Senior Bode! Senior Bode!! Senior Bode!!! That was the shout in the crowd and it was at the Airport domestic arrival wing in Abuja.
There is only one place anyone who calls me that name can be from. It’s Command Secondary School, Kaduna!
On turning back, I saw a heavily built gentleman towing over and extending his hands to exchange greetings.
I retorted Command? He said yes. Which set? 94 sir. ‘94 should be Omotola Jalade’s set? Yes that’s correct… with a smile. That also startled me cos this is a red neck officer (Colonel) calling me sir in public and saying he was my junior in secondary school.
We exchanged pleasantries, he made reference to the article I had written about the 25th anniversary of the school. He also mentioned seeing me on TV. We exchanged phone numbers as his military aide took his bags. We agreed to be in touch. The next time I saw him was on TV when he led the parade that swore in President Buhari.
Dark in complexion, good-natured and humbled, he stood at an intimidating 6ft 6 (or thereabout) he moved with a commanding presence. From a family with a strong military heritage, he senior brother (Real Admiral Brimah Rtd), was my senior and course mate to William Jiwunde (aka DGM Dust Bin). His twin brother is also in the military as well.
There is no good time to lose a loved one but this is a peculiarly distressing time to hear stories like this to one of the best among us.
My heartfelt condolences to his wife, children, and immediate family. The army is no stranger to losses but a loss nonetheless. Condolences to those who worked closely with him and bonded.
Of course, we all share in the grief, but his teammates will feel it more. Those with whom they climbed trees together as children, did the road walk from Command Junction to Abuja junction, and probably played in the rain.
The thing with childhood friends was that we became friends simply because we liked each other. We were not old enough to have an agenda. The relationships were pure in intent.
General Oseni Brimah, you came you saw and did your bit for the rest of us to continue the war. Rest in peace till we meet to part no more.