There are moments of joy and of sadness in a man’s sojourn on earth. In otherwords, life is a continuous struggle. One of the tragic moments recorded in history is the one described by the late Fidel Castro of Cuba over the Fulgencio Batista’s coup in Cuba of 1952. Fidel Castro, a famous revolutionary of his time expressed a deep opinion over the sudden turn of events in Cuba when a right wing coup was staged by Batista and Cuba had to battle with right wing extremism. It was an event that had propelled Fidel Castro in launching the famous Cuba revolution that brought Communism near the shores of America and that ignited a people’s revolt against attempts by some Capitalist Cubans in arresting the steady movements of Cuba into militant progressive rule.
Fidel Castro had said the following:- “There is nothing as bitter in this world as the spectacle of a people who go to bed free but awoken in slavery”. That was how Fidel Castro saw the right wing coup of Batista in Cuba. I say this arising from Fidel Castro’s words “There can be nothing as bitter in this world as the spectacle of a friend being unable to pay his last respects to a friend of his who has been pronounced dead”.
I am so sorry today to express the fact that because of ill-health, I am unable to pay my last respects to my friend of over forty-five years (Sola Dada) who will be conveyed to mother earth today in his home town. Sola Dada will be buried in his home town Aiyede in Ekiti State of Nigeria today. He died some few weeks ago in Lagos. Sola had just arrived in Lagos after a trip to Britain and America with his wife Lola when he slumped and died shortly after leaving the plane. He was a nice person. He was a devoted family man who loved his wife and children dearly and who was totally loyal to his friends.
I met Sola Dada over forty-five years ago in Lagos. It was Senator Kuye of Ago-Iwoye that had introduced Sola to me Kuye and Sola were both at the University of Ibadan for their undergraduate studies. After leaving the University of Ibadan, they both moved to Lagos to establish themselves in Nigeria’s private sector. It was one of our visits to Martins Kuye that I met Sola Dada. We were friends until Sola answered the supreme call.
I visited him several times when he was living with his Uncle at Surulere Lagos. One thing I cannot forget about Sola was the protective cover he gave his niece from the growing eyes of the then eligible bachelors who were his friends. I was one of them and believe me, my friend Sola never tolerated any rascality that would make those of us his friends attempt a friendship with his niece. We used to call Sola Dada “ASHOLY BAY” until he died. We all knew that Sola will accommodate you well as a visiting friend of his, if only you do not veer into attempting to seek the loving hands of his beautiful niece.
One great characteristic of Sola Dada was his never being moved into unnecessary controversies. No matter how provocative your discussions might be with “ASHOBY BAY”, he never grew angry with all. Sola was ever cool, calm and collected. His partnership with his wife Lola from Ede in Osun State also added to the beauty of Sola Dada’s character. I used to travel in Sola and Lola Dada’s company when I was a bachelor forty-five years ago. What a great couple with friendly dispositions to all. When the two of them got married in Lagos sometime in 1972, they never changed in their attitude to their friends. Sola Dada’s late parents lived at Osogbo and Sola was there with them. When Papa Dada died some years ago, his funeral ceremonies began in Osogbo before his body was moved to Aiyede for burial. The Osogbo Church service was very well attended by friends of the Dadas.
Sola was fully groomed for business related connections on his leaving the University. It was therefore never a surprise when he formed a company Anchoria Securities and Investment Company in Lagos many years ago. Many of Sola’s friends followed him into Anchoria which specialized in stock broking business. Today, his Company Anchoria is one of the largest indigenous Stock Broking Companies in Nigeria. He built an investment house in Central Lagos which accommodates his stock broking activities. His son will now manage the business.
Sola was deeply religious. He was of the Anglican Communion and he never allowed anything to disturb his worship of God. It was no surprise that one of the funeral activities to bid Sola goodbye took place at the Surulere Bishop AdelakunAnglian Church that he attended virtually every Sunday, whenever he was in Nigeria.
I say it again, that it was difficult to imagine that Isaac Sola Dada is no more. I had just returned from a medical trip to my Doctors at the ObafemiAwolowo University Ile-Ife, when a call came to me from the wife of my friend Martins Kuye aka “MARTINEE AGOGO OTUNBA YEYE IYABOKUYE”. She had phoned to inform me about the death of Sola Dada. I wept very bitterly as I knew that was the end of life race for my friend. “ASHOLY BAY” was two years older than me yet God was so graceful and kind to him that at 76, Sola looked like a man of sixty-five years. Sola became a High Chief of Aiyede two years ago.
Isaac Sola Dada – “ASHOLY BAY” is gone! We will remember him!! Death is aprice everyone must pay. We will eventually join him in paradise whenever God feels the time for us to depart this world has come.
May God console his wife Lola. They lived like twins and they never allowed ill motivated divisions to sack their marital union.I commiserate with his children who were ever a part of him. He loved them and they love him too.
He was highly industrious and his successful Anchoria Company was a testimony to his business life and orientation.
We are now leaving this world one by one. Those of us above the age of 70 now carry boarding cards of life in our pockets. We will all leave to effect our departure whenever it is time for us to go.
At AiyedeEkiti today, Sola’s body will be lowered to the ground. After the Christian Dust for Dust and Ashes for Ashes ceremony is over, it will be a final bye-bye to our own Ashoby-Bay.
Good-Night and Good-Bye! Okun o Awe.
EBINO TOPSY – 0805-500-1735 (SMS ONLY PLEASE)
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