Captain ‘Hosa Okunbo: The tears have refused to cease a year after, By Sufuyan Ojeifo

Before the eternal eclipse of the luminous light that he typified in the epoch that he straddled, I had begun to shed tears in episodic bursts for my big brother, Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo (aka Captain ‘Hosa), when, sometime in early October 2020, he sent me a short, shattering message via WhatsApp about the outcome of his medicals in London: “My brother, Ojeifo, I am in London to see my doctors after my long stay in Nigeria because of the COVID lockdown and other issues. I noticed I have lost weight in recent times. After the medical examinations, my doctors diagnosed me with pancreatic and liver cancer. I need your prayers.” I actually prayed and I still believe that a multitude did the same. It was not that God did not hear our prayers; he heard us but chose not to answer them in the way we wanted. God simply said to us that his time was up. Obligatory Godiya! Who are we to question God?

The tears that I shed on Sunday, August 8, 2021 when the news of his passing hit me like a thunderbolt were expressive of the cumulative pains and emotions that had weighed me down consequent upon receipt of his message that painfully contextualized the magnitude of the battle he was up against for survival particularly when medical prognosis painted a hopeless and grim picture of what to expect. I doubt if there was anyone in the tribe of men and women who had benefitted from Captain Hosa’s friendship and charity, who was not shattered by his health issues and eventual transformation.

I feel pained to write about death in relation to Captain ‘Hosa, the inimitable guardian Angel. And, beyond being a guardian Angel to many people, he was an Angel in human form. For me, Captain ‘Hosa did not die. He lives forever in my heart and the hearts of others whose lives he positively touched within the span of his 63-year voyage on earth. The Benin-born billionaire businessman deployed the instrumentality of his charitable works to build bridges of brotherhood and to deepen understanding and appreciation of being and the human condition- how they could be enhanced for utilitarian benefit of society. He reached out to both the rich and the poor, demystifying some myths and deconstructing some constructs. That made Captain ‘Hosa a phenomenal being whom, because of personal interest, some of us believe should have lived forever, if it was possible. This is the more reason I always deploy synonyms of death to capture his fatality after his about eleven to twelve months’ titanic battle with cancer because it is painful to come to terms with the reality of his transformation.

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Captain ‘Hosa’s life and times produced a multiplicity of great experiences in socio-economic and peripheral political interactions, verging fundamentally on supports for the self, the significant others and the larger society. He realized that Nigeria invested so much in him and he decided to give back, as much as he could, to country. In the vast flourish of his business, Captain ‘Hosa was enamoured by his triple assumptions of conquering the air as a pilot (and owner of jets with which he set up his Gyro Air, a private jet charter company); of conquering the sea with ownership of 52 vessels for crude oil movement and security (under the superintendence of Ocean Marine Solutions); and of conquering the land with his multi-billion-naira Wells Hosa Greenhouse Farm in Benin where his remains are interred in his mausoleum. But in a private conversation with me, he had revised his third assumption about conquering the land when he philosophized about man’s incapacity to conquer the land, after all, since eventually man would be buried six feet deep in its bowels.

That was how brilliant, interrogative, philosophical and adventurous Captain ‘Hosa was. To boot, he was very wealthy, no doubt, but was also extremely humble about it. In fact, he might have had the wealth of Croesus, the last King of Lydia, who reigned from C.560-546 and was renowned for his great wealth; but, he did not splash it with the sybaritic indulgence of Adnan Khashoggi, the Saudi businessman who was known for his lavish business deals and lifestyle. Khashoggi who was born on July 25, 1935 in Mecca, died on June 6, 2017. Captain ‘Hosa deployed his wealth in providing value additions in his many entrepreneurial enterprises as well as in the service of man and God. He knew how to touch base with his friends, both the rich and the not-too-privileged ones, ministering to their needs.

I miss Captain ‘Hosa every day. I was a beneficiary of his eleemosynary acts. So many others were. I will not tire to reference his unique WhatsApp message to me in June 2019. It was a lengthy message wherein he alluded to how good I had been to him with my consistent solid media supports and projections, which I always offered pro bono. He had given me a carte blanche to reach out to him anytime I had financial burden, with a promise that he would take the burden off me. I did not take advantage of that offer. He apparently realized that I was somewhat shy to trouble him. He thus summoned his discretion to kick in by reaching out to me periodically with incredible interventions that ensured I enjoyed financial comfort.

All that has since stopped with his transformation; and, for which reason the tears have refused to cease. Existential financial pressures constantly remind me of Captain ‘Hosa, whose generosity was phenomenal. He was just incredible in his kind-heartedness. I still wonder if what he said I did for him in the media was really worth both the quantity and quality of his appreciation.

And now, let me engage with Cappi: My angelic big brother, I thank you for your affection, recognition and approbation of my person and my writing craft. Even after that grim diagnosis in London, you gave me the privilege of writing your last press release with which you reacted to some satanic reports containing some salacious lines and innuendos about your health issues at the end of the 2020 Edo governorship election in which you declared your support for your friend and brother, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. I remember how excited you were when you called to speak with me on how well-written the statement was and how succinctly it captured the message you wanted to put out in the public domain. Just as you promised me before you embarked on the London journey that you would buy me a golden pen, you still repeated the promise, an indication that you had great faith that you would defeat the cancer scourge and return home triumphantly.

But unfortunately, the Almighty God said it was time up, after He gave you the opportunity on your hospital bed to reconcile with Him and to put your house and business in order for posterity. Many people in your class hardly get that kind of opportunity to make peace with their Creator. I appreciate the Biblical messages you sent to me every day, which validated your newfound relationship with Jesus Christ, and your acknowledgment of daily prayers that I sent to you. You live in my heart; you never die, Captain; whereas your transformation is indeed a great physical loss, causing ceaseless flow of tears. I join your family members in prayers for your soul to continue to rest in the Bosom of your Creator. Sleep well, my big brother.

● Sufuyan Ojeifo contributed this piece from Abuja via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com