HID: Exit of the jewel of inestimable value -By Bola Ogunrinade

HID Awolowo

Often, I hear people talk about ‘Jerusalem, iluogo’! They tell us all the streets in heaven are paved with gold. We are told that angels are praising God day and night and sorrow has no place in that happy milieu. Preachers at funerals will always assure us that the departed loved ones are in a better place. “No foreign enemies or domestic foes can touch them again”, they are set free from sin and the hassles of this crazy world. Fine. But none of us would really want our loved ones to transit to a place where we no longer have access to them, except in our dreams. Have you ever thought that whilst here, they always returned from any travels. With death, it is a final departure, a journey into a land with no return.

So, Mama Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo, the matriarch of the Awolowo family, popularly called HID, has gone to rest. She has gone to be with the Lord. She has travelled to a land of no return. It was the late Sage, Papa Obafemi Awolowo – her husband – who first referred to her as “a jewel of inestimable value”. By that appellation, she became a yardstick by which most Nigerian men rated their wives. Most women aspired to be like her, but her standards were quite high. Her life was woven totally around her husband. Although not a graduate of any contemporary university, she had a sharp and analytical mind. She remained politically informed till the end of her days. Whilst her husband was the Premier of Western Region, Mama led the women’s wing of the Action Group and was a rallying point of support for his campaigns. Mama HID was also a successful trader – the first distributor of Nigerian tobacco products and the first importer of lace materials.

I saw her on a couple of occasions during her lifetime. Once, I saw her at Liverpool Street shopping with utmost delight. She was busy sorting out lace materials of exquisite designs and matching headgears. That was about 32 years ago. But the encounter which stood out clearly in my mind was at WOCOM, Onireke, Ibadan in 1992 when her first daughter, Mrs Tola Oyediran, was being ordained as a Reverend and invited my husband and I to witness the occasion. Mama HID had arrived in good time. Seated by the entrance, her keen, roving eyes watched as guests came in and took their seats. Delani – my husband – and I walked in without knowing that Mama took notice of us. Delani, in his usual breezy manner, walked jauntily in front with my humble self trailing behind. Mama promptly sent a gentleman after us. Little did we expect the lesson she imparted. After exchanging the usual pleasantries, she turned to Delani and said:

“Young man, your wife is supposed to be going in front. You must always walk behind her to protect her. So, I walked majestically in front whilst my husband muttered:

“Nwontigbeaiye le lw, māarin, māayan!”

Such was Mama’s firmness and courage of conviction. She believed that a woman should always be protected, but she in return, must remain fiercely loyal to her husband. And that brings me to the point of this discourse. Nobody ever heard that Mama took a fancy to any other man. She loved her husband with a passion unparalleled. In life, and 28 years after his exit, she remained loyal to him and his ideals. Did I hear you say, he deserved it? Of course, he did. I never heard anyone point at his secret lover or mistress. Once Papa Awo married his jewel at an early age of 22 years, they stuck to each other for half a century. So, you can rightly say, “love begets love”. Tough call, you would say, in these crazy times!

What lessons can we learn from Mama’s life? There are many. The ones that come readily to me include her tenacity of purpose, unalloyed loyalty to her husband and his political ambition, a keen business sense and love for her community and country.

I believe it is time for us women to take stock of how we are living our own lives. You might say you are not married to a governor of a state or the Premier of a region. Remember that even the governor did not get there without passing through the mill. So, the support that can earn you the sobriquet, “jewel of inestimable value” must start from the beginning of the union and continue all through the marriage. Sounds easy, but can only be done with prayers and total reliance on God. I believe it was not all that easy for Mama as she went through her own share of life’s vicissitudes. Remember she lost a young, promising son at 21, and in later years, lost two more children. Recall that her husband was once jailed and she had to run her home front with profound courage and hope. Nonetheless, Mama remained a devout Christian till the end of her days and never for once gave up on the Nigerian project. Her life gave testimony to the fact that she was created for a purpose. She found that raison d’être and lived it out till she breathed her last on Saturday, September 19, 2015. Since her demise, lots and lots of encomiums have been showered on her. Some interesting comments have also been made about the likely negative, depressing report she will give the late Sage on the state of the nation and the seemingly incoherent Yoruba race. I beg to disagree. The “Jewel of inestimable value” was not given to aggravating her husband. She was a diplomat par excellence. On arrival at Jerusalem, iluogo’, she will savour her husband’s company for some time before discussing any political matters. Surely, they must gist and catch up on matters arising since their last meeting! It is only after that that Mama will summon the likes of the late Ooni of Ife, the Olu of Warri and Ambassador Deinde Fernandez for a serious prayer session for a new, progressive Yoruba agenda and, by extension, a revitalised, stable and prosperous Nigeria. Mama will then give Papa a crisp report:

“Awonomo ti nilo adura pupo

Nwon ngbiyanju, sugboni sepo fun nwon latise,

Ejeki a fi adura ran won lowo

Ki nwon le se a seyori”.

Mama Hannah Dideolu Awolowo will be missed not only by her family members, her community and political associates of her late husband. She will be missed by every woman who is committed to building a solid home and an enduring bond within the family – nuclear and extended. Mama would have turned hundred years on November 25, 2015. But God, in whose hands lies the power of life and death, decided to call her home 67 days before the grand event.

May her soul rest in perfect peace.

• Mrs. Ogunrinade, mni, wrote in via bola5053@gmail.com