When time fails to erase memories of Ahmed

Ahmed Baba! Wednesday April 6th, 2016 made it exactly one year since you left this world. I know you are gone forever, but honestly speaking, the reality has not yet dawned on me yet. I still keep your phone numbers, knowing I could not use them to get across to you. You were hale and hearty three days before your death, which was prior to commencement of a public holiday. We both worked late in the office and in your usual manner, you said ‘Abdullateef, I am going home. See you on Tuesday. Good night.’ And that was the last conversation we had. 
Your death was shocking to us all and it was as if one has never heard of death before. Despite the news, friends still make phone calls to substantiate it, because it was just unbelievable. As I was writing this, I still recall a vivid image of you in jeans, a T-shirt, cap and trainers jogging towards me, smiling, energetic and full of life. Who could have ever thought you will be no more in the next nine days? This happened on the 28th of March, 2015 and it was on Saturday. You actually picked up a parcel on my behalf from the office and I was going to your house to collect it. I was already heading towards Kubwa, when my wife suggested I should give you a call to confirm if you are home. Thank God I did, because your response was that you are already on your way to Suleja then, hoping to deliver the message to me at home on your arrival. We agreed to meet along the Kubwa-Suleja highway and I always remember how you looked more of a sportsman on that day.  
It is really true that you do not value what you have until you lose it and that has been the case with me. The day you passed on, I knew I had lost a friend, a brother and a confidante. Yes, we did not always agree on issues, but you would show understanding when you knew it was needed. You were a cherished colleague, a nice man and devoted to your work. We sincerely miss you, but unfortunately, I could not tell you all this before your demise, because like every human, I was hoping we will all live long to old age and retire peacefully. But alas, it was not as expected, for man proposes and God disposes.
You were so humble, down-to-earth, lively and socialized freely with colleagues and friends. No wonder a colleague would playfully refer to you as ‘Baba Sala’ because of your sense of humour. Although we have known each other for a very long time in school, but it was work that actually brought us close and gave us the advantage of understanding each other better.
With your death, I understand life better. With your death, I see life in a different shade. With your death, I now react differently to issues. Of course, it is natural I have to because when you were alive, it was your dream to have your own house and live in it, see your children grow up and have some of the best things in life. But death cut short your dreams, because as much as you tried, waiting patiently and hoping, you were yet to achieve it. Those that you achieved, you left behind. I now ask myself, why do we humans worry so much over nothing? Especially when we know all these things are vanity, and we are going to leave them behind one day.
A lot happened after your departure, the saddest part being your wife’s demise, the one you cared for so much, seven days after you. Since then, your friend Rafiu Busari has been the custodian of your kids and it is only God that can reward him accordingly. A day before your demise, you sent me a campaign video of the APC governorship candidate of Lagos State, Akinwumi Ambode. He has won the election and has been sworn in. Muhammadu Buhari has also been sworn in as president also, meaning your vote for him really counted.
As at now, the economy has not picked up and things are expensive. The exchange rate has gone up with a dollar exchanging for N325 at the black market. But we are hopeful that things will change for the better. It may interest you to know that there is fuel scarcity right now and it is biting very hard on the masses. The fuel subsidy has been abolished and the Minister of State for Petroleum promised the scarcity will end soon.
We are still in this world looking for what we did not lose and pursuing vanity, while you are there, free from all these worldly problems. I pray Allah, in His infinite mercy, forgives your sins and grants you and your wife Aljannah Firdaus. You are no more, but you are always remembered in our prayers. Your colleagues in the office miss you a lot and they remember you in their prayers and your school mates also say a lot of good things about you. We all hope you forgive us in any way we might have offended you when you are alive.
As we pray for you, we also pray for our colleagues – Aisha Alhassan Badamasi and Atika Balal – who left approximately a year before your demise. Funny enough, we actually mourned them together when you were alive, meaning we are all counting our days. May their soul rest in peace and may Allah forgive their sins and grant them paradise also. For you and them, never will you be forgotten by those who were fortunate to work with and have you in their lives.
Tiamiyu wrote in from Abuja.