A Tribute To Dotun

There are some people we know, by necessity,  borne out of curiosity.


I mean this in the sense that we seek them out as a result of their relationship with people that are dear to us.


Dotun falls in that category. he plays the keyboard in my sister's church.


I have just been informed of his death,and all of us in the house are sad. 


Only one person,my two year old niece,is not.


You probably would wonder why she should be. 


She also knew Dotun, and was in fact the reason why I feel sad about someone I only met three times.


People referred to him as her boyfriend! 


She, "shamelessly",as only a child could, flirted with him. When she saw him in church,she shouted his name  like an equal Dotun! And he responded like a friend.


He allowed her to play the church keyboard, that was always the height of her church experience.


I had to meet this Dotun . I made up my mind the day overheard my niece speaking with him on the phone. 


She was not even two then,but you could tell that she knew who was on the phone. It was the way she called his name,she called it gently, and dragged it,as if to make it last. 


She had been cranky,but as soon as she heard his voice,she became demure, and coy.She called his name, and muttered something in "babylish", I was shocked! 


That Dotun,is now dead.

The little girl has been jumping up and down,as usual;she is oblivious of the fact,her Dotun has gone!

Dotun died a meaningless death. 

He was the victim of two conspiracies he knew nothing about.

He was born with the painful sickle cell disorder. 

Though it was not his making, he suffered the pain all the same.

It had defined his entry into life ,and paved his exit from it as well. In between the two events,was a life of pain,and struggle,and more pain. 

The second conspiracy,was the ongoing strike by doctors in Lagos state. 

Dotun had been ill,and had developed complications; he required a cardiologist, there was none available.

In normal times,a cardiologist is a rarity,he is worth his weight in gold.During a medical strike in Nigeria, he becomes as valuable as El Dorado!

And so Dotun died.

He died because he was born with the sickle cell disorder . He died because Nigeria failed him.

Whenever politicians talk about our aspirations to the elite first twenty economies of the world, in the year twenty twenty;the nebulous,high-sounding,not well executed vision twenty-twenty-twenty. I laugh. I know it is all talk. 

The Yorubas of Nigeria,have a proverb, they say the food that would satisfy one, can be easily judged by sight. One does not need to eat it to know. 

What I see our government serving on the table now,would only cause us belly aches in future!

Can we build a great nation,without a healthy population?

Can we become truly great,when our best years seem to be behind us?

What is the duty of government,when it comes to the welfare of Nigerians?

I suspect that there are similar sad stories like Dotun's all over the place. Nigerians from all tribes,and states suffer the same neglect that has just claimed Dotun. 

We are united in our being the recipients of a failure to provide leadership. 

It is time we all put our differences aside,and work towards making sad stories like Dotun's history.

As  we all go to bed tonight,my heart goes out to Dotun's parents,and his family,I pray they would find strength to bear the loss.

MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA,OUR NIGERIA,FOREVER!

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One gets the distinct feeling,that we are being led by pirates. They are more concerned with what they can grab,than with how they can serve the people.