Opinion
UNIBADAN Don, Tajudeen Akanji pours tributes for late Chief Oni & Maj. Oni
By Tajudeen Akanji PhD
This is Chief Emmanuel Abiodun Oni. The late father of the slain national hero, Major SA Oni, one of the victims of the recent bandits attack in Niger state.
Anyone who was familiar with the 4th Mechanized Brigade in Benin City in the eighties would remember this enigma. He was a friend of the Army.
His wish was to have a son in the Army and fervently he prayed for that. His first three children were girls; Yinka, Folake and Funmilayo.
When finally at his fourth attempt, in December 1986, God granted him a boy, the joy was electric. From that moment, he had willed this boy to the Nigerian Army. He spent time preparing him for the service of his fatherland.
No wonder, the Army found in Major Oni, a star and a gem too special to ignore. He was exceptionally brilliant and smart. Besides his worthiness in military training, he was highly disciplined and amiable.
I make bold to say that all these virtues were copied from Chief Abiodun Oni, and you find these in all his children. Chief Oni was a man with the heart of Gold. His days in New Nigerian bank and Trade Bank were really remarkable.
He was a member of the highly reputable relay team of Esie Iludun Grammar School in the early 70s. So for those who knew Major Oni as a special soldier, I say his was a vivid example of that phrase in the positive sense: like father, like son.
Although Major Oni’s sojourn and Chief Oni’s life were relatively short, they left behind indelible marks. We shall miss you but we’re comforted by the fact you both wrote your names in the positive book of life. May you both reunite in paradise. Rest on our heroes.
Signed: taakanj
Professor Tajudeen Akanji Fspsp, ficmc
Department of Peace Security and Humanitarian studies, University of Ibadan
Currently a visiting scholar
Nigerian Army Resource Center Abuja
Contact: info@royalnews.com.ng
