Although he tried not to weep, Alhaji AbdulAzeez Oyerinde, the father of Olaitan, the slain Principal Private Secretary to the Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, intermittently broke down while telling our correspondent how he and other members of his family had been faring since their son was murdered on May 4, 2012.

It was with some effort that our correspondent got him to sit down for an interview to describe how his son’s death had affected the family.

Pa AbdulAzeez described Olaitan’s death as a big blow to both his immediate and extended family. Though he said God Almighty is the ultimate provider, he noted that Olaitan was the breadwinner of the family who also assisted many relations.

“Naturally, I will always feel the loss of my son. But I have resigned to fate since it pleased God to take him away; especially looking at the way he died. There is nothing anybody can do about it.

“He was the breadwinner. He was the person taking care of the family. He was taking care of many people in the family – his four children, his wife, myself, my children and his siblings, including members of the extended family members. I know he was taking very good care of me and his brothers.

“However, Olaitan is not our creator. Almighty God created us and He has been taking care of us. God has been miraculous. But we have been feeling the impact of his demise too much. Naturally, nobody is happy about his demise. We are not happy, moreso as he was generous, kind and humble to everybody,” Oyerinde said.

He stated that his deceased son had a very amiable lifestyle that endeared him to his kith and kin and his contemporaries.

The septuagenarian, who said he was a reporter with the defunct Daily Sketch newspaper, added that Olaitan had a unique lifestyle that made him rare and distinguished him from his siblings.

He said, “I do not want to count them because each time I think about him, I break down in tears. It is too much for me to bear. He was not only my child, but he was a wonderful boy. Whenever occasion arises to discuss Olaitan, I always avoid it but anytime I talk about him, I break down, weeping.

“Olaitan can sit down here for a long time without talking and when he talks, he will joke. He was very lively and humorous. He was a very humble, obedient and lively child. He loved to make people happy.

He was very brilliant at school. He led the team of my children that attended nursery and primary schools in Ilorin.”

According to the elderly man, his son attended Ideal Nursery and Primary School and Bishop Smith Memorial College, all in Ilorin as well as School of Basic Studies at Kwara State Polytechnic before proceeding to the University of Lagos where he read Mass Communication.

He added that Olaitan did not practise journalism but became a dogged activist, spending much of his time in unionism.

Oyerinde said Oshiomhole had been a pillar of support and care for the family since after the demise of Olaitan.

He said the Edo State Governor, whom Olaitan was working with before his untimely death less than a year ago, had tried his best to ensure that the children and wife of the deceased as well himself, did not feel much the vacuum created by the demise of Olaitan.

“There is one person that has surprised me, that is Adams Oshiomhole.

He has accepted us as members of his extended family. He is doing everything possible to take care of us. But for Almighty God and Adams Oshiomhole, maybe I would have died since after Olaitan’s death. What can a man of about 78 years do?

“I thank God, I thank Adams Oshiomhole, he is wonderful. He has done more than a blood relation of Olaitan could do. Not only financially, but taking good care of everyone of us. He is always seeking to know our wellbeing, our complaints. I am being honest. Every month, he will get in touch with us; not me alone, the children and the wife of Olaitan. He takes personal responsibility of the children and the wife.

“He will telephone me regularly to know about my welfare and the children. The children of Olaitan are in boarding school through his (Oshiomhole’s) personal efforts. Also, Olaitan’s wife gave a very good report of how Oshiomhole had been taking good care of the children and herself too.”

However, he stated that the Federal Government and that of Kwara State where he had lived for a very long time could still assist the family.

He said that though he had lived a greater part of his life in Ilorin, Kwara State, he would want to go back to his home town, Ede, in Osun State to spend the rest of his life.

Oyerinde said, “I have stayed here (Ilorin) for a long time. I am about 78 years. I have found Ilorin people very good. I attended primary school here before going to other towns in Nigeria. I am well known by many people in Ilorin; even the Emir knows me.

“But I would like go back to my hometown to spend the rest of my life. I would prefer to go and settle back in my country home, Ede in Osun State. I need a home. If I can have a small bungalow, it will be all right. Land is not a problem. If get a bungalow or money to build it, I will be most grateful.

“Oshiomhole is planning to get me a bungalow. I learnt that he bought a parcel of land where Olaitan was buried and his intention was to put a building there,” Oyerinde said.

He also appealed to the Edo State Government not to relent in his effort to ensure that Olaitan’s widow is relocated to Lagos and provided with a job.

According to him, this would be a big relief to the family as he noted that Lagos was nearer to Ede, their hometown.

He stated that though finding the killers of Olaitan would not resurrect the deceased, it would be good in the interest of justice to fish out and punish the culprits.

“I cannot say more than what Oshiomhole has been saying. But even if they find them, what is the benefit to us? It cannot bring back life. However, justice is necessary.

“Oshiomhole is not attacking government. All he is saying is that the law enforcement agents charged with the responsibility of maintaining and enforcing law and order should fish out the murderers. That is all he is fighting for. He is not accusing anybody or saying any bad things about the government.

“The family, everybody wants that. It is quite natural. If you hear that somebody died, you would like to know who he was and why he died, how he died and who killed him, if he was killed by someone. It is natural.

Every responsible Nigerians would like to know who killed Olaitan and why. No more, no less,” he declared.