In memory of a very good friend, Chief Olalekan Ogundimu

I write on behalf of the highly esteemed chiefs and good people of Oke-Ona Egba, my family and I, to say farewell to a bosom friend.  A friend that sticks more than a brother -Chief Olalekan Ogundimu the Akingbotun of Oke-Ona Egba, a Past District Governor ‘Plus’ of Rotary International District 9110  and the Chairman of Oke-Ona Egba Dynasty Trust Foundation, who slept in the Lord on the 20th of July, 2021  at the ripe age of 84 years. I am yet to come to terms with the fact that you are no more.  You were a bosom and dependable friend per excellence.  We have been together for almost seven decades, since 1952.   We were together as secondary school boys at the Abeokuta Grammar School and still met, studied and lived together at Higher levels in Dublin, Ireland.   We again came together and lived together in London and finally came back to Lagos and Abeokuta. You indeed became a part of my family and I.

You   were   indeed  a  true,   kind   and   selfless  human   being   with   a  peaceful disposition  to   life.      You   were   obviously  a  precious  gift   from   God   to humanity with  so  much  beauty, grace  and  love  to  radiate. Your  dedication  to life,        your   care   for   your    children  and   other    children  around  you   we r e exemplary  and  worthy  of  emulation.   Your   generous  smile,  jokes,  since r e advice and  kind  words   to  soothe all  troubled  nerves and  souls   around   you, including the scholarship awardees of the Oke-Ona Egba  Dynasty Trust Foundation, of   which    you   were   the   Chairman  until   death,  will   remain evergreen in our  memories. You   were   a  bundle  of   joy   and   inspiration  at   all   levels.    Your write-ups (books), wise   sayings and   outstretched  hands of  love and   friendship cannot be  quantified  nor   forgotten.    Your dedication  to   God   and   your  service  to humanity, especially in Oke-Ona Egba Dynasty Trust Foundation has  no comparison. You   have indeed impacted your generation  and  generations yet to  come.

Farewell my  very   good and   bosom friend.   Your friendship  was   a  blessing that   will  be  missed so  much.   We  shared so  many beautiful  memories.   You brightened up  my  days regularly .. You  relieved me  of  so  many   burdens. You brought me  so  much happiness,  joy  and  succor when highly needed, only  for you  to  be  carted away at  the  peak   of  all  these goodies, just   as  my  late  sister Rolayo Adebimpe Tejuoso was  also snatched away at  her  prime, on  the  30th of  December, 1965.  It was  difficult for  my  late mother to  forget both  of  you up  till the  time of  her  death on  Thursday, the  19th  of  September, 1996.    May the  great souls of  all  of  you, rest  in  perfect peace (R.I.P) Amen.

You   always lifted  up  my  spirit  whenever I  felt very   low.   No  matter  what was   happening,  you   knew  just   what   to   do.     You   were  such  a  good  man, always looking for  and  seeking out  what   is  best   in  others.   You were part and parcel of my family and I. More than a brother to me; you were always by my side, come rain come shine.   The good  times and the sad times, we had together,  from high school days to our golden and platinum ages.   You were virtually, the best friend I ever had and easily the best brother in-law I never had. God has taken you home at the time it pleases Him.  Now you and I must temporarily part to meet once again, later by the good grace of God, at the feet of our dear Lord, Master, Saviour and Friend, Jesus the Christ (Amen).

May  your  sweet and  gentle soul, rest  in  perfect peace (Amen). Alas! My  brother.

Adieu! Our  exemplary and  uncommon friend.

• Oba (Dr.) Adewale Tejuosho (M.A.; M.B.; CH.B; D.Sc.  (Honoris Causa) Oranmiyan, Karunwi III) is the Osile Oke-Ona Egba.