Dr. Florence Ajimobi, widow of ex-Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi, has described death as a ‘necessary evil’ no one has power or control over when it is due.

She urged all and sundry to always be mindful of their actions and efforts while alive, saying everything about life is vanity in itself. Dr. Ajimobi made the remarks at the weekend while hosting reporters who visited the Ajimobi’s Oluyole, Ibadan home on a condolence visit.

Noting that she had learnt lessons from the death of her husband, the Access to Basic Care (ABC) founder said one of the things that had always made her smile since the death of her husband was seeing those who worked or had any contact with the family in times past coming back to check up.

She said “We are celebrating a man who impacted the lives of everyone he came in contact with. Your being here today, it says a lot. Human beings are the most difficult to please in life, but when people who have worked with you come back to visit or pay a condolence visit, it shows that you put that smile on my face. Today has not been a very good day for me, it has been a very turbulent day and emotional, but thank you for putting smile on my face with your visit.

“Yes daddy has gone, but for me it’s not his going we are celebrating. As a man, he came, he saw and he conquered and I know he’s resting at the bosom of God.”

That is my joy and that is what is giving me peace. He made heaven and that is how we must relate when we are in the world.

“It’s not enough to celebrate or mourn a life, but what lessons are we taking from what happened? Death is a necessary evil and no one knows when it will come. The same way we don’t know when a child will come. They can give you EDD (Expected Delivery Date), but no doctor or soothsayer is going to say this child is going to be born on June 25 at 1pm and the same way when we all came to the world, no one can tell you when you are going to die.

“It will come whether you are sleeping, eating, drinking, it has to take something with it. I am ever so proud to be called his wife and all the people, the larger family that we both belong to, let us take lessons and know that life is vanity upon vanity.

“Who knew in December, that in exactly six months and nine days anybody had told him that, that would be his last birthday, he would probably say jump in the lake. We should just live everyday as if it’s our last and have a very good relationship with God. Our ultimate goal on earth is to make heaven, whether as a Muslim or a Christian, whatever way we pray to God or serve.”

“And how do we know we will make heaven? Love one another. As journalists, always do what is right because if we give information that are not right, for me it’s a sin and do you know if you are going to see tomorrow? So why do we sin today if we are not sure of tomorrow. Nobody is sure of tomorrow because when we sleep it’s like we are dead.

“Sleep is like practising death. Since my husband died, it has given me a new orientation of life that you think you have everything and honestly nobody is anything in this world because all power belongs to God and when we have fear of God it makes us to do what is right, we can always try, we are not saints we all make mistakes.

“Let me just take this opportunity to enjoin everyone, let us retract our steps because you are all my children, the same thing I have told my children, your dad is dead, what lessons have you taken from his death, you spoke with him yesterday today he is not more, just try, you can only try.

“Fight with one another but let us as much as possible make peace with everyone. Be sure life is transient and there is nothing in it. It doesn’t matter who we are or think we are, if God says we are nothing, it doesn’t take him one second to make you nothing, whether in wealth, asset in anything and my prayer is that you will all succeed and continue to prosper in all your endeavours and even in the midst of this pandemic you will not partake out of it and God will bring it to an end, in Nigeria and the entire world because it is true. As much as possible keep safe and stay safe.”