Today I was going
through my friend list on Facebook and I came across the name of a classmate of
mine back in primary school Tunde Brown, I was about sending him a message when
I read through his time line only to discover he died last year, May His soul
rest in peace. So this a piece trying to say thank you to friends I have made
over the years I have spent on earth, some of whom I have not spoken to or seen
in decades. This is dedicated to you all from Sherryville Junior School, Ogba
Grammar School, Effective coaching centre, St. Theresa Catholic Church Ifako,
Obafemi Awolowo University, and to friends I have made on twitter and everyone out
there whom we have met and spent days together.
Looking back
over the years I have spent on earth, I have come to realize friends are
treasures to keep. They come into your life and leave indelible marks,
difficult to overlook or ignore as the months rolls into years, as night
becomes day and days gradually give way to night. They became family,
counsellors and confidants. Friends who have become brothers, sisters, aunties
and uncles. So this is me saying thank you to all my friends, right from my
nursery school days, they who made me comfortable and welcomed when I felt like
fish out of water; willingly shared their snack with me when my food was thrown
into the bin!
Back in primary
school (Estate Primary School), I met these great guys who went hunting with me
for grasshoppers during the lunch break, we shared our porridge and whatever
our money could buy and that coloured sugary water that we called ice cream, we
saved our lunch money to buy on our way home! Ekana Gowon, baba dudu and
sausage, the cold pito we relished inside the hot sun while walking home. To many faces and names I cannot remember
today, but the days we spent together I have not forgotten. My classmates back
in Sherryville when I returned there after a brief stint in a public primary
school, Wale, Bukky, Femi, Biola, Tosin and many more to list. Those days when
we were interacting we never knew the impact we were having on each other life,
today years down the line I remember lessons I learnt from you all, from how to
treat a lady (lol) to standing up for myself against bullies. I am grateful. There was this incident I slid
a metal ring unto my finger and I was unable to remove it, I panicked and my
cousin came to my rescue, but that finger was bruised kai! I was spanked for
getting a metal ring stuck on my finger. Back in secondary school, my first
days were interesting. I won’t forget Bukky, she took me around and helped me
establish a footing in the school. From learning which part of the school to go
fetch my desk that will be carried away whenever it rained, where to buy food
during break time and which part of the school to dodge lest I be bullied by
the seniors ( thank God I did not attend a boarding school). Friends who gave me
their notes to copy, who took their time out to teach me what they had learnt
while I was not around. Friends who we walked home together after close of
school on a daily basis (Kingsley, Taofeek, Mustapha and Femi). The friends I made
in Ablaze for God youth Army, the list is endless but I am glad I met you all,
you left me with memories I will forever cherish. Thanks to the Efere family,
you guys thought me a lot! The trust your parents expressed in you guys was
heart-warming, God bless your mum won’t forget her in a hurry. Happy memories
are made when you have friends who accept you with open arms and never stop
trying to put a smile on your face. Bernard Oyoyo I wish today I took up the
challenge to learn a musical instrument during those days. Thank you room 141
faj guys, you made me appreciate music at another level entirely, Seyi and Bass
lines in songs!
Thank you thank
you Great Ife Guys, you all too numerous to mention, my classmates (OAU Med
school class of 2007) who took time out to watch my back and care for me, I am
eternally grateful. I am forever glad to see you guys anytime I have the
opportunity. My life is a tapestry of the inputs each and every one of you have
had over the course of my life. I have become what I have become because you guys
decided to share your life with me. To the friends who have departed this world
to the great beyond, my gratitude goes to you. Funke Adegbesan Nee Elusogbon, I
cannot forget your friendship, it shaped my life in no small measure. And the
friends I have made on twitter, you guys rock!!! I am blessed because I have
friends who care, wish I would be a better friend to you all, and wish we will
never grow apart with the years, alas we have to, that we may give our
friendship to someone out there who needs it.
“True friendship
multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for
life without friends is like life on a deserted island…to find one real friend
in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing”- Unknown
“Friendship
consists in forgetting what one gives and remembering what one receives.”-
Alexander Dumas
“Friendship is
the hardest thing I the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in
school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t
learned anything.”- Muhammad Ali
Finally, “Growing
apart doesn’t change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our
roots will always be tangled. I am glad for that.” Ally Condie
