Demola Seriki Remembered by Wife Wosilat, Children, Associates   

Bennett Oghifo

Exactly one year after his painful demise in faraway Madrid, capital of Spain, Chief Ademola Rasaq Seriki (CON), former Nigerian Minister of State for Defence and Ambassador to Spain was remembered with a Fidau prayer yesterday, December 15, 2023.

The ceremony was organised by his loving wife, Wosilat Okoya-Seriki and her children, Abisola Dejonwo, Faridah Demola-Seriki and Alimah Araoye. Wosilat was by his side in the Spanish capital when he breathed his last.

The special Muslim prayer for the late Amb. Seriki, held at the Island Club’s Peacock Hall, Onikan, Lagos, was led by the Imams of Lagos Central Mosque, while the Guest Lecturer was Dr. Saheed Timehin, Associate Professor, Lagos State University (LASU).

Dignitaries from all walks of life, including former Senator Lagos West, Gbenga Asafa, Mutiu Aare, Tunde Salau, Wosilat Okoya-Seriki, Shade Okoya, brother of the widow, Tajudeen Okoya and representatives of the Oba of Lagos joined the families to grace the event.

In his lecture, Dr. Timehin encouraged his family, friends and loved ones to be full of good deeds because, according to him, the only thing that will be left with everyone with his Lord in the grave and hereafter is good deeds.

Eulogising the departed while concluding the lecture, he said, “It was because of the good and fulfilled life that Ambassador Ademola Rasaq Seriki lived that all of us are gathered here today to pray for him. May Allah continue to repose his soul in Al-Jannah Al-Firdaus.”

Speaking of her departed husband, Wosilat Okoya-Seriki described life in the last 365 days without him as uneasy. “The last 365 days have been tough and extremely lonely without him. We shared so many lovely memories together. I thank the Almighty Allah for everything thus far.

“His last moments were with his family, although we felt a deep pain, we remained strong, especially as he had accepted it as Allah’s will. He was my best friend, and we had a deep bond and friendship. I miss everything about him. Life has not been the same since his passing.

“He was a very good life partner to me and a wonderful father,” Wosilat said, adding that if there were to be another world, she would marry him again. May Allah SWT forgive his shortcomings and grant him the highest place in Jannah, amin,” she prayed.

 Encomiums and goodwill messages poured at yesterday’s fidau prayers for the late ambassador. It was rather symptomatic of the fact that Demola Seriki lived a well-spent life and had been loved in his lifetime and his memory has become one uneasy to be wished away in hurry even one year after his death.

He continues to be remembered as the genuine family man that he was, even now in death. Demola Seriki came to this world, he saw and evidence abounds that he conquered, considering the fact of footprints he left behind in the sands of time and his beautiful memories, as well as his numerous outstanding accomplishments.

Giving tribute to the departed, an associate of the late Ambassador, Mutiu Aare, said he was a good man who encouraged all his friends to do good, especially during the month of Ramadan. He prayed that Allah should continue to repose his soul in Al-Jannah.

Also giving tribute to the departed, his political associate, Senator Abdul Bariu Gbenga Asafa said, “Rasaq Ademola Seriki was my younger one but we were friends. Of all that were close to him, I was one particular person. I believe it is because of this I was asked to be here today.

“However, no matter how good a man is, he will always have his shortcomings. But Seriki was somebody that when you met him once, you would fall in love with him and continue to see him again and again. He was a good family man. He loved his children and did not joke with their matter.

“Like the lecturer said that we should encourage ourselves to do good towards one another, I remember that when Demola Seriki was Minister of State for Defence, I knew how many people he helped. Death gives no notice, therefore, we should do good because I believe that the good done by Seriki is part of the reason this prayer gathering befits him today, and prayers will go and meet him in the grave. May Allah repose his soul in Al-Jannah.” 

 Demola Seriki, as he was popularly called, died in active service while serving concurrently as Nigerian Ambassador to Spain and Permanent Representative to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) on December 15, 2022, aged 63.

Born on November 30, 1959 in Lagos, Demola Seriki, a Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), was not only a Nigerian politician, teacher, businessman and public administrator, whose ambassadorial duty he assumed in January 2021 but a loyal party man to the core, which endeared him to all and sundry as he, in his own right, possessed high level of intelligence, consistency and hard-working spirit that saw him rise through the ranks to the top in his political career.