We have been going through a season of weeping in Nigeria on all fronts but most especially because of the Corona virus pandemic. In the past year, we have lost friends, colleagues and associates. And now COVID-19 has struck again with the loss of my younger brother, Bolusanmi Adegboyega Akin-Olugbade.
Whereas I was born when my Dad was a clerk in the colonial treasury department (now the Ministry of Finance), Bolu was born after Dad had travelled to the UK and qualified as a Barrister-at-Law, hence the seeming wide gap in our ages. But you could not make out the difference because Bolu was a tall, fearless man who knew early in life what he wanted in this life, and pursued it with rugged determination.
I was with my mom when he was born on April 2nd, 1956. Indeed, I was present when he received the LL.B degree at the Royal Albert Hall, London from the Queen Mother in 1978. I was present when he got married to his heartthrob, the beautiful damsel, Ladunni Moore at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina in December, 1980. And when they had their first child, Bade in Cambridge, England in 1981, I was present at the naming ceremony. When Bolu bagged his Ph.D degree in law from Cambridge University in 1985, my late mother and I attended the convocation ceremony. And when his Royal Majesty, the Olowu of Owu Kingdom, Oba Dr. Adegboyega Olusanya Dosunmu conferred the Aare Ona Kakanfo title on Bolusanmi Adegboyega in October 2009, I was the Head of the Akin-Olugbade Royal family at the ceremony.
But I will not be at Bolu’s funeral. God has a season, sequence and structure for all his creation. Only God knows the timing of the seasons of our lives. Yes, this is the season of weeping but the Holy Bible teaches us that those that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Bolu defied the demons and the merchants of evil and broke the shackles that constrained him. I saw the video from the hospital, they asked him if he wanted to end it, and he said, YES. He was no longer concerned with longevity, wealth or fame. He found his release in Christ alone. He is free at last. He has made peace with his friends and foes alike. Most of all, Bolu made peace with God.
The AKIN-OLUGBADE family is still in mourning but we are deeply grateful to God for the life and legacies of Bolusanmi Adegboyega Akin-Olugbade. We are also very grateful to family, friends and well-wishers from Nigeria and all over the world who have commiserated with us on our loss and have shared in our griefs and pain especially the Reverend Dr. S.A Fegbemi and the church family at the First Baptist Church, Lagos.
Through all the changing scenes and vicissitudes of life, our faith remains unshaken in God who is our refuge and our hope for years to come.
May the soul of Bolusanmi Adegboyga Akin-Olugbade rest in peace and may light perpetual shine on him. May the God of all comfort grant succour to Ladunni, Bade, Dademi and Babatunde. And may God, in his infinite mercy uphold, sustain and lift up the entire Akin-Olugbade family at home and abroad. In all things, we give thanks to God almighty!
Omo Oba Olusunmade Akin-Olugbade, B.Sc, MBA, DCFS
HEAD OF AKIN-OLUGBADE FAMILY
