A Tribute: And my friend and brother, ‘Yinka Jones, takes the final flight, By Sufuyan Ojeifo

“To live in hearts, we leave behind is not to die.”- Thomas Campbell (1777-1844).

Scottish poet, Thomas Campbell, could not have put the universal truism, supra, about dying and subsequently living in the hearts of people left behind more succinctly. Although, someone once posited that there is no question that loss changes us profoundly and permanently; yet death does not end relationships. I am consensus ad idem with this rationalization.

Death does not end relationships. It, however, diminishes mankind as poignantly conjectured by an English poet, scholar, soldier and cleric, John Donne, who once said: “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

My friend and brother, ‘Yinka Jones Ilesanmi’s death, nay transformation has, without a doubt, diminished us and our fraternity that was birthed in the ancient city of Owo in Ondo State; sacrificially nurtured in that idyllic ambience and sustained through the eon that has defined our respective voyages.

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Growing up in Owo, we had all embraced some quotidian pastimes that somewhat significantly touched our fancies and to which we often now refer in our conversations around existential reflections. But now, death has upended such hilarious conversational drifts with ‘Yinka Jones Ilesanmi who answered the final call on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.

But in ‘Yinka Jones Ilesanmi’s life and death, there are lessons to learn. The most significant lesson is captured in the eternal quote of Etienne De Grellet, a prominent French-American Quaker missionary who once declared: “I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

‘Yinka Jones Ilesanmi did exactly that. He was always there for family members, friends and those whose paths crossed his. He gave true meaning to friendship. He was a man of peace with an infectious smile. He would always share with me any nerve-wracking experience in the course of his service to country as an operative of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), where he rose through the ranks to the position of Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC). Sadly, his further upward mobility in the service has now reached a fatal terminus. ‘Yinka succumbed to the scourge of cancer while in the service of the nation.

A gentleman to the core, ‘Yinka Jones Ilesanmi played a significant role in unifying us, his friends, during our formative years in Owo. He was a rallying point of sorts and because of him, members of our cohort of friends found it easy to connect and reconnect after personal disagreements. He was a conciliator par excellence. His disarming mien was always writ large. His Yoruba refrain- “paddy mi” meaning “my pal” on such occasions was always deployed in calming frayed nerves. Besides, he made it a point of duty to touch base with his friends. Always full of life, he went around with a bagful of humours.

‘Yinka had played his part and taken a heroic bow off the stage in validation of William Shakespeare’s philosophical submission, to wit: “All the world is a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.”

Since every man’s life carries an expiry date, what can we then do or what else can we then say other than “Godiya to the Almighty God for the gift of life” and to appreciate Him still for the inevitability of death- a pathway back to Him, who is our Creator? We prayed. We did all that was humanly possible to deflect fatality, but the Almighty God said time was up for ‘Yinka Jones Ilesanmi. Therefore, tears cannot bring ‘Yinka back. Yet they (tears) keep coming in episodic courses. Yes, tears continue to fall, but I know it is well with our debonair ‘Yinka. This is not an eternal farewell because there will be a convergence on the resurrection morning.

On behalf of our cohort of friends, I thank the Almighty God for giving ‘Yinka Jones Ilesanmi to us; and he came; he saw; and he conquered. May He also be praised for taking him back in a glorious final flight.

As family members, friends and his very many significant others in Igbole-Ekiti, his ancestral home town, come together today (Friday, April 1, 2022, I wish it were really and truly a Fools’ Day) to inter the remains of this great soul,  I confess that I will sorely miss “Yinkus”, my inimitable gist partner. But I will not tire to say: “it is well.” Sleep well my friend and brother.

▪︎ Sufuyan Ojeifo contributed this tribute via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com