Ruth Olaneye Akinbo

What can I say about Mama Ikale as she's fondly called by those who knew her and those who were close to her while alive? She was a caring mother, a home builder, hardworking and self-employed, and she embraced her understanding of how things should be and be done even in her personal relationship with all her children. She did not only teach us about living good,God fearing,modesty,respect and regard for the rights of others but most importantly, she taught us about life.

When I was a young boy, there were three words that my mother said to me each morning, five days a week, nine months a year for 12 years....RISE AND SHINE, she would say. It meant we were to get up for another day of school. Thank you mama for your love for EDUCATION!

If I had known then, what I know now, there would have been about five words I would have said to her each time. Mama didn't have the benefit of a good, solid education. But, she was the smartest person I've ever known. She didn't have a diploma or degree from any school or university. But, she had a PhD in life and yet another, in love.

Many had said of her that she did too much for us, her children. It was said that perhaps she loved us too much. But, I ask of you, just how can you do too much for your children and even more, how can you love them too much? What people seemed to forget was the circumstances surrounding our life at home when we were coming up. She had to be both mother and father to us after the sudden death of DADDY.After we lost our father, It was mama who did for us, it was mama who watched out for us, it was mama who calmed our fears. It was mama who said that one day things would get better for us, that the light at the end of the tunnel wasn't an oncoming train. She was right.

We had so many rough times after Dad died. Many times, we didn't have food to eat. But, somehow, someway, mama always put something on the table for us to eat. Once we ate, then she would eat. That is something I remember about her as I mourn her passing. On several occasions, mama had to stay awake in her shop late night waiting for everyone of us to be back home before going to bed and at all those occasions,our food was always there as well.THIS...was my mother. I've often thought the highest praise you can give any woman is to say she is/was a good mother. This being the case, mama was the very personification of a good mother.

Mama loved us unconditionally and her entire life was devoted to us, right to the very end. Sure, she had faults, just as we all do. But, she admitted hers, while so many others find themselves faultless. She's the first to admit her faults...she was so very humble. For the first time in the 32 years of my life, I face a Mother's Day without my beloved mother. It will be difficult, to be sure. She taught us how to laugh, how to love, how to give comfort, how to live our lives morally and there at the end...mama showed us how to die. I comfort myself in the knowledge that she is with Jesus, her husband and one of her daughters whom both died 20 years ago...something she never was able to recover from.

Fourteen years ago,1994 to be precise, Mama was diagnosed with diabetes and it was already in advanced stage. We, as children would do, wanted her to stop working and be taken care by the eldest child of the family who happens to be a medical personnel in the hope of having mama with us longer. But I remember that mama took everything calmly and refused to give up working. She asked if not working could give her a hundred percent guarantee that the diabetes would go. No doctor was able to give her that guarantee. Instead, they advised that it was a chance that she may need to take. After much deep thought, mama has made a decision. She refused to stop working and was on medication for another 8 years without admission into the hospital and working all the way.

In 2002,she took ill and was admitted for treatment,In a few short days, we witnessed how her health had deteriorated. But her spirit was always there. She would always say that she would be with us with a hand gesture and facial assurance. She stayed there for a week at the hospital, and then she was taken to Akure to be with her first child who took care of her till the early hours of February 4th, 2008.

She no longer suffers from diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, eye disease or other problems that I can't remember right now. But, despite it all, mama's faith in God remained unshaken, she believed in the Lord with all her might to the very end. Today, I am happy to tell you, my mama is dancing in victory before the Lord. She has fought the good fight and I am sure, that the Lord has said unto her, "WELL DONE, MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, WELL DONE."

Finally, someday I too must pass from this world, just as we all must. By the grace of Almighty God, I enter into His Heavenly Kingdom, I will bear witness to all the saints that went on many years ago, the wonders and majesty of that magnificent kingdom. Somehow, someway, I just know...I just know that I will hear that sweet, familiar voice say 'rise and shine' and I will turn to her and say 'Thanks mama, thanks for everything