The only surviving sibling of the late Chief (Mrs.) HID Awolowo yesterday visited the Ikenne countryhome and wept inconsolably.
Pa Festus Taiwo Adelana, 94, who was brought into the Efunyela Hall at about 3:20pm on a wheelchair by a relation threw his hands in the air and bit his fingers as he shouted “Ha! Ha! Ha!” with tears streaming down his face.
Pa Adelana told journalists that he had been dreaming about the late Awolowo matriarch who died last Saturday, since the past three days.
Daily Sun learnt that Pa Adelana who lives in Lagos was only informed about the death of his sister few hours earlier.
He was said to have insisted that he should be taken to Ikenne to “see things” for himself. “She (HID) had always said I would be the one to bury her. Oh, now she’s gone,” he sobbed.
The nonagenarian who was provided a white handkerchief with which he wiped his face, was later assisted by a relation to sign the condolence register.
The first male grandson of the Awolowo family, Segun (Jnr), and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, said the late matriarch lived an extraordinary life.
Segun, who just returned to the country described his grandmother as a pillar of support to the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the entire family and the Nigerian nation.
He noted that his grannie lived with the ideals of the late sage till death.
“For me, Mama was more than a grandmother because I actually lived here (Ikenne) with both of them. I grew up here. They were like parents to me. She had lived a good life.
“When I reflected on the life Mama lived, it was extraordinary to marry a man like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, to live with his ideals and to support and make him strong when he was weak. She covered for him and the whole family.
“We are thankful to God for her life. She was not sick. She was not in the hospital for years. Although she was frail, her brain was very sharp and on top of events. For her to pass on peacefully is a thing of joy. We, in our own human ways and selfishness, wanted her to be alive for her 100th birthday, but it is not to be. This is God’s wish for her life. It is a thing of great joy and it calls for celebration. She was an epitome of great womanhood. She had become an example to mothers and wives all over the world for her devotion to her husband to the family and the country.”
Meanwhile, prominent Nigerians and groups yesterday continued to stream in to condole with the family.
Among them were the former Nigerian Ambassador to the Phillipines, Dr. Yemi Farounbi; former minister of education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran; the Vice Chancellor of University of Ibadan, Prof. Isaac Adewole; the President of the Campaign for Democracy and Women Arise, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin and the former chairman of Punch Nigeria Limited, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola.
Meanwhile, the member representing Anambra East/West Federal Consittuency of Anambra State, Hon. Peter Mmadubueze has described the matriarch as a great, kindhearted mother and an exemplary woman.
Hon. Mmadubueze said Mama impressed him when he wanted to go through a Yoruba man to secure an office space from the Awolowo family but was told she did not care about his tribe as an Igbo man.
“In fact, she was thrilled by my gut to rent such exorbitant office space at my age, as well as my interest in starting a travel agency, which was also her own line of business too at the time,” the Reps member said.
Daily Sun; Image: Nigerian Tribune