Akeredolu: Tribute To A Trusted And Courageous Friend In Death” Rotimi Akeredolu ‘AKETI’
By Mashood Erubami
My dear ‘Aketi’ Your friends and family are this time rallying around the dead body which you assumed prematurely.
We are not grieving for that, but for the good works that stopped as you left us far too soon.
You continues to live in our heart and conscience and shall keep the memory of your live while you are with us alive and will continue to cherish your activities and legacies left behind as a lawyer, a Distinguished professional, leader of leaders in the Bar Association, Governor and many contributions to the progress and development of humanity.
Losing a dear friend is the hardest and irreparable loss that one can encounter in life, especially given the vital roles you played in the social political and Pro- Democracy Organisation that brought us together – the Social Justice Movement, ( SJM) The essential contributions into the development of the Yoruba Nationality, Ondo State development as an Attorney General and Governor of the state.
You will forever be remembered for your role as ‘Baba Amotekun in Yoruba Land and a leading force in the establishment of a most effective counter insurgent force against the menacing insecurity that was pervading Yoruba land.
The very deep hole that you left in our hearts cannot easily be filled and one can feel how painful your exit will be to your blood and extended families.
When you were sick, we stood by and prayed fervently for your speedy recovery but it pleased God to take you from us. That was how far we could go and the most we could do. May your spirit live on forever in our hearts.
Today in your journey towards being laid beneath the mother Earth. I am seriously pained by remembering the bond that we shared together in the past, particularly in our Human Rights Group, the ‘Social Justice Movement’ ( SJM) under the prolific leadership of the erstwhile Editor of the Renowned Sunday Tribune, Compatriot Folu Olamiti.
Rotimi Akeredolu, your death is like torning a page out of the book of my life, a particular chapter on how we demonstrated courage against those whom we suspected set agenda for the underdevelopment of Nigeria, as manifested in our ceaseless bold press releases in the papers including news and interviews on the televisions.
Over the years, life and our different activism took us in different directions, careers, profession, families and responsibilities separated us until we met again in the All Progressives Congress, (APC), the first Nigeria Political Party with a successful Merger !
Your death has introduced a defeating silence that I cannot fathom but who am I to want to raise a voice beyond God’s,? In the midst of all these, I will focus on the legacies you left behind, that of joy, peaceful relationship and the fact that nobody will pronounce my first name ‘Mashood’ softly as you did while alive !
Goodbye my dear Aketi, your death and passage remind me that we have another struggle to wage for our people and that such struggle continues with victory being certain. Till we cross our path again, you will live in my heart, remembering every time and opportunities we have shared together. Adieu Aketi !