Gone too soon !

I just returned to my dutypost from Oyo town.

I was there for the burial of my auntie. She was my father's immediate junior sister.

In strict Yoruba practice this meant that even though she was passing on at 71, my father could not be at that ceremony. Thus my presence was doubly significant, both to represent myself and to represent my dad.

It was a test-case for my extended family because we have not been having ceremonies of this type save for my dad's 70th birthday about 5years back.

It was a lesson in how death is more of a unifying event than any other rights of passage,for while we had been gathering in smaller numbers for events like marriages, birthdays, etc everybody could see that it was a fuller house this time.

One must confess though that the size of the gathering was also a testimony to the goodness of our matriarch who just passed on. Iya Oyo as we used to call her really belonged to everyone,not her children alone.

Also something I must confess. In spite of their ages, I never admitted to myself that that generation- my dad, my mum. their brothers and sisters etc could be on their way out. Not a pleasant thought to admit generally, but then I also believe that they are indeed still too young to die.

I put it this way- that in all my life I have hardly seen anybody who did not die young. Although we console ourselves with the position of the Psalmist concerning our years being threescore and ten, I would rather believe that Methuselah and many others like him that are cited in the same Bible were not meant to be exceptions.

I pray fervently that humanity would find the secret of such longevity soon enough.