Rain of tears in Osun for slain corps members

Mrs Laoye-Tomori sobbing while receiving the body of Ayotunde at the Governor’s Office, Osogbo... yesterday. With her are Mr. Oyetola (left), Mr. Etim Herny Enyemi, State NYSC coordinator (right) and other officials.

It was a rain of tears in Gbongan, Osun State yesterday as the body of one of its youths- Ebenezer Ayotunde Gbenjo-who was killed in the post-election violence in Bauchi State was buried. Thelate Gbenjo was in Bauchi for his  youth service reports, Soji Adeniyi

Gbongan, an agrarian community in Osun State, was in grief yesterday. It received the remains of one of its promising youths, Ebenezer Ayotunde Gbenjo. The body of another, Kehinde Jelili Adeniji, is being expected today. Ayotunde and Jelil who were in Bauchi State  for the compulsory one year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, were killed in the post-election violence that seized the state.

The youth corps members were killed on April 18, in Giade Local Government Area.

Indigenes of the state of the Living Spring, especially those of Gbogan origin, wailed uncontrollably yesterday as the remains of Ayotunde were buried. 

After his death, the diary found on Ayotunde bore a message in Yoruba language: Oba ran ni ise, odo Oba kun, ako si gbodo ma je ise oba (meaning “The king has sent one an errand and there is danger on one’s way but one can’t afford not to go on the errand.”) Ayotunde was described by his acquitances as hardworking, humble, courageous and selfless.  He  heeded the call to service by presiding over the presidential poll in Giade Local Government of the Northwest state, but paid dearly with his promising future.  Eight other corps members were killed. 

The two late corps members never knew each other, despite hailing from the same town. Just like Ayotunde, Jelili was the fifth and the last child in his family of five.

They were both brilliant and willing to help others. While Ayotunde attended the Federal Polytechnic, Ede in Osun State for his Ordinary National Diploma (OND) before graduating in Economics from the Ogun State-owned varsity, the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Jelili attended the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro in Ogun State before graduating in Banking and Finance from the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, in Ondo State.

It was heartrending to know through Ayotunde’s Pastor, Venerable Oladayo Olaniran, who preached at the funeral  for the late corps member at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Gbongan that Ayotunde would have served last year but could not because of a serious illness that nearly claimed his life. According to the cleric, every member of the church went into prayer and fasting session for him. “He survived the sickness but however, lost the year to join his mates to serve the nation. A day before he died, I saw his missed calls and I could not return it because I dont take my cell phone to church service. If I had called him back, probably we would have averted his demise through prayer. He will be greatly missed. He was too dedicated and committed to God’s work. He had prepared himself for death by his examplary lifestyle. He is humble, harmless, unassuming and  reserved. One will always remember his life of service and usefulness. He was the church’s assistant organist. Every where he went, he touched lives. I remember the day he was the only one to come forward to dig the ground in church for a water channel.”

The preacher, who called on the Federal Government to assist the bereaved Gbenjo family, advised that the operations of the NYSC scheme be regionalised to stop the   killings of the nation’s future leaders.

 Deputy Governor Mrs. Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori led a delegation to represent Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who  travelled abroad.. In the team were: the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola and Head of Service (HOS), Elder Segun Akinwusi.

Delivering the governor’s message, Mrs Laoye-Tomori described the duo as patriots and heroes, who died in the course of national assignment and in the enthronement of an enduring democracy for the nation. 

She said: “It is unfortunate that those who killed these corps members failed to see them as change agents. These late corps members’ crime was that they didn’t allow those who wanted to frustrate the popular wish of the people to have a field day. They were Awolowo’s disciple by their deeds. They are sources of inspiration to us all, particularly people of their generation and the younger generation.”

Like Venerable Olaniran, who said life is vanity and meanigless without service to others, the deputy governor, quoting the late Obafemi Awolowo, said: “It is not life that matters but the courage you bring into it.”

Mrs. Laoye-Tomori promised the government’s support for the two bereaved families. She prayed to God to give them the fortitude to bear the loss.

The family home of the Gbenjos at Isale Obada Street was besieged with sympatisers. The two surviving aged parents of Ayotunde were short of words. The 73-year-old Pa Rufus Gbenjo, who retired as a senior driver at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State five years ago and his retired 71-year-old wife, Sarah, were looking forward to reaping the fruit of their hard labour and investment in Ayotunde. But they have been denied the dream.

Sympatisers rained curses on the killers of the corps members. Funmilade Adegoke, an elder sister to Ayotunde, kept asking rhetorical questions about how her brother was killed, how many police officers were in the station when Ayotunde and others were killed. How many police were injured and killed on the fateful day? Ayotunde’s first cousin, Mr. Kola Fatoye, a lawyer, said the only compensation for the family can never be a monetary donation, but for the culprits to be caught, prosecuted and brought to justice.

Ayotunde’s bossom friend, Tunde Agboola said , among unachievable dreams of Ayotunde was a plan to repaint the St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Gbongan with some other youths, who are members of the church before Easter and his Master’s degree of which his friend was to collect a form from the University of Ibadan and the commencement of ICAN examination after service year.

It was the same tale  for the family of Kehinde Jelili at Isale-Oja area of Gbongan. The community, including the royal family was in a mourning mood. Jelili’s elder brother, Adesina Adeniji, an official of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria(PHCN), who had raised Jelili , narrated how he received the death of his brother. “My younger brother told some mates of Jelili, who escaped the mob attack at their Corpers’ Lodge, called to tell him Jelili had been killed. Later, his lecturer called me to say he was seriously injured and I felt confused with the two different pieces of information. I called his number but was not reachable and I felt possibly he had not  charged his cell phone. So, I sent a text message which had not been delivered up till now to him. At a point I called an NYSC official in Bauchi, whose number was given to me. The official was too harsh on the family, telling us to come and collect Jelili’s remains rather than calling them for information.

The two bereaved families said President Goodluck Jonathan had called to commiserate with them. They said the President  also sent a text to them on May 2 at exactly 4.45pm, asking them to send two members from each family to him on May 10 for compensation. Jelili was said to be very brilliant and  ahead of his peers in his academics. He was governor of his class from Part One to Three and President of the Banking and Finance Department in his final year. He had Second Class upper (2.1).  He  lost his father at five and the mother is well above 70. On breaking the sad news to the mother, she fainted twice. His brother, who is the family’s bread winner was too sad. He was looking forward to his late brother’s financial  assistance  and securing a job. Jelili was said to have prepared himself for this responsibility as he had sat for the Management course in Bauchi about a month ago and had also applied on-line for an employment with the  Customs Service. But now, all his dreams had gone with the winds.

Source : www.thenationonlineng.net