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.AND DELE DIED.
“I am ready to go Jaiye. I cannot afford this bill. I am ready to die and put an end to all these.” It was the last time we spoke. I assured my dear friend Dele Oyetoro, that he was not alone. He had brain cancer and was done with the first bout of chemotherapy and the operation. Here came the cancer all over again. Meaning more money and more pain. Dele, was too proud to beg for people to help him. He did not have to. We have a CMS Old Boys Association. They came through for Dele. Friends he had not seen in decades. Those hidden in the diaspora, came out to help. Great and wonderful people. The money came as a result of their magnanimity. It was time for the treatment. Then here comes the sad part. The chemotherapy machine at LUTH, where he was scheduled for the treatment was broken. The one at the other government hospital had not been used for a while. It was broken too. With valuable time lost, Dele had to go to a private treatment center. This was working but pricey. The price, of course, had gone up. Friends shamed money. But valuable time to treat the aggressive brain cancer had been lost. He had one treatment and was to go for another. We had high hopes for his recovery. Then came the news we dreaded and never expected: Dele died.
It was not Dele’s time to die. The country failed him. Simple and the truth. His death and thousands that happen daily are the observable signs we ignore. When death is taking your age mates. It is telling us a proverb. Dele was my tenant. He was our friend. It is getting close to home, guys. The rot of the country. The stench and unbearable odor is choking us. People are dying. We are losing loved ones due to our careless actions. Our problems did not develop overnight. It will thus not end overnight. Our ignorance and sincere stupidity corrode it further. I have seen people wake up from the dead. And I am not talking about T.B. Joshua or Pastor E.A. Adeboye. I am talking about the advancement of modern medicine. I know people whose lives have been prolonged, thanks to early diagnosis and proper medications. It should not have to be this way. Inhumane leadership. Lack of sympathy and intense greed. It should not be a blood feud to make the country a better place for us all to live and enjoy. Dele was supposed to grow old and gray. Forget Peter Obi for once. Forget Ashiwaju Bola Tinubu for once. Forget Abubakar Atiku for once. Think about Dele for once. Most importantly, think about yourself. Facebook banned me for a month. But it was never about me, I am just a mouse roaring. I knew I will be back. But what about Dele? He will never be back on JAIYEOLA STREET. He will never join us in those playful banter that he loves and look forward to daily. Why? He is dead!!!
