By Eze Duruiheoma
George Okay Duruiheoma, “Okay” as he was fondly known and called, passed on in the United States of America on May 7, 2025. He was aged 73 years.
I proudly call him my brother though, in truth, he was my nephew, being my eldest brother’s son. Only two years separated two of us in age and that fact saw us growing up as two close brothers.
Okay was as sweet as he was charming. From his secondary school days in Government College, Owerri, 1965-1971, to his working experience as a staff of African Continental Bank, Akpakpava branch Benin, Okay left a trail of warmth and friendship, a character made obvious by his angelic good looks.
Okay’s death and the fact that he would be buried in USA sadden me. By his death, I lost a brother who was my soul mate. A brother who understood me even when I had not uttered a word. His burial place compounds my agony because Okay, as the first son of the Diokpara of my father, deserves all the honour that the entire family and indeed the community can muster. Alas, that is not so because the same forces that separated Okay from me in the last few years have decreed that it will not be so.
Okay, my brother, your death before you and I had the opportunity to expose the evil ones is a terrible blow to me and indeed the entire family, who sincerely acknowledge your contribution to their welfare. To say that your death devastated me is to say the obvious.
All of us will miss your warmth and geniality. What of your sense of humour? Nobody can surpass that. I remember the day you coined the Latin words “Et puela et multos anos.”
That day you made me laugh the whole day.
That was the vintage Okay and that is the man I lost to the cold hands of death.
Adieu, my brother.
Adieu, Diokpara Duruiheoma.
Rest in perfect peace.
•Eze Duruiheoma, San, former chairman, National
Population Commission