By Charles Okogene
That I attended the burial of my good friend’s mother, Bamidele Temitope Johnson, in Ibadan last Friday April 26 2024, was by the grace of two gentlemen, Tope Ajayi, who is one of the media aides of president Ahmed Bólá Tinubu and Mojeed Jamiu, the publisher of Upshot Reports and my colleague way back at Independent Newspapers Limited.
I had made up my mind not to make the trip because of lack of cash as a result of the financial commitment I recently made; just then a call came from Ajayi to know if I will make it to Ibadan for the event and when I said no. He sought to know why and when I told him the reason , he said, “prepare and let’s us go on Friday morning as I will be in Lagos Wednesday evening” to, which I said okay. Who ‘no like awufu. ‘?
And on the appointed date, I reported at our agreed renderzvous and in no time he surfaced with Jamiu on the wheel. What surprised me was that Jamiu personally drove from his Magodo residence in his car to pick me up for the trip.
After picking others that made the journey with us including the Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Hon. Gbenga OMOTOSHO, we set out on the trip at exactly few minutes after 11am in a convoy of three cars, that of Mojeed ‘s pal, Mojeed’s own and the private car of the commissioner. That we arrived Ibadan safely is not the news but what I am so appreciative of is the treatment I got from the duo throughout my stay in the Oluyole city. After all the enjoyment we had at the burial reception, Mojeed and his friends insisted we must savour the popular Amala Sky, to them one cannot come to Ibadan and not eat ‘roadside’ Amala in ‘abula’ form even though Amala Sky is no road side bukka and though we had ate Amala at the party.
That is not all, they insisted we must sleep over in the beautiful largest city in West Africa and provided an accommodation for all of us at the popular Gallani Suites, even when the Oyo State LG election trapped us in the city, they still made extra booking that would have seen me staying in Ibadan until Sunday but i chose to return to Lagos in the evening of Saturday after the poll.
To this I say, thank you MJ, thank you TA
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