THE MAN - LLOYD O …. I WILL NEVER FORGET I am eternally grateful to our friends and associates from across the globe for the calls, messages, prayers, goodwill and support through these difficult times. I am most indebted to our childhood friends who honored Lloyd with their presence at his last outing. Lloyd was my most loyal brother, friend and confidant. We were born two years apart and grew up in the same social circles but I was and still is the less known of the Ihejirika duo. Lloyd was a mixer, socialite per excellence and extremely brilliant. He had a way of connecting with people which often threw him to the center of social circles. From his days at Library Avenue Primary School, Government College, Umuahia and University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Lloyd was the ultimate nucleus and engine room of his social circles. He was kind hearted and extremely generous. We shared a lot in common but the differences were glaring too. He was liberal, outgoing and free spirited while I am more of the conservative and guarded my space. He was our Mum’s buddy while I was more at home in the company of our Dad. I recall giving our father a Peugeot 505 SR as New Year gift in January 1996 and Lloyd handing our mother a Mercedes Benz 230 in December of the same year as Christmas gift. I often would tease him that my father’s Peugeot was bigger than his mother’s Mercedes, and that was true because the Peugeot was the more used of the two. Lloyd was an excellent planner and master strategist and at home in the company of the low and mighty. The second in our family of eight, he was the bridge between me and our younger siblings. They had their ways with him and often would collude with them to keep some of their shared secrets until he feels I was in good enough mood to be let into their schemes. He showed me the greatest respect of all my siblings. From the moment we lost our father, and in deference to tradition, he ceased to call me by first name, but rather addressed me as Chief or Ogbuefi. We come from an Igbo community where traditional titles are passed on by primogeniture, conferring on me, my late father’s title upon completing his rights of passage. I reflect on our last discussion on his sick bed. Interestingly, he did not address me by those titles as he often would but his response through that last conversation was punctuated with; “Yes my brother”, “I am OK my brother”, “Thank you my brother”. He addressed me as his brother and none of those titles of this earthly dimension. Lloyd kept a journal of daily entries in the weeks leading to his transition and it was all about the joy and peace of a personal relationship and reconciliation with the Lord his maker. His journal detailed an earnest expectation to behold the face and glory of the Lord his maker. Lloyd’s courage and confidence demystified death. He drew his last breath at 6am on the 16th of November, a day before my 50th birthday. His remains were interred on the 16th of December 2014 and 16 canon shots fired to send forth a brother like none other. I lost a brother but the heavens gained a saint. I will see you again my brother and in your last words to me …Yes my brother …. I am OK my brother …. Thank you my brother. I will never forget.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 14:19:26 +0000
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