“I started saying a lot of things to him, but he did not respond. That was when I knew that comrade was gone.”
Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, wife of late Yinka Odumakin, the spokesman for Afenifere, has reacted to the avalanche of tributes in honour of her late husband saying she wished her husband could hear what those he criticised were saying about him.
Joe expressed this during a chat with the Punch newspaper at her residence in Lagos.
Odumakin, a fearless activist, died on Saturday from COVID-19 complications at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in Ikeja, Lagos.
According to the newspaper, Joe said the late activist was recovering and had asked for his phones and gadgets before he relapsed and died.
She said, “It all started on March 8 when he said he had a series of meetings and appointments to make. But he went to see his physiotherapist and discovered that his oxygen level had dropped.
“After the doctor attended to him, it was discovered that he had COVID-19 and was transferred to the isolation centre at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.
“The next day, his oxygen level dropped a bit more and we had to move to the Mainland General Hospital, Yaba. He was put on a ventilator at the hospital. After a few days, he tested negative.
“So, he was moved to the LASUTH Intensive Care Unit. While at the ICU, his kidney, liver and other body parts were okay. The issue was respiratory; he had problems with breathing, which they said was due to his lungs which were affected in the aftermath of the infection.
“I did not share these details because I wanted him to tell the story of his survival, which would have been sweeter, and I was looking forward to that. I never believed that he would die. It’s so difficult for me to use past tense for him after being together for 24 years.
“All of a sudden, I got the news from someone in the US (who sent a WhatsApp message) and I thought that the person did not know what he was saying because I was looking forward to reuniting with him. He (Yinka) had also asked after his son after he regained consciousness.
“He told me that the first thing he wanted immediately he came out was his Ipad and two phones, and I had them in the vehicle. When I heard that the worst had happened, I was in shock.
“The people with me were telling me that I should not go to see his body, but I refused. I moved in and saw his face was covered; I removed the cloth. I was given gloves. I started saying a lot of things to him, but he did not respond. That was when I knew that comrade was gone.”
President Muhammadu Buhari, and the national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, who had been heavily criticised by the late Odumakin, were among dignitaries who paid tributes to his memory.
Odumakin’s widow said she wished her husband was alive to read what they said about him.
“It would have been soothing if Yinka was around to see this. At times, we need to celebrate people when they are around; even if they will critique what we have to say and refer to what they had written and said about us. People are following the trend of events and they will be the best judge,” she added.
Among dignitaries that had visited the residence of the deceased were the Aare Ona Kakanfo, Aare Gani Adams, and the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Olusegun Ogungbemide.
PUNCH
