He would have been sixty-four today. And the world would have felt again the benevolent hand of a man who just couldn’t stop giving. The earth would have received a criss-cross of well-wishers celebrating this enigma. His celebration is still on, demonstrating that even the grave has no powers over one who lived larger than life.
It’s not as though his giving was ever limited to his birthday, yet when he remembered in a special way, as he often did, the day God gave him life, always he showed the world that men of his ilk were very hard to find.
But, it’s all in the past tense now. Or, is it? Captain seems larger in death than in life. His outstretched hand to alleviate the sufferings of mankind and be a source to the needy is but one small part of this enigma who traversed earth for 63 years and left indelible footprints on the sands of time. The trappings of his existence, beyond the tangibility of his philanthropy resonate across continents and countries. He gave but did more than give.
Captain was a mentor.
Captain was an inspirer.
Captain was humane.
Captain was humorous
Captain was a true captain of industry.
Captain was a light.
Captain was a human being.
And often, he gave of himself, his passion, his class and his destiny to fill vacuums generations ahead.
Captain is a personal loss to me, I will not bore you here with the details of our affinity. My heart goes to all who miss him today, especially those who belong to the coterie of his home and the immediate existence which he supported. That immediate existence happened to be the whole wide world.
As Mark Anthony says about the great Julius Caesar in Shakespeare’s eponymous play, we say about our beloved Captain,
“Here was a Caesar,
When comes such another?”
There indeed was a Captain, when will another come. A Captain who seeks to unite, seeks to outdo, seeks the best for others. A Captain who is quick to apologise and fast to forgive. When will another come?
We celebrate you Captain Hosa Okunbor. In life or in the after life, we celebrate you. You have taken your final flight but you cannot escape our thoughts, our love and our refusal to let you go.
Your place in history is guaranteed just like your place in our hearts. Nothing can change that.
Rest in peace Captain Dr. Idahosa Wells Okunbo, JP
Kept in evergreen memory by,
▪︎Chief Owen Chamberlain Obaseki, JP
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