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Adieu, Baba Ali: The Last Patriarch Standing

Adieu, Baba Ali, the Last Patriarch Standing
 

By Betty Abah 

As long as I have remembered, Baba Ali had remained my mum's unofficial twin brother. They bore a striking resemblance, he was a constant visitor to Mama at home and in her shop. They never argued, always chatted sweetly. Moreover, Christmases, the highest points of our childhood, were never complete without visits to our Number One spot-- Baba Ali's home in Otukpo where we got all the goodies meaning special food and money. A jolly good fellow, a large heart.

Yesterday (March 12), that heart stopped beating. He joined the ancestors. More significantly, we lost the only surviving one of my mum's siblings. End of an era. Baba Ali is no more, that voice is forever silenced, the unforgettable smiles frozen in living memory. Almost four years after the passing of his immediate younger sister, Omoche, my mum. It's so surreal.

I will always remember Mr. Ali Achanya Ayegba aka Baba Ali aka Achanya Oyi' Iganya for his good naturedness, his sweet smiles. And his calm and calculated approach to life. He loved the good life, great dress sense. He made a fortune as one of the biggest goat sellers in town (Otukpo) and, in our younger days either at his Zone HB home or shop in town, you would be sure to get a bottle of soft drink and other goodies. He was soft at life, spoke softly and loved softly. He will be sorely missed.
Alas, a living ancestor is lost! An important link, a symbol of communal institutional memory, a walking encyclopedia of ancient wisdom, indigenous knowledge, a custodian of our prized traditions, a maternal patriarch and the last one standing of this loving lineage is gone! Alas!

Good-bye, Baba Ali, goodbye, my uncle with the beautiful and gentle smiles. I spoke with you everyday for three days before you passed, even hours before then, and had no inkling you were near your end in our unpredictable facet of the great universe. This was so sudden and unexpected, dear Baba Ali!

Go gently, Baba, glide happily on this divine journey. 

The deep red soil and the people of Ukalegwu-Igwu, Orokam welcome you.

Amidst the thick canopies of palm trees, the chirping of birds and squirrels and the welcoming scent of Mother Nature.

Go softly on this journey, bear three kola nuts, seven alligator pepper heads and fresh palm fronds, totems for the silent trip.

Greet Mama Omoche, your beloved sister, our dear mother for us. 

Greet Inne Iganya, your mother, our amazing granny, greet Inne Onyega, our beautiful aunt, and greet Uncles Oche and Joseph, and Grandpa Ayegba, all three whom we didn't meet. And all those whom we have lost to the cold hands of the Inevitable One.

From Earth we came, to the Earth we will inevitably return. We give solemn thanks to God, Father of the living and the dead, the Unquestionable Time Keeper.
We are heartbroken yet we celebrate your sweet life. May your memory remain a blessing, may those beautiful smiles remain ever heartwarming to us oh, our dear Baba Ali!😭


*Ms Abah is a Lagos-based writer and women and children's rights advocate*

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