Remembering a meteor    

WILLIAM Shakespeare once said: “when beggars die, there are no coments seen; heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.”

The rude exit of Mr Sam Akerele, astute aviator and former scribe of frontline aviation industry pressure group, Aviation Round Table (ART), on May 22, 2018, came like a whirlwind rumbling in the forest. It was one death that took the nation’s aviation sector by rude surprise.

Talk about a selfless generation of men who worked selflessly for the lifting of the nation’s aviation sector, Akerele stood among the likes of Captain Dele Ore, Dr Harold Demuren, Group Captain John Ojikutu, Engineers Babatunde Obadofin, K K O Sagoe, among others, to do the yeoman’s job that bequeath a legacy that continues to shape the industry to date.

These men were resolute, resourceful, diligent as determined to lay their lives for the development of the aviation sector in Nigeria. They gave their all for a country that seems to have resolved never to honour the up and doing in the direction of raising standards in our national agencies.

Akerele was Oklahoma, United State of America trained private pilot, air traffic controller and procedural expert, who led a team of other colleagues that fixed the aerial technology that today facilitates safe flights into the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, in Abuja.

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But here was Sam, who dared death so many times and came out unscathed, climbed so swiftly unto the world beyond seven years ago, leaving his wife, Titilayo, friends and associates in a surge of anguish.

Sam Owolabi Akerele, a great, strong, enigmatic, principled man of vigour and courage, with a soul soaked in affection and love for equity, justice and fair play, thus departed this world, leaving all admirers in seemingly unending pains.

At the tally of his seventh year in the world beyond, the family has decided to make this day a moment of solemn reflections on the seemingly brief but very impactful life of Sam Akerele, a man who came from the remote village of Ekiti (Ayede Ekiti), but was able to make global marks through dint of hard work, driven by diligence and resourcefulness.

According to the wife: “The life was to us very short but we take solace in the very fruitful and impactful effects. I also thank God for the lives of the very resourceful children he left behind, who are all making positive waves in their chosen careers across the globe. That is our joy; the sunshine so strong that has illuminated every dark spot and replace them with shines.”