My Father

My father

A very hard-working man, he travelled far and wide doing what he is passionate about. The bills were crushing so much that he hardly have time for himself not to talk of his kids. My father will spend his only days (weekends) at home coordinating Landlord meetings, family meetings, village meetings with little time for us. Such was his dedication to the life of people around him.

He'll come back from most of his trips exhausted, tired and weak with swollen knees. He prolly have managed to squeeze his long limbs from Iwo Road to Okene(Kogi State) where he was constructing a road inside Federal College of Education, or manage to get back from his Faculty of Arts project at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Ijebu-Ode. He's such a workaholic, astute Engineer of repute with zeal for professionalism and perfection.

At an encounter with a family member, she suggested that some of the material left overs should be brought home for him to complete his personal house but my OG said nope. He had claimed that it is against professional etiquettes and mode of operation. He's someone with that strictly abide by rules set for himself and try as much to make us follow the same path.

At some point we had thought Daddy assumed that we spent all those times at home while he's away for work that we were busy watching movies, so we are most times denied watching those movies while he's around. No one dares to stay in front of the TV beyond 9am even though mumsy later ended up sneaking a small TV int our room without his consent. At some point we'll pray he never gets to come back home some times coz of his strictness, little did we know those were part of the trainings that has helped to shape our lives till date.

As he grew older the jobs started to grow dry and we began to share times with him some more, but am sure this is not with the way he would have loved it. It was those hard times when we will barely have dinner to eat most nights. Some of which will be made worse on nights when there is champions league action involving his darling team (Manchester United) are on the receiving end of a loss in a knock out game encounter. Memories of those nights with victories are often times longer though, we will argue endless till we all get tired of how many more goals we could have scored, the next opponent, our chances against them amidst other issues.

"Baba Mon U" as he's fondly called will have his wife wait for all her boys to return from those crowded viewing centres before the main door into our three bedroom apartments gets locked after every champions league games that involved Manchester United.

Also a die hard lover and supporter of Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan, I can remember growing up to see memorabilia of the defunct IICC hung across walls of his bedroom and was eagerly anticipating for the day we all will go to the stadium to share some moments till death took him. Watching the Africa Cup of Champions Cup game finals that involved his darling Oluyole Warriors against Zamalek of Egypt that sunny afternoon in December 1996 on TV was the closest to the moments I had dreamt off.

The game ended 2-1 against shooting stars and 3-3 aggregate after the the away side ran 2-1 winners in the reverse tie. 3sc coming back from being the league Champions the previous year paraded the likes of Abiodun Baruwa, Duke Udi, Ajibade Babalade, Patrick Pascal and a whole lot of others as the game went into penalties after the regulation. How we were both hailing at every spot kick of shooting stars player going in and wailing in agony while that of the Egyptian side was being conceded simultaneously in most cases until the last set of penalties were taken is still fondly remembered. It ended a sad evening as the last kick played by Ademola of Shuaibu Amodu tutored side was saved Nadel El Sayed and the heavily crowded 70,000plus fans in attendance at the Cairo International Airport went into roars with what we later got to know as fireworks(I call it red lights and smoke back then). shooting stars vs zamalek

Their own generation left the raising of kids for our mothers. Mummy will pay the bills, attend PTA meeting, buy this, buy that and you'll think your father isn't doing anything just because he was never around to do the little things that appears don't count. But then, he is the one working so hard to ensure those bill were sorted. I guess the growth in my life is revealing some more details and I am understanding my father more in death than when he was alive. Our mothers were everywhere with their whatever you call it. (sakamanje)

If he had stayed a lil while longer, may be their is a chance to change the narrative, he would have wanted things done differently. Approach matters differently, his commitment those that now appears not worthy of his attention and all. But then today I look at this picture I took with him at my convocation 8years ago and discovered that I was just the only one who has got such opportunity to have a picture with our father. Oh sorry, I challenge any of my siblings to prove me wrong, no one else can boast of such picture.

For so long it was looking like he hated me, I was not allowed to watch TV late at night, not allowed to attend classes without chores(except mumsy decides to let me study and do the chores on my behalf hence my laziness with chores till date), I made my papers at two different sittings but he decided not to let me process admission until I make all of my papers at a sitting. Yes I made it and am using that certificate for the first time today with so much joy and happiness(I got admission with all those his rejected certificate). 

All I wanted in my life while growing up was to inherit his book shelf and I looked at my sitting room wall awhile ago with lots of fulfilments and joy. On this date last year after receiving the saddest call of my life so far, my first thought was my father's bookshelf. It's all I ever wanted, and in his memory I promised to raise another engineer in the family in less than 10years from now.

Day in day out I have never at any time stopped imagining how life would be having you on the same project, how much I'll have fire you on some projects because I'm the prime consultant and watch you beg or take a walk while I beg you back to stay on the same job. You nurtured and watched me become whatever it is I am today and at no time did I ever forget how many of your sacrifices I took for granted until now. 

I have since followed the path you created and my dream was to show you how happy and thankful I am only because you prepared me for virtually everything.

I will forever miss you for what could have been Eng. Yekeen Adesola Animasaun👷🏽‍♂️👷🏽‍♂️👷🏽‍♂️

The new generation of fathers are not those who pay bills, but those who are there to be called Daddy..... Miss you OG