Few people get to transit from being utterly indispensable to “eternally unforgettable.” A real mother does. Chief Mrs Afolasade Akande nee Adenuga was a lucky woman. Unlike her peers, she did not evaporate without an eyewitness. She did not groan in dying, twisting the sweaty sheet around her chest. She did not gasp for breath feeling as if her senses drowned while she thrashed alone in the dark. Nobody has such terrible memories of Chief Sade Akande.
When her time was up, she departed the world, leaving priceless memories of her behind for her loved ones. What a day to go! Today, January 27this her 80thbirthday. Alas, she passed away early hours of today when goodwill and congratulatory messages were coming in from family and friends. Henceforth, friends and family of the 80-year old woman will tread with heavy steps to her final resting place although few minutes before her demise, they were preparing to hit the dance floor with her at her Ikoyi home. This is indeed sad and ironic for the deceased’s family, and a worthy testament to the paradox called life.
The second of the five children of Pa Michael Agbolade Adenuga Sr. and his wife, Juliana Oyindamola, both of blessed memory, her siblings include the late Mrs. E.O. Osunsade popularly called Aunty Olu; Otunba Demola Adenuga, the Bajulaiye of Ijebuland and accomplished businessman; Otunba Yetunde Adegbola and Dr. Mike Adenuga, the multibillionaire Chairman of Globacom and Apesin of Ijebuland, the last born and the most famous of the Adenuga kids.
Indeed, if not for covid-19, her famous younger brothers would have shut down a whole city anywhere in the world and celebrate the illustrious life of their beloved sister who they have variously described as a pillar of trust, hope, compassion and support to everyone around her. Friends of the Adenuga family say mama never shies from giving them crucial and beneficial moral support in the most trying and pleasant moments; that she was undoubtedly their guiding light through the wilderness of life and their interminable gust of calming wind on life’s stormy seas.
Not being able to celebrate her publicly did not, however, prevent Otunba Ademola Adenuga from penning a rare, moving tribute in her honour last weekend. He described the ‘birthday girl’ as a selfless sister, kind, philanthropic, highly principled and a no-nonsense writer who fights with her powerful pen. He recalled that as a fresher at the University of Ibadan, he was to travel to the UK for the first time, but his father objected. “We had this programme whereby we go abroad on holidays for three months. The Students Union arranged our passports and the flight. Dad said I should not go. My dear sister Shade and my mother arranged seventy pounds in those days and paid on my behalf to travel to the UK. She even arranged where I would stay with Mr. and Mrs. Adepoju. That’s my sister for you. When she has made up her mind to do anything for you, whether you are a family member or outsider, she would even carry it to your backyard.”
Also described as being imbued with a sharp business acumen which she inherited from their mum, a wealthy businesswoman of her era, Otunba Adenuga, a former Chairman of National Salt Company PLC and Devcom Merchant bank among others, recalled another unforgettable experience in his final year. Nigerian Breweries came to the campus to recruit some of the best students and luckily, he got the job and a big surprise from his sister and Mum. He recalled, “The Nigerian Breweries came around March and gave me a job. My sister Shade and Mama, without telling my father, bought me a brand new Toyota Corona. They didn’t tell me too. I started work with Nigerian Breweries on 5th July 1974 with the brand new car, courtesy of my sister and Mum. And when I wanted to get my Guinness dealership, Sister Shade was the livewire, the one who got it for me.
“She was very close to our mum. In the dying days of my mother, they slept on the same bed. On the eve of her death, they slept on the same bed. And they usually wore the same dress when Mama was alive. She would buy clothes for herself and for Mama. There was a time Mum owned a tipper and my sister copied my mother to buy her own tipper. When I was building my house behind Gen. Akinrinade’s house in Opebi, I used my mother’s tipper and my sister’s tipper on that project.
“My sister is nice to all of us. But if you offend her, she will pick up her pen to write to you to express her feelings. In the days of NITEL when there was no GSM, whenever anything happened to her telephone line, she would write them. She is a nice, positively stubborn sister. Very nice to me. I am very close to her. Before COVID-19, I used to spend almost the whole of Saturday in her house in Ikoyi. And we would sit down and look back at the good old times and share our stories.”
Otunba Adenuga continued, “My mother had one credo: that what she had in her lifetime should go to all her children. She bought houses for all of us, apart from the ones we shared after her death. She bought houses and warehouses in Ibadan for her children. For Xmas, she normally gave us fat cheques to help us in our lives and in our businesses. I remember there was a time each child got forty thousand pounds which was a very big amount. And there was a time each child got 1.5 million before she died. Even when she died, we distributed money too. She was the best mother ever. We cannot forget her and our father. May their souls rest in peace. And that of my late elder sister too. I wish my sister a happy 80th birthday. I pray that as she ages, she would remain in good health, peace and the joy of the Lord. The Lord will not forsake her in old age, the Lord will be her strength. There are many positive stories around my sister.”
