Lanre Asiwaju [January 28, 1964-May 1, 2024]: Adios, amigo, By Sufuyan Ojeifo

An English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, and would later become a cleric in the Church of England, John Donne (January 22, 1572 – March 31 1631) 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.”

The bell tolled for my friend and brother, Lanre Asiwaju, the one and only Larila, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. He had celebrated his 60th birthday on January 24, this year, and had always wished to strike 70 on this terra firma before exiting, discountenancing prayers for life to continue to face existential exertions beyond the Biblical three scores and ten years. But circumstances beyond his control conspired to frustrate the realization of his wish. The conspiracy manifested in the late diagnosis of liver cancer. Within a month of its implication as the cause of his unwellness, the monster accomplished its horrendous assignment. And, as Charity, his wife, said on Saturday when I paid her a condolence visit, “your friend could not even utilize the remaining ten years that would have taken him to age 70 he had always wished to spend here.”

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And to be sure, Lanre Asiwaju was not just any man. He approximated a quintessential benefactor, always wanting to support, to offer assistance, no matter how little it might be. He was, to the extent of being there for his friends, a large-hearted man, whose eleemosynary acts were always writ large. In 2022 when my second son wanted to undertake his one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme in the FCT, I mentioned it to him after I had succeeded in ensuring he was deployed in the FCT. Lanre Asiwaju retorted: “my friend, have you forgotten that my wife works in NYSC. Ask your son where he would like to do his primary assignment and I will beg my wife to help out.” That intervention was quite significantly accomplished, for which I remain eternally grateful to the Asiwajus. I recalled that intervention to Charity, Lanre Asiwaju’s wife, on Saturday and it was apparent she had even forgotten the good deed. How can I forget? I mentioned to my son on phone after leaving the residence of the Asiwajus in Kubwa, Abuja, the tragic transition of Lanre; and, he was quiet for some seconds before he could reply with the reassuring words: “It is well.”

In fact, Lanre’s sudden eternal flight on May 1, this year, did not only diminish me, a la John Donne, but it also left me in renewed contemplation about the essence of life. If the sum of life and times of everyone would one day reach a terminus and open a new chapter of re-examination of life’s journey by those left behind, then it would be worthwhile to assist posterity to have a better appreciation of the departed souls. It is only then that the departed can live in the hearts of those they have left behind. Lanre acquitted himself well in this regard and has perfectly fitted into the philosophical offering of a Scottish poet, Thomas Campbell (July 27, 1777-June 15, 1844), who once said: “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” In this context, Lanre Asiwaju has not died. He lives.

This act of living while there has been a transition to the hereafter was also made possible by Lanre Asiwaju’s decision to, as much as it was possible, try to affect his generation, family members, friends and associates positively. In keeping fidelity to that self-imposed task, he must have been motivated by the postulation of a prominent French-American Quaker missionary, Etienne de Grellet: “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.”

Charity validated this truth about Lanre in a Facebook post on his 60th birthday on January 28, 2024. Read her: You do so much for our family. So today is all about you! Happy birthday to the best husband in the entire world.” Others have one good thing or another to say about the fact that Lanre Asiwaju was good-natured. On countless occasions, especially during the last general election, he took upon himself the task of peer-reviewing our reports in THE CONCLAVE. He followed our political reports religiously, making observations and, sometimes, magisterial assertions like: “don’t mind the opposition, won ma lu le last, last” meaning that (the opposition would fail or fall in the long run.” He was a member of the All Progressives Congress. He stuck out his neck for the party. He was a staunch supporter of Bola Tinubu. He had a network of politician friends. He offered to set up for me a series of interview meetings with many of them across the country. He seemed to have one or two in every state of the federation. But I did not keep a tab on him in that regard as I also had my own network of politician friends and contacts that I was not able to adequately service in terms of touching base with them at that intersection.

Immediately after Charity sent me a test to inform me of Lanre’s passage, I rushed to his Facebook page to read what comments were trending there. I saw a comment by Wale Adedayo, which appeared to be in pari materia with a post I would have made on his Facebook page were I to make one. Read Wale Adedayo: “I knew him as the Amuludun of Kubwa, Abuja through my cousin, Mukaila Sikiru. He was the go-to political operative, who knew all the political conditions in Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT. But he was APC. APC was his DNA. And his blood group would have been nothing but Bola Tinubu.

“Soft-spoken with the usual air of self-confidence around men bred in Isale Eko, a first time observer would have had no doubt that despite his Ibadan parentage, Asiwaju Lanre was a ‘Lagos boy’. He loved his drinks. He loved company. And friends, plenty! Ever ready to share experiences and contacts, he would go the extra length to show you what could be done and those things that are impossible.

“Baba Oloye informed me about your passage to the other side this afternoon. Interestingly enough, we have discussed this severally, knowing full well that we cannot escape from it. May Allah (SWT) forgive your sins and grant your soul a peaceful repose. Amin!”

Olusesan Adabonyan, a nephew of Lanre Asiwaju, wrote: “It’s just too tough to handle your exit. As I watched you helplessly knowing it’s goodbye. What did I miss that could have prevented this disaster? You were vibrant at your mom’s 80th birthday on Jan 6, (2024). We had a lively chat on Feb 23. And next? It shouldn’t be me writing this. I have accepted what happened. And as I told you at the last hour, I will always love you, even in death. May your soul rest in perfect peace, Amen. Goodbye my dear nephew, Goodbye my dear friend. It’s goodbye Lanre…”

It is worth mentioning that Lanre Asiwaju, whom I had the privilege of knowing through Alhaji Kehinde Olaosebikan, who was the Regional Editor [North]  of Vanguard in Abuja at the time I was the Deputy Bureau Editor circa 1996, had the good fortune of having some of his good friends (including Kehinde Olaosebikan) with him in the hospital when he died. I would have been there if I had been apprised of the fact of his hospitalization. Fare thee well, my friend and brother, Larila! May the Almighty God rest your beautiful soul in His Bosom.

May the Lord keep Charity, the children and grandchildren that you left behind. I advised Sadiq, your son, to stand strong for his mother and his siblings. Larila, you need to read Charity’s message that is trending on Facebook: “May your soul rest in peace, my love. Will really miss you.”

Adios, amigo!