It was a traumatic day, daughter recalls Awolowo’s death

Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu, daughter of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, shared intimate details about her father’s life, his passing, and the legacy he left behind.

Speaking on State Affairs with Edmund Obilo from the Awolowo family home in Ikenne, uploaded on YouTube on Sunday, she reflected on the aura that still permeates the house where both her parents lived their final days.

Recounting the day of Chief Awolowo’s passing in 1987, Awolowo-Dosumu described it as traumatic.

She said, “It was a traumatic day. I’ll tell you I saw him by some strange coincidence.”

According to her, she had visited her father on the three days leading up to his death.

“He died on Saturday. We don’t know what time it was on Saturday morning but on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I saw him on each of those days.

“On Wednesday I was at work and I just felt like giving him a call and I called him um I said I would like to come and see you? He said, Come along. So um so I just came. He was in his office above the library down there and we just simply chatted,” she added.

According to her, their last encounter was particularly poignant. She recalled and expressed regret for not staying overnight as he had requested.

She said, “When I was leaving they were both in that room; Papa and Ahalaji Gbadamosi. Papa had the barber’s cloth around his neck, that was my last picture of him so I went into the room to say goodbye.

“He looked crestfallen. I can never forget and I regret that I will regret that forever he sat on his bed I sat on the chair by his bed and we were chatting but he didn’t look me in the eye and then when my sister came and all of that.

“So when I was going I said I will see you on Monday and he said his last words to me he said ‘Omo a ke yin’ meaning your child will take care of you.”

“I didn’t think it had any significance on that day, now I know that maybe he was just saying goodbye. Nobody thought that he was going to die. There was no sign at all that he was about to pass on.”

The morning of his passing, Awolowo-Dosumu arrived at the family home to find her father had died suddenly.

“I simply fell on his body and lay there. They had to pull me off,” she said, describing the moment she saw him.

“It was a bad day and I knew I had lost a vital pillar in my life,” she added.

Reflecting on Chief Awolowo as a father, Awolowo-Dosumu said her father was devoted to his children but also committed to a greater mission.

“He loved his children very deeply. but he had the dilemma… sharing the time between what he had to do for others and what he had to do for his family,” she said.

She shared memories of special sessions where Chief Awolowo would impart life lessons to his children.

“He would sit, we would sit and chat, and he would talk to us philosophies,” she said.

One particular session stood out, where he told his children, “If you use that name [Awolowo] wisely, it will work for you, but if you don’t, you’re on your own.”

Awolowo-Dosumu also touched on her father’s mystical nature, recalling how he once told his children, “You do realise that I’m a mystic.”

She noted his uncanny ability to provide the right advice in various situations.

“If Papa said this is what you need to do about this thing, it was always easier just to do it,” she said.

She further emphasised Awolowo’s passion for learning.

“He was always reading. That was his pastime, that was his passion,” Awolowo-Dosumu said.

She revealed that he had a science laboratory in their home and would invite professors to teach him various subjects.

Describing her father as a good listener and a humble man, Awolowo-Dosumu said, “He would listen very patiently at meetings… from the highest to the lowest, from the oldest to the youngest.”