Can you read this? Can you hear me if I read it out loud? I really hope you can fam.
Where are you? How are you? What’s happening? Talk to me. Why did you give up? You were a fighter! We had plans fam. We freaking had plans fam. Masters? What happened to our Product Design journey we were working towards? I was supposed to give you an Udemy Frontend courseware man. We were supposed to collaborate again, pre-order FIFA 18 & settle the bragging rights, I was pushing to be your best man daddy.
I am bleeding. Why you do this? Why you switch off?
In an attempt to ease the pain I feel in my heart, I decided to tell my story. Sleep & food eludes me. Everything feels so empty. Just know, whatever you read isn’t even up to 1/10th of who he really was because I realized Language is created for what you think not what you feel.
At the beginning, we were still kids but he always looked like a man on a mission. The very first time he touched my life was in my 200 Level in University (of Ilorin). Adewale Abati & I were still sweating to get an identity for our KYD Evolution then & guess who handled the branding? Now let that sink in — You’re the best guy at what you do. You’ve seen the world (he had started his journey with hotels.ng already) and you still make time out to WORK for your juniors FOR FREE.
After that I discovered 3D animation & I was in love with Autodesk’s Maya. My daddy came along, said Cinema 4D is this & that & he even went on to take AceKYD & myself on an introductory course to Cinema 4D R13. After the class he said he’s quite busy so he won’t be able to spoon feed us but he handed over the courseware to us & asked us to come back if we had any issues whatsoever. I was quite sensible with home training then. I didn’t dare go back after all he did for me already. I knew I had to hustle it out on my own.
Needless to say, KYD Evolution was the bomb when AceKYD & I were still in school. All we did then we might look back & call them ugly because of where we are now but those were the best things that could ever have happened to us. We became role models to our mates & juniors alike. Friends wouldn’t walk with me in school anymore because I always ran into people that wanted to meet me & ended up delaying them. Why? Because Mubarak touched my life.
One thing I still regret was not giving him FIFA 14 back then. He was serving already & I was still in school. On one of his recurring trips back to Ilorin, we met at a mutual friend’s place & I agreed to give him FIFA 14 before he left town the following day. Whatever reason I had not to do this little thing is so flimsy & useless I could’t remember when we talked later in the evening. I still beat myself up for it. The last time we played FIFA 17 at his place, I still beat myself up for it. I had only one job — Give this boy that has done everything for me FIFA 14 and I failed.
When I was seeking my first industrial experience with hotels.ng it was Mubarak. When I got it, it was Mubarak. When I faltered, it was Mubarak that was there for me AGAIN! And we had something in store we were supposed to work on fam.
Fast forward 2017 when Mubarak got a dribbble invite what he first did before even posting a shot was to apply for ‘Dribbble LAGOS’. We quickly put together an amazing team & got to work. When we had issues securing cash I messaged him privately, Mubarak said “We might not have money but we have God” I knew what that meant — He was going to use his cash for the program and I joined him by force, I wouldn’t let him do that alone. At the end, we had excess packs of Pepsi (part of his money went into this) and he didn’t return them for a refund or sell them off, he gave them all out for free for another meetup!
He was into a lot of charity either by giving financial help or working for free. I dare not go into details here because all he did was from the goodness in his heart not for fame or glory.
All he ever wanted out of life was to have an impact in everything & everyone. He was never tired or exhausted of being the good guy. He was so good at anything he laid his hands on (even outside his designs), He was so humble, He was so mature about everything. He hit Toptal when there was almost no African there. He put us on the map. He was the man for me. I was always playing catch-up and that’s how I got to start calling him “Daddy” & whenever he called me son, my heart would beat with joy & happiness.
Daddy why did you do this? I wish you asked me for permission before you left maybe you would have listened if I declined. We had dreams fam. I had plans for you fam.
His fights he fought in silence but his life he happily shared for us all.
Soldiers don’t die. You live forever as we carry you in our hearts.
A wise man once said living is what you do while waiting to die.
Another one also once said you should live your life entirely for the sake of God & humanity so you have a chance to live forever when you die.
Hopefully I’ll see you sooner than later brother for we part to meet again.
I end it here not because I’m done, I can never be done. I end it because I’m broken & broken wheels don’t roll for long.
