Femi Odekunle at 67…Boundless as the sea
Odekunle’s close shave with death so many times is close testimony that God indeed, teaches his children how to walk without falling. How to trip and still stand up tall until the eventual expiration of his destiny to us. Death came at infant to Odekunle when as a mere child, he was dangerously hit by […]
Odekunle’s close shave with death so many times is close testimony that God indeed, teaches his children how to walk without falling. How to trip and still stand up tall until the eventual expiration of his destiny to us. Death came at infant to Odekunle when as a mere child, he was dangerously hit by small pox and was in fact given up as dead, but the intervention of a perhaps, divine hand sufficed when his father was advised to bath him contrary to the popular belief that water does not touch a small pox infested child. A violation of these however, saw Odekunle escaping infancy death. In 1974 after jumping bond to lecture at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, barely settling down, he decided to travel home to his native abode in Ilesha to visit his parents and siblings whom he had left for five years. Even though he had his flight ticket, a new friend of his, Dr. Martin, who was also employed in the Chemistry Department, persuaded him to ride in his newly acquired Peugeot 504. A fatal accident occurred which saw Femi narrowly escaping death. The next day, he boarded a flight home where he came to meet his first wife Lantana, so can the interplay of fate being at play here? Did the accident happen so he could meet his wife?
In 1998, on the cool morning of 23rd December, gun toting men stormed his house banging, kicking and hitting him from left, right and center. This torture was to end after three months of cruelty, inhumanity and unimaginable experiences in the hands of Abacha men. The greatest escape was when Abacha died barely a few days to his (Odekunle) execution.
Life over death for Professor Odekunle continued in 2005 when a strange and very excruciating kidney stone hit me like a tornado. Faced with the great realization and respect for the seriousness of death, this man obstinately refused to be treated at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital. A hospital with an avalanche of skilled medical professors who ordinarily would fight over themselves to have a senior colleague treated but this man refused and opted for a roadside doctor who operated on him and saved him from the jaw of death. When asked the reason for choosing a roadside clinic. He said, “its simple wisdom and logic. If I had gone to ABUTH, I may have been died by now because many hands spoil the broth”! Today, Phenomenal Odekunle is 67, still young, still virile, still potent, still contented and still crystal clean! Professor’s close shave with death could also be considered as the true testimonies of life of integrity, fairness, justice, equity and sacrifice. The life of Odekunle may not be a mystery but the realities of his experiences constitute a bridge between the two generations of both the old of the past and the new of today.
His life history is no doubt a dedication to change and progress. In every facet of his interaction, he is a crusader who spreads the message of anti-corruption not in his wishes and words but in his actions and decisions. Not writing his tribute will be a fault to the legacy which to a large extent ought to inspire many to follow the path of justice and integrity.
A startling quality that defines the whole framework of Femi’s smartness is honesty. This he exhibited in the highest degree of self-trust, and confidence. As a child he hardly told a lie to protect his interest. In the case of skirmish, he assumed full responsibility where he found himself involved. Femi’s smartness, responsiveness, honesty, forthrightness and rationality in expression were moulded from childhood and to this present day they were his guiding references in life. A near case of Femi’s honest manifestations was later unfolded when in1978 Femi organized the first Anti-Corruption Conference in Nigeria where he brought together not only people in government but petty traders on the streets to address the issue of corruption. After the conference, he audited his account and returned the unspent money back to the government. This rare act angered some people in the government who felt he had committed the abominable act by returning money that was supposed to be shared!
Judge him not as he appears before your eyes, but see him as he manifests the value of his inner realm. He found more value in knowledge, and this inspired his admiration of things of enduring value. In the course of his journey from childhood to adulthood, his beliefs are related to natural principles and this guided his fate and predicted his destiny. Until you meet him, then you will know that what goes out of him to mould others supersedes the measure of that which comes back to him in material reward. In the purity of his thought, the freedom of his imagination and the vindication of his conscience, he found great fulfillment that transcends beyond mere judgment of material evaluation. To him, success does not lie in the judgment of the eyes but in the contentment of the soul. To a king who acquires much, same to a servant who has naught. He considers happiness as the soul of achievement. This he found in the dawn of his aspirations when the light of fulfillment illuminates the path of his dream.
He deprived his body to satisfy his mind. In the search for knowledge and in the practice of wisdom, he faced the challenges of unusual contradictions, common only to those who seek the truth in form and order, drawing analysis on the way things appear and the way they really are. The character he bears in high value does not hang on him on temporary contest but dwell in him on permanent contract. Not even the erroneous labeling as radical and controversial can derail Professor Femi Odekunle, first Professor of Criminology, from leaving a model of existence for our generation. Professor, take this tribute as my sincere recognition of your one man contribution on the stage of nation building. This is a testimony to your magnificent struggles for a free, fair and equitable society.
I feel so humbly dignified to write your birthday tribute. I am more distinguished out of many of your old students to be recognized and picked for your mentoring, adoption and love. Your life has taught me that it’s better to walk in dignity than to fly in shame. Professor you may not be materially rich, but when years have rolled past and when the blazing light of truth become the alter of our national life and consciousness; your name shall appear in permanent print of nobility, honour and grace.
For remaining a stainless Nigerian, keeping your head proudly high, for continually living in glass house and still hauling stones at oppressors, looters and usurpers, for your continuous charting the rocky and smooth course of human progress, for struggling for human dignity and social justice, I say Ahooha…to a great pyrate!
Happy birthday my youngest old man, expect a special gift from me on your 90th birthday…
Haruspice wrote this in from Abuja