The cold hand of death has snatched him away from us. Who?

I am still swimming in the ocean if doubts. I am still imagining it is a dream. I am still trying to figure out if this is a reality. Though I am not new to bad news of this nature as I have lost a lot of people who are dear to me and very close to my heart, I am still in shock since I received the news of the demise of my late step brother.

Death is an energy that comes at will. And the vacuum created by the loss of a loved one is such that can never be replaced or filled. One is never happy when someone he or she loves dies no matter how many times one has lost someone in death. Death is still an enemy and never a friend and it is dreaded more than a plague.

I came from a polygamous family. My father married 6 wives. He has 18 surviving children. Out of his 6 wives, 3 is surviving now because 3 died already including my mum and the last was buried just last December. Now, this very first child out of the 18 has just died but the mother is still alive. I am wondering how the mother is going to survive this news.

This particular person was the one that took me to Lagos the second time I travelled to Lagos after my primary school. I lived with him and the wife for more than 3 years before I moved to the sister's house. He was such a wonderful brother to stay with. We are in good terms and as our overall first son, we all look up to him for decision making in the family. He just did his 30th wedding anniversary with his 7 children this past December.

I was shocked to see how sick he looked when I saw his anniversary picture on Facebook. I was told that he was sick but I didn't really understand how bad it was. They just refused to tell in details. I will share it with you all. His name on Facebook is Awo Okoko Awo. Here are his anniversary pictures I got from his Facebook page

He has been battling with illnesses for more than 10 years now and finally, he is late. I received this news on Friday whereas he died on Tuesday. They were hiding it from me but my in-law told me about it. It was like a black Friday for me.

Take a look at his pictures when was healthy

It is a pity. My own brother is the second son. He and the son to the deceased have moved the corpse down from Lagos where he resides to the mortuary that is closer to my hometown. I have been trying to put a call across to my siblings but I haven't been able to reach them. I am worried but I just have to be calm. I know that it is a great loss to us but we just have to remain calm. Whenever the burial arrangement is decided on, I will likely journey home for it.

It is hard to bear. But we just have to bear it. Below are few condolence messages that we received ever since his demise was announced in my hometown's WhatsApp group in form of screenshots

I have also personally received countless consoling messages on my DM since then. It's just so disheartening! Anyways, we await the time when death will be no more. My family still mourns his death. More updates will come soon.