Death should have taken us, not him – Bamidele Aturu’s parents lament

by S’ola Filani

Bamidele parents

Mr. and Mrs. Felix Aturu, Felix (80) and Felicia (70),  parents of the Lagos-based lawyer and human rights activist, Bamidele Aturu, who died last week, said on Wednesday that they wished death had taken them away instead of their son.

Bamidele died on Wednesday, July 9 at the age of 49.

A source close to him said the vibrant legal mind died of high blood pressure.

He was reportedly rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, where he was confirmed dead by medical personnel.

In an interview with Punch, Felix who is battling with a stroke disclosed how Bamidele visited him every month and ensured his medical care was going on smoothly, adding that the lawyer’s death was a shock to him.

See excerpts below:

“He never told me he was going away so soon. He never showed any sign that he would depart from the earth. I should have been the one to die, not him. I should be the one to die,” he lamented.

Felix, who is a retired Customary Court Judge, said it was his wish that Bamidele be buried in his hometown in Ogbagi-Akoko, Ondo State.

Bamidele’s mother, Felicia, who was still sorrowing over the death of her son, said his departure was not only sudden, but shocking and had left her wondering what might have happened.

Felicia, who spoke in Yoruba, said, “He loved the two of us (father and mother). We were supposed to die before him, but he is gone. Only God knows why this has happened.

“I never heard him speak of any ailment. He never gave any indication that he would die. And I did not have any premonition that Bamidele was going to pass on.

“We were very close. I only pray that God will allow us to meet again,” she said.

She corroborated her husband’s claim, saying all the family members were in agreement that his corpse be brought down to Ogbagi-Akoko for burial.

“There is no controversy over Bamidele’s burial arrangements,” she added.

The burial has been fixed for July 25.

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