I have read in various platforms people eulogising my late intellectual son, Dr. Fatai Asodun. On the surface, that seems the right thing to do. In fact, when I consider the highfalutin and often exaggerated praises the dead receive from people, it seems that humans tend to transform into perfect beings when they die. Of course, that is an illusion.
Much of the praises tend to be motivated by the copycat impulse or desire to do what others are doing. The true picture of every deceased person is always a combination of the good and the bad, the difference being in the percentage of the one when juxtaposed with the other. Now, my question is: Of all the people talking about late Dr. Asodun in superlative terms, how many of them said to him when he was alive what they are saying about him now that he is not in a position to appreciate their beautiful words? How many of them for once said to him, “Hey, Fatai, you are a great guy, a fantastic human being… I truly appreciate your humility and dedication to duty…etc.” For me, Dr. Fatai Asodun’s death is not just the loss of a mentee and friend, it is also a sobering reminder of the transitoriness and fragility of human life in this old planet.
Moreover, it is a ringing call that we should normalise letting people who deserve it know how good and wonderful they are instead of waiting until they are deceased when it means absolutely nothing to them. Dr. Asodun is dead and conscious of nothing; he cannot appreciate all the wonderful things people are saying about him. Now, supposing Dr. Asodun somehow could read what people are saying about him presently, he probably would have exclaimed, “Why didn’t they say all this to me before now?” Anyway, despite the delusional expressions of belief in what will become of him afterwards, it is clear that he has irretrievably returned to the state of nonexistence from which he emerged and to which each and every human being would eventually return.
So, wishing him “this” or “that” is completely useless. Frankly speaking, I really do not know how to describe precisely how I feel about the the death of Alajede of Ijede (my pet name for him). Perhaps, it is a weird combination of the emotions of loss and confusion.
Anele is a Professor of Philosophy. An astute writer and mentor.
