Ameey🧕❤️

On Friday, 23rd October, I had a conversation with Nafisa, Ibrahim and Emmanuel in our office classroom. Just the four of us, wallahi. Little did I know it would be the last conversation I’d ever have with them. We were talking about work when I said, “I honestly don’t think I can keep up with this kind of job forever. I like having time for myself.” They all laughed and said, “That’s why you work here.” Then I asked them, “What would you do if you woke up with ₦1 billion today?” I told them I’d retire, take care of my family and friends, and go to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage. Nafisa said she’d retire too, travel the world, and take care of her family and friends. Emmanuel said he’d invest, get married, and keep working because he wanted more out of life. Ibrahim tried convincing him that ₦1 billion was more than enough to invest and still retire. We laughed. We talked about life, money, dreams and the future. Just an ordinary conversation among colleagues who had no idea what was waiting for them. On Saturday, Nafisa messaged me on WhatsApp. She wanted to send Emmanuel and Ibrahim to my house so we could shoot a video for the YAI programme they were running. I told her I’d be at the market until evening and asked if they could come later. Unfortunately, they couldn’t make it. On Sunday, Emmanuel texted me that they would be at the office on Monday by 4 p.m. so we could shoot the video. Monday morning, I woke up, picked out one of my nice outfits for the video, went to work and waited. Then, around 2 p.m., I received a call from Halima. She told me she had heard that Nafisa and three other people she was travelling with had been involved in an accident. From what she had heard, none of them survived. She asked if I knew anyone at the General Hospital who could help confirm the news. That was how I found out. At work. On an ordinary Monday. The people I expected to see in a few hours were gone. The same people I had laughed with just three days earlier. The same people I had made plans with. The same people who were talking about what they would do with their lives if they had ₦1 billion. We had plans for Monday. We had a video to shoot. We had lives we expected to continue living. And then, suddenly, there was no Monday with them. Life is so fragile. We spend so much time planning for the future, chasing money, building careers and dreaming about the things we want to do someday. Yet, none of us knows how much time we have left. May Allah forgive Nafisa, Ibrahim, Emmanuel and everyone who lost their lives in that accident. May He grant them Al-Jannatul Firdaus, comfort their families and give everyone they left behind the strength to bear this painful loss. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un. Please, hold your loved ones a little closer. Be kind to people. Make time for the things that matter. And never take an ordinary day, an ordinary conversation or the promise of tomorrow for granted.

Àdúrà àá gbà oh (ah, àdúrà) Owó yẹn a wa oh (ohh) Bust down, biza-biza lá wá oh Ọmọ ológo daya oh...