union was a combination of a great man who had great vision and a brilliant
woman who shared his vision and preserved it till she also died. We would sincerely miss her contribution and role in every area of human endevours”.
‘How HID saved my marriage’
Aside from relations and close associates, even the neighbours are not left out of the long tales of how they would miss HID. Margaret’s house is located directly opposite the Awolowos’. At 60, she told The Nation that she had known HID Awolowo and her illustrious family for the better of her life.
Though she holds several fond memories of her relationship with HID, the fondest, perhaps, would be the lesson she taught her about how to live a happy life with her spouse.“My husband was an ‘old soldier’. And we were both young at the time, so we had several quarrels. But whenever we had a fight, Mama would call me and advised me. She told me that it was important that I respect my husband, that no matter how successful a woman is, she needs to honour her husband. That advice really helped to sustain my home.”
She further said: “I had known Mama for over 60 years. She was a woman of uncommon love and generousity, especially to the poor masses. In spite of the height she and Baba Awolowo attained nationally and internationally, they remained very humble and related with the common people in the community as if they were of the same status. Simply put, they were egalitarian to the core.
“When Baba Awolowo was alive, his doors were always open to all. Our children used to go there every morning to join him to do physical exercises. At times, he would come out to watch the children play football and immediately, they scored, you would see Baba shouting ‘goal’, without minding that they boys were just local people that were merely enjoying themselves. He would walk down the whole street every morning to check if any part was dirty and the moment he found any to be dirty, he would instruct his gardeners and cleaners to clean the place.
“All that did not stop after he died as Mama took the good gestures to the next level. She would always make sure that every member of the community had unhindered access to water supply. The gates were always opened for everyone to enter and fetch water. Not many people of their status would so open their gates for every Tom, Dick and Harry to enter and fetch water.
“She started a Christian house fellowship that made it possible for everybody in the community that wished to deepen his or her relationship with God to attend. The prayer group is called Egbe Imole Fellowship. She started it about 10 years ago, and it really enhanced our unity and closeness to God in the community. She played a crucial role in the survival of my marriage till date. Each time my husband and I had issues, she would call us and settle the matter. She would specifically take time to lecture me on the importance of living peacefully with one’s husband. She would share her life experience with me and give me every reason to keep my home intact.
“We would really miss her because she was a rallying point for the community. If it were possible, we would have wished she remained alive to continue to help the community. Her exit has obviously created a vacuum that nobody we know can fill.
“Aside from spiritual matters, I want you to know that my presence in the community as a trader over the years was made possible because of her. This is because of the large number of visitors that always visited her. Each time they came, they would always have reasons to patronise us, thus making our business to grow.
“Now that she is gone, those visitors would cease to come and that would make our business to nose-dive. We appear to be making our last bumper sales right now. We would most likely have to look for another means of livelihood after her burial as the number of visitors coming to their house would automatically thin out.”
