July 26, 2020. 3:18AM . I woke up to a WhatsApp message from my younger sister. What exactly was it that Osariemen couldn’t wait till dawn to tell me?

‘Baba done die.... He done pack up’.

Damn. Something in-between a growl & a sigh escaped my lips involuntarily.

My grandpa — Baba as we affectionately referred to him as,had died. At ninety six.

I’d been listening to Taylor Swift’s new album for days now and one song off it has had me locked in. 'Epiphany' details the experiences her grandfather had in the army while fighting. It’s amazing how nature can be so humorous.

Gramps was an amazing man. I grew up to meet him old. He had this mythical imagery in my eyes because he’d always been old. He had only had a Primary Six School Leaving Certificate, but he was certainly literate. Would come up on him reading dailies & listening to the radio. Not to mention the eidetic memory he possessed. I’d made plans to spend enough time with him to hear him talk about his life. About his time. They say it was an era when owning a bicycle was a sign of wealth & Benin was an urban village. What a shame, it never did happen. Hurts most that I’d never get to hear his version of events regarding the Nigerian Civil War. My ma tells me to this day how he’d hidden a number of Hausa people in his house to save them from the onrushing Biafran Army. A selfless icon.

One of the strongest man I know - physically & mentally, he’d withstood the death of a number of his people. Not to mention the physical assault he survived from some irate youths a few years ago over some civil dispute.

Definitely, he’d missed by all of us. He was the go-to man for my ma. Being his first child, they had a special bond. The memories of him I have from when I was little are still fond. Every Sunday after church I’d always go to see him. He’d take my tiny hands, shake them and remind me of how much I look like my late dad.

Nothing will ever fill the vacuum. Ever.

Rest in peace grandpa.
Rest in peace the Odionwere of Ogheghe village.
Rest in peace Pa. Vincent Igbinedion.

Forever with us.