Hon. Joseph Dada (Jossy)! Gone just like that! Erin wo, ajanaku sun bi oke!
This is by no means a death of mourning (oku ofo), because it hurts too deeply; it hurts me to the bone marrow.
None of us here can say that we imagined that a day like this would come so soon, but here we are, mourning one of the greatest men to have ever treaded the soil of kabba-Bunu.
As the poet Emily Dickinson writes: “Because I could not stop for Death /He kindly stopped for me /The Carriage held but just Ourselves /And Immortality.”I wanted, we all wanted to have such a great man, “Jossy Dada” around for many decades to come, but alas, as a popular Nigeria music icon Sikiru Ayinde Barrister of blessed memory sang, death kills the diviner (babalawo) like he does not know Ifa, and the medicine man (onisegun) like he does not know medicine.
We have all sewn the agbada of death. Jossy Dada, a devout member and leader of the People’s Democratic Party PDP, is now in the Land Above, rejoicing with the saints triumphant. Of a truth, good men must die, but death cannot kill their names. For, as they say again, the only truly dead are those who have been forgotten. Hon Joseph Dada can never be forgotten, will never be forgotten!!
I do not really know where, or how, to begin this tribute, for he was, in all ramifications, a good man, a leader, a mentor, a jolly good fellow. Of course he was no saint; he had his own fair share of human foibles, but even his staunchest critics will agree that this land has lost a gem.
He was one politician who knew too well, how to be a political opponent without being a sworn enemy, a lesson that many have failed to learn. Jossy Dada had an incredible ability to forgive and many took advantage of it: he quickly let bygones be bygones. He was just a quintessential and selfless leader whose magnanimity and administrative acumen would be greatly missed.
He was different not just in politics but in his personal life. He bore no grudges, bowed to superior argument, took care of the people without flinging his goodness in their faces. He was a destiny helper for many. So many things I have learnt in politics, I owe to him. He will never be forgotten. I am not just saying this as a person but that is the testimony on the streets, throughout the length and breadth of Kabba Owe land.
He was a quintessential and selfless leader whose magnanimity and administrative acumen would be greatly missed.
I console with his family, the People’s Democratic Party PDP and Kabba-Bunu on this great and irreparable loss. May God Almighty, be with us all that he left behind, rest his soul in Paradise and give the family to bear the loss. Amen!
Signed:
Senator Dino Melaye
