EFE DIED THE DAY KIMONO DIED

EFE DIED THE DAY KIMONO DIED

It was very early Sunday morning. I was still in bed. I was in that stage when you are not sure whether you want to get up or you want to sleep some more. My phone rang. Oh no, who would be calling me this early? It probably would be one my COSON members needing some help. I checked. The name on the phone was Oge. Oge is the first daughter of my recently departed dear friend and colleague, Ras Kimono. 

I speak with Oge quite a lot. She is so pleasant but it is unusual for Oge to call me so early. I did not answer because I thought it was a mistake. The phone rang again. I picked up the phone and once again, it was Oge. I took the phone to the bathroom and tried the usual chit-chat with someone I am growing to admire quite a bit.

Oge asked me how I was and I replied that I was ok. She asked me whether I was relaxed and I thought that was odd. How could this young lady be asking this old man these many JAMB questions this early in the morning, did she have too much to drink? Then, she said that she had news that was not so good. I asked her where she was and she said that she was in Abuja. My mind started racing… Did this have anything to do with Nigeria's crazy political situation? Like most Nigerians, I had been informed that President Buhari was on his way to New York on one of his many foreign trips. Something funny seems to happen each time he travels…

"Oge, what is the matter", I asked? I heard her breath on the phone. Then she spat it out, "Efe is dead!" "What do you mean Efe is dead?" She said slowly, "Efe died this morning. Her body is at the Teaching Hospital mortuary in Lagos" My head exploded. I am supposed to be a strong man but this was too much for me to handle. I started weeping. No one told me Efe had a headache or tooth ache. How could Efe suddenly die? None of it made sense. Maybe, someone had played an expensive prank on Oge.

I called Phil Ehizibue, Ras Kimono's brother-in-law who liaised with me through the celebrated burial of Kimono just four weeks earlier. Phil who is usually a rock was crying uncontrollably on the phone. I did not need any further proof that something horribly wrong had happened. When Phil got some control of himself, he told me that Efe was with him at his birthday party up to about 10.00 pm the night before and she appeared ok.

I had seen Efemena Okedi around the creative industry a few times before but my first real discussion with her was the day she walked into the Board room of the former COSON office in Opebi with Ras Kimono about seven years ago. Kimono had issues with his recording contracts and ownership of his intellectual property which he wanted me to help him resolve. Efe was part of the discussion and I was thrilled by her firm grasp of the issues. To most people, copyright is too complicated and just a lot of jargon and Greek. To my surprise, Copyright was not complicated to this beautiful lady. She had intellectual depth. We instantly became friends. Between me and Kimono, we constantly teased each other about who liked Efe more.

Friday, the 8^th of June, Kimono and I spoke on the phone for a long period. He had planned to travel that evening to Atlanta. We spoke the way boys do. Once more, I teased him about Efe, mother of Dimma, his beautiful daughter. He chuckled and said that with the rainy season, it was getting quite cold in Lagos. He joked that he was handing over Efe to me and that I should take care of her and make sure that she remained warm while he was away.

Of course, Kimono never made the trip to Atlanta. He passed on Sunday, the 10^th of June. I was at the Airport in Ikeja to board an Air Peace flight to Owerri. Just before boarding, I called Efe and she kept muttering "we lost him".

Efe was a key driver of the much talked about burial of Ras Kimono. She thought the world of Kimono and was 100% in love with the guy. She wanted Kimono properly celebrated. After watching a video documentary I had done on the life and times of the late Christy Essien Igbokwe, she pleaded with me to do "Good Bye Ras Kimono" the documentary which I shot and edited in two weeks In the documentary, Efe spoke in an uncommon way of her love for Ras Kimono.

In the last seven years, it was rare to see Kimono without Efe. Many times, the lovebirds would stop over at my TOPS office in Ikeja or at COSON House with their effervescent daughter, Dimma who would scatter everywhere! We would banter endlessly and on their way home, they would call me on the phone and we would continue the banter. Ras Kimono Augustine Oseleke Onwubuya and Efemena Okedi were two of the best persons I have ever known. In them, I saw the true meaning of love. Efe would have given her life to Kimono and Kim would have done the same.

To tell the truth, I was worried whether Efe could continue living without the incomparable love she shared with Kimono. I thought she could, maybe because of Dimma. I was wrong. I have thought deeply about it and I now believe that  Efe did not die on September 23, 2018. She died on June 10, the day Ras Kimono, the love of her life, died.

See you next week.