Our friend, Michael Obiajulu Meze is being committed to mother earth today, Friday 1st March 2024, in Lagos. So, Mike goes to the final frontier, to explore the infinite beyond, just like he explored here on earth.
His journey is the same all of us must embark on, on a day and time we do not know. But he has run his race, and while we and the family mourn, Mike mourns or suffers no more pain, sorrow and distress.
Mike would have been 67 next month, having been born on April 27, 1957. But he went the way of all flesh on Friday 15th of last December. I visited him a couple of times when he was in hospital in Surulere before he passed on. The first time I went to see him in hospital, I thought I did not hear him well when he asked me what I was doing in Awka. His son Olise had gone to Awka in Anambra State the previous week to bring him back to Lagos, when he was ill. So, he was still to connect the movement from Awka to Lagos. But he seemed to have recovered a bit when I went the next day and all hope was that he will pull through.
On Saturday June 27th 1987, I was best man to Mike Meze when he got married to Peju at St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Lafiaji, Lagos. It was a rainy day and we both had to fold up our trousers to the knee to try keep them dry, because the person to drive us was nowhere to be found and I, best man, had to drive us in my VW Passat TS, instead of the bigger car we arranged, from Aguda, Surulere where he resided then, to Lafiaji. If you know the Aguda of those days and the flooding associated with it, then you will understand what I am saying about folding your trousers. But Mike and I stood at the altar that day, with him ready to embark on a life-long journey with his beloved Peju. As his best man, I witnessed the joy and commitment that defined their union and Mike’s ‘serious’ laughter and genuine kindness made him a beacon of light during their wedding celebration. Mike, Peju and I still reminisced over that rainy day decades after.
He and I were at that time parishioners at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, Aguda and in 1988, a year after his wedding, I mentioned to Mike that there was one ‘babe’ in church who will not give me the time of day and was always ‘forming’. Lo and behold, the said ‘babe’ live next door to Mike at Efutide Street, Aguda. Next door! And so during the Christmas season of 1988, I went to Mike and Peju’s home and he led me to the next house and knocked on the door. The ‘babe’ opened the door and looked over Mike’s shoulder and saw the cocky young gun from church behind Mike and said, ‘What is this man doing in my house?’ The rest, as they say, is history, as Mike linked me up with the woman who has been my wife for about 35 years.
One more story – a few years after their wedding day, Peju and Mike made my wife Helen and I Godparents to their first daughter, Adaku, during the young girl’s baptism. As a Godfather to his daughter, I watched Mike embrace fatherhood with grace and unwavering love and his children have beautiful stories as his guidance and encouragement shaped them into the remarkable persons they are today. Mike’s activities extended beyond family ties; he mentored young professionals, imparting wisdom and knowledge.
But our journey of friendship and camaraderie could be said to have begun in the early 80s when I was a reporter with Radio Nigeria and he was with UAC at Nigeria House, in the buoyant public relations department which had top practitioners like Ikhatz Yakubu, Mike Okereke, Duro Onabolu and others.
The events mentioned before were just a few that cemented the relationship we had in those days as ‘Surulere Boys’. But there were more. Our membership of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations which found both of us on the Lagos Chapter Exco was one. Mike’s dedication to our professional association was unwavering. His leadership, integrity, and commitment to excellence inspired many members and he was a Fellow of the Institute at his death.
He called me ‘Omo Eboigbe’ and he and I also played a pioneering role in setting up the socio-philanthropic men’s association, Synergy Alliance Inc in 1988. The every ‘Friday Night, Boogie Night’ that we single Surulere boys always organised to let our hair down after a hectic week became a charitable organisation. (We moved from one house to another every Friday instead of going to the club – it was more exclusive). There was also his role as my driving instructor with his Volkswagen Beetle, during which we would always argue and argue until he would storm off – two heady young men trying to prove who knew more about the road. That was not the only thing we argued about – we even tried to decide whose definition of ‘Okafor’s Law’ was more acceptable. He won that argument. Our friendship blossomed beyond the wedding day. We shared countless evenings at clubs or homes, reminiscing about life’s adventures, dreams, and aspirations. Mike could tell many stories – his storytelling abilities were legendary – he could turn mundane moments into captivating tales that left us all in stitches.
Mike Obiajulu Meze, a great friend and esteemed colleague, left an indelible mark on all who had the privilege of knowing him. His warmth, wisdom, and unwavering support enriched many lives in countless ways.
His departure leaves a void. His legacy lives on through the memories we hold dear – the laughter shared, the challenges overcome, and the camaraderie that defined our bond, which was challenged in the last few years when he was mostly out of Lagos but we would always share our blog articles – Epa.com.ng, from me to him, and MOM’s Sunday Revue, from him to me.
As we gather to bid Mike farewell, we celebrate his life – a life he knew was coming to an end and he was ready for it. On the last day I saw him alive when I visited him in hospital, as I was driving on Western Avenue, my phone kept ringing from Olise, his son, and I was scared stiff that something had happened, and had to park to answer the call. But all Olise had to say was that his dad woke up suddenly and became aware I had left without him greeting and thanking me for coming. But he had drifted off when I was leaving and we didn’t want to wake him up. That was Mike to the core. He felt he should have told me, ‘thank you for coming’.
Of course, he was human too, like all of us, so we must also forgive whatever he did as a human being and remember the good times we had together.
Like a shooting star that blazes across our sky, he has left behind a trail and spectacle in his children, who will no doubt maintain a good legacy so that he is remembered for good.
Farewell MOM. May your soul find eternal peace, and may your memory continue to inspire many.
