Encomiums as Dola Bamgboye is buried in blaze of glory

Indeed, the year 2020 is not smiling as it has taken many saints including Okundola Agboola Bamgboye. That was the big boy with MTN Nigeria whose death sent spontaneous shockwaves across the entertainment and integrated marketing communication industry. And it was understandable. It was said that if the dude fondly called Dola$ were a coin, he would literally have more than two sides because he was many things to many people. He was all things to all men. Dola was there for everyone. He would dance for your newborn, bury your dead, light up your gathering and he would always ask after your own. He was there for everyone. You didn’t need to ask. The rich will remember him as would the poor, the streets and the cities and the places, the old, the young, the upper class, mid-class and the lower class. Tall and a giant of a man —you can’t miss his presence— yet Dola was compassionate and humble. He represented the man many wish to be.

With a contagious smile and infectious laugh, he turned heads every time he talked and wowed many with his good nature and warmheartedness. Sadly, on the morning of Saturday 10 October, He was said to have gone for a walk. A source close to the deceased said he slept after the walk but did not wake up from the sleep only to be confirmed dead.

He died at the age of 58. But his clout was brought to the fore at his funeral on Thursday October 29 as the cream of Lagos high society gathered to give him a befitting farewell. His funeral kicked off at the City of David Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Victoria Island, Lagos. Coordinated by the Parish Pastor Idowu Iluyomade and wife, Siju, the event was solemn but soulful. Many wore sad faces but they were counseled to be cheerful because the gentleman had gone to be with the Lord. During the funeral service, his colleagues at CMS Grammar School lifted the mood as they paid tribute to him by singing their school anthem. After the service, he was finally laid to rest at a private cemetery in Ikoyi, Lagos at a ceremony attended only by his family.