Friends, Relatives Remember Keniebi Okoko

Death is an enemy of all things. There’s no measuring the pain that it has caused since man appeared on the earth. But its penchant for stealing lives at prime ages is more than anyone can bear. It has been a year since death took Keniebi Okoko from this world, and much has changed afterwards.

Time is a healer of wounds, they say, but the 365 days’ worth of time has done nothing to blunt the pain of losing Keniebi Okoko to death. One moment he was a living and breathing part of the world; the next, he had already left it. Even though the relatives and friends of Okoko are keeping up an appearance of resignation, the angst can be seen in their eyes and heard from their words.

Keniebi Okoko passed away last April, only 42 years old. He had already begun to make his mark as a champion of the people, half a pastor of the Salvation Ministries, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and half a political figure. He was a gubernatorial candidate for Bayelsa State. One thing, he was entirely and unquestionably a philanthropist, a young and brilliant philanthropist who would give his life for someone else if he could.

As a man well on the path of greatness, Okoko had received the guidance of his father, Prof. Kimse Okoko, a former Pro-chancellor of the University of Uyo, and might have already made big enough waves this year at 43 years of age. But death found him out.

One can only shed tears until one’s eyes themselves grow weary of crying. One can only remember so many things before memory becomes an instrument of torture. This seemingly short period of a year with Keniebi Okoko gone already feels like a decade to his relatives and friends. But there’s nothing to be done but wish the departed soul peace and rest.