Date: 2020-07-25

Three deaths, which really came close home, in 4 days, is an agonising development.

The death yesterday of my former Kwara state cabinet colleague, Dr. Femi Ogunsola, capped a harvest of death in less than one week.

The phenomenal death spree first came calling on Tuesday with the passing away of Mallam Isma'ila Isa. He died in an Abuja hospital reportedly of heart attack. He was a father figure and mentor of immense weight. I'm yet to gather the strength to finish a tribute on him.

As Mallam Isma'ila was being buried, a bosom friend and former school mate, Yunusa Yusuf was dropping dead- again of heart attack- in Offa.

The stealthy deadly snatcher chose yesterday, my birthday, to strike again. Ebullient Dr. Femi Ogunshola died in a hospital in Abuja

When rumours of Dr. Ogunshola's death first filtered out , I made straight to confirm from the only source I knew would be most credible: Sen. Lola Ashiru.

Sen. Ashiru had called and sang a birthday song to me around 11 am. I reasoned that he won't do that if his greatest ally and confidant, Dr. Ogunshola was in mortal danger.

I was wrong. Amidst sobs, Sen. Ashiru's aide confirmed the "rumour " to be true. As I later learnt, the Senator had made the birthday call to me immediately he left Dr. Ogunshola in the hospital, only to be informed his man was gone a few hours later.

We didn't always agree politically on everything but Dr. Ogunshola was a honest and courageous politician and stakeholder. He was commissioner for Education when I was in Information ministry in the first-term cabinet of Gov. Bukola Saraki. He was very active in the cabinet and most cerebral in his contributions at state executive council meetings.

Dr. Ogunshola's image loomed large not because of his massive body frame but because of his intellectual accomplishments and political pedigree. In the cabinet, he was the nice face of the Oloye caucus while a few of us were tagged as Buki caucus. We didn't bond well politically but there was no animosity.

Dr. Ogunshola radiated confidence and maturity. And he was straight in his political dealings.

You cannot speak about Arch. Ashiru's barnstorming Senatorial campaign in 2018/2019 without acknowledging the pivotal efforts of Dr. Ogunshola. You would think he was the one running for the Senate.

I'm one of the closest associates of Sen. Ashiru( dating back to two decades) but there was no doubt that Dr. Ogunsola was the Senator's alter ego. But he was always blunt with the senator. Whenever there was any issue he differed with the senator on and he thought such was detrimental to the interests of the senator, he would tell me: "O je lo ba Ore re soro ( you better go and talk sense to your friend)."

Most of the times that Dr. Ogunshola and I met the past one and a half year, it was at Ashiru' s home in Abuja or Ilorin or the constituency office in Ajassepo. But we also met twice in my house in Ilorin in the company of the senator.

The last time I met him was about three weeks ago in Ashiru's house in Ilorin. The senator had called late night to invite me to come and see my "friends"in his house. . Dr. Ogunsola was one of them and he said he waited just for me to see him. He left me there and that was the last time we saw and spoke.

What an irony: just as I was searching for relevant photographs of Mallam Isma'ila for an obituary I was preparing for the international Press institute ( IPI), I came across different photographs of myself and Dr. Ogunsola when we were in the Kwara cabinet. I was planning to post them in one of the social media platforms we both belong to. Sadly, even if I still do , he can't see them. Dr. Ogunsola made a great impact at state and federal levels. He will be fondly remembered as a patriot, a good man with a lion's heart.

Adieu, my dear brother.