Uncle.

Dear Uncle,

How are you? I hope you are fine? I sure know the answer to this by the way. You aint like me over here,upset,happy,sad,hungry,wet,cold,hot,and all the other kinda feeling. Because you are in a place better than where I am now. It’s been ten years since I wrote you a letter. Wow! 10 whole years? How time flies, you know. I write this to let everyone here read and know how that I miss you each waking day since ten years ago. And maybe a kind of tribute that I can't afford (right now) on any national newspaper.

OK, OK.I won’t ask you for money in this one. I will simply tell you what I have been up to these few years that you have been away. Well, I went on to Uni and got a degree. I didn’t study law as you thought I would and I tell you what, uncle, I don’t regret it especially as I realized those'' penguin dressing folks'' read a lot of books and cram a lot of stuff! I studied English instead and I am OK. Read a couple of books studying that too! I work with a book house now and somehow, reading hasn’t left me! Remember I used to read while eating and yeah, while in the bathroom. I still do it, uncle. I still do it! :) I wanna go on to read some ''masters stuff'' soon though.The book house is Longman Nigeria Plc and it isn’t so far away from home. Guess what? There is someone in my office that looks a bit like you.And it sure feels good to be working here because of that.Right?

Life in uni wasn’t so easy ,u know and oh,oh,lemme gist you on the drama that ensued the day Bukky and I were going to uni,it was so close to what will likely happen when we are going to get married. We cried and mum and sister Funmi too as if we were going to be sold to slavery. Yeah, we had never left anywhere by our self until then. It was pretty much interesting. She wasn’t sure if we were going to be alright by ourselves but we made it! And I tell you, that uni I went to beat out quite a lot of stuff that needed to be out!!! And it was in that uni that I became a Christian. Oh, how wonderful it was to have attended that uni after all. I met a lot of life changing people and had loads of same experiences .

Everyone misses you, uncle and we are at a loss at why you had to go away and never return. Everyone sends their love and I think Tope misses you as well especially as you aint here to take her to school each morning. She is a big girl now though and trying to get to the uni too! All of us +the others I didn’t get their picture here do too! Broda Tunde,Sister Funmi,sister Titi, Brother Layi,Dunni,Jumoke,Bukky,Bola(me),Moji,Niyi,Dayo,Seye,Bisi,Tope,mum,dad,Prof,aunties Abigael and Marie! Aunty Bunmi too-she now has 3 beautiful daughters! Momo misses you too and does she fuss big over me? U bet! You know I don't like been fussed over but I have tried to enjoy it if that will make her feel OK. Everyone misses you so much! They didn't tell me but I know! Most of us are married now though but some of us are still waiting for God's best for us.I intend to get married in July though so that all of us might have some good stuff about the month. I don't like the way it seems the month is jinxed around here! Phew! God has been good to us all these years and we have been in good hands because we have been in God's hands.

We miss you and personally, I almost hated you for going away when you did but again, I know you didn’t chose to! The choice of that was up to someone higher than us all. So, I forgive you and apologize for my folly on thinking you had the ability to be here till now. It still hurts, though that you aint and that you aint going to reply this letter because where you are now, folks over there can not. Right? Anyway, I will still go on to write this…

Everyone misses you like I said earlier and Yeah, we have all grown now and I bet you might not recognize us all when you see us. But guess I haven’t grown enough to not do you this letter. We have tried to stay strong since you left. But unlike what you taught me to be strong, I haven’t been but each waking day I still wish that you will return and tell us all that it was a big joke. Uncle, do you know that each month like this each year, I cry myself to sleep and miss you big! I am so sorry that I have failed you in that place of strength but it has been so hard staying strong! I tell you, it has. Though, I now wear my make up quite well in the day time and it is difficult for anyone to see what lies under it. Remember how that you teased me and called me Michael Jackson each time I wore it so funny in my ''learning years?’’ How so funny. It used to be our personal joke and I doubt if anyone around the house knew about it. It was you and I.

Uncle, MJ went away too. Some few weeks back and on the night I heard the news I remembered our personal tease and I cried for so long. Why would he go away too exactly ten years ago that you did? Well, I stopped asking why people go away these days and just stay numb and calm and motionless and all that. Yeah, uncle, that was how I was the day you went away and because I was told not to cry, I did that. But guess what? I fell ill two weeks after then and almost went away too but somehow the one who has my breath said it wasn’t time. The doctor said I was depressed and just needed some more attention. I was so suicidal. I felt bile in my throat for the very first time and I was so sad and couldn’t express my self in tears. It was pretty much a frustrating experience.

Uncle, the crowd at your passing away was remarkable! Did you see them? Gosh! You indeed live a good life. They wailed, they wept, and they mourned you for so long. Some of them that I was opportune to meet wanted to meet me because I was family. They complained to me and anyone else that cared to listen about how they will have to go hungry and how they might not be able to go to school or send their wards to school now that you were gone and many other things. I was so humbled to realize that you weren’t only our darling uncle, our stand up comedian, our disciplinarian, our friend, our ''co -arm wrestler'', our ''paddy'', our IT guru; you were also a world class philanthropist! WOW! That got me strong those earlier times, uncle. I was and still am so grateful that you were such a blessing in the lives of those in need. Young and old were in attendance at your passing away and uncle, they wept like it was running out of fashion!

The dogs- hmmm. They all went away too but Gold is still here.He is old now. The first Billy is away too and now there is another one! We named him Billy too!

It has been ten years since you bowed to that call to go away and I still wonder how that I never wrote you any letters like I used to. OK,I will tell you. I haven’t been strong enough to do it + I wasn’t sure if it was sane to write you since you might not read it because you are far away. I didn’t want anyone to ask that I see a shrink. Though, I haven’t gotten answers to all that yet, I shun whatever anyone thinks and do this to your memory. I write this as a tribute to your sweet memory,uncle.

I still miss you. I miss your tenacity. I miss your positivity and will power. I miss your strength.I miss your assurance to all of us that all will be fine. I miss how you helped fix our toys,I miss how you were our ''mini-messiah.'' I miss your fearlessness! I miss your sense of humor. Guess what? Some people think I have some of these attributes. Do you think so? Hm mm… The other day,I made everyone at home laugh so hard. I do that well I guess cos they laugh!. I also told an armed police that I feel that he sucks when he was bent on ripping off that poor bike man ! I say what I feel about a thing and don’t care whose ox is gored. Though uncle, I have been co-operating with the Spirit of God to say it softly and well and still pass the message but in an OK way that no one gets hurt! :) I miss you so so much…

And uncle, I have so much interest in been there for those who aint as privileged as I am. I have a son! Nah,I didn’t give birth to him. He is adopted and lives in a love home. I intend to continue to be of help to as many as I can. You know,I wish I had all the money in the world right now to help them. But I have started with the little I earn now and aint no going back. Somehow, uncle, a big part of you rests in me...

A proper tribute?Here goes then:

I bring to bear your sweet memory with the words of Constance Parker Graham:

Not gone

but only gone before to where love lives on evermore
not lost,

but only lost from sight

as onewho walks ahead of night

not parted-only just apart in memory,

kept close in heart.

Not of the past,

but now to be a part of all eternity.

In the words of ''amateur'' Awemoreborelanlay:

You are our friend.

You are our uncle.

You are our confidant.

You are our disciplinarian.

You are our mentor.

You are our stand up comedian and we didn’t need to pay a dime!

You are our co- arm wrestler.

You are our philanthropist.

You are our play mate.

Yes, uncle, you are Baba Bola!

And am proud of you.

Good night always.

Your loving daughter.

Bola.

10072009.