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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">COL OLUSEGUN EBENEZER
CRAIG – RIP</span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">On the
morning of 22<sup>nd</sup> October 2014, his 76<sup>th</sup> birthday my father
telephoned me and when I saw his number I thought, <i>I should be the one doing the calling</i>, in any case I answered the
call and he said ‘pray for me’ to which I spluttered out a prayer and a
birthday wish but before I could enquire further of him he abruptly ended the
conversation with a promise that we would have a chat later in the evening. I
had a sense that he was in a hurry. Four hours later he had passed on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">You can
imagine my shock. He was not ill, he was looking forward to a dinner party with
family and friends later that evening; the cooking and other celebrations were
on-going when death came calling. The family was stunned; none of us saw this
coming. The futility of life!</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">As the shock
wore off I began to look on the bright side, he lived a fulfilled life, he was
active to the end with full faculty of body and mind, had many friends and
associates. At 76, one could also say he lived to old age, (perhaps not ripe
enough) he was a father and grandfather.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">For me it
was a double </span><span style="line-height: 21.4666652679443px;">whammy</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> because I had lost my mother the previous year and I never thought I would be involved in planning yet another funeral so soon. My parents
were childhood sweethearts and I believe they are now together, I hope they are
happy now, that for me is the only consolation, my coping mechanism!</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">The death of
my dad has made me reappraise my life, my whole existence and life purpose, because now I know first-hand, more than most people, that death can come at
any time, regardless of your status, age or circumstances, death cares less! In
the aftermath of my dad’s death we had to decide where to bury him, what kind
of burial service, what to bury him in etc. The irony was not lost on me
because my dad was a simple person who would have wanted none of the fuss, he
would have wanted a very simple burial. I know he would have turned in his
morgue cabinet at the expense we were going to in order to give him a befitting
send off. He would have preferred instead, that we set up an endowment fund in
his memory, with the amount of resources expended for his funeral. Yet I think he would
have been grateful for the outpouring of love from his family, friends and
associates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">The finality
of death is so absolute. Words forever unspoken, hugs never to be shared again,
even disagreements, quarrels and subsequent </span><span style="line-height: 21.4666652679443px;">reconciliation</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">  are never to be had again,  an abrupt end to  memory making!</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"> As I looked at my dad’s body at the morgue, I
felt an overwhelming feeling of peace, for him and for myself, because he
looked as though he was asleep and could rise at my prompting, but then it
dawned on me that he was asleep never to rise up again in this existence.
Memories of my dad with shaving cream on his face came to my mind, memories of
him fussing on what not to have for breakfast, (he was very health conscious)
memories of us sitting on his bed, chatting till the early hours of the
morning, memories of us walking and me yelling for him to slow down for me to
catch up and memories of him calling out to my daughter from the gate
downstairs and my daughter calling back ‘grandpa!’ I was jolted into the moment
by my cousin, Bolaji, who had accompanied me to see my dad’s body, we said a
prayer and he led me gently outside into the waiting car where I was engulfed
in silence all the way home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Having seen
his lifeless body and indeed confirmed to myself that my dad was indeed no
more, the realization hit me that he had finished his race here on earth and
that as his first child the baton has now been handed over to me, I must
continue the race, God help me. I choose to continue this race with gratitude,
love, understanding, forgiveness and benevolence, I choose to overlook the
mundane things and focus on what really matters in the final analysis, what really matters when we each answer the
call is the legacy we leave behind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><b>To the numerous relatives, friends, colleagues and sympathizers who rallied round my family to
ensure a befitting burial for my dad, a big thank you!  <o:p></o:p></b></i></span></div>
<i><b><br /></b></i>
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DADDY DEAREST!

COL OLUSEGUN EBENEZER CRAIG – RIP On the morning of 22 nd October 2014, his 76 th birthday my father telephoned me and when I saw h...