#DUSTtoDUST

The concept of DEATH- ceasing to exist on this space of earth- is not new to me...My parents have lost a child. They almost lost me too after being prematurely born at 29 weeks in a hospital with limited resources to handle such complications.

I was told of how i struggled to stay alive and how in their bid to keep me, did all they could.

Well, i have my KÒKÚMÓ warrior badge in the forms of tribals marks on my face and other hidden parts of my body to show for the battle of life and death.

Hmmmm, i have read about loss of lives within and beyond this platform...

I have read of those whose lives were taken and those who took theirs...

My paternal grandparents recently departed this earth...

Heck, I have witnessed a doctor draw the white hospital sheet over the remains of a 3 year old child after frantic efforts to save his young life...

I have even driven past a corpse lying on the side of the highway in Lagos with skull fractured open revealing brain matter.

So, I am no stranger to dealth but my reaction to the FINALITY, whether of a close or distant person, is usually much the same....I cry and wail.I mourn.I shrink.I withdraw in a shell.I feel sorry. And then ask- so this is all there is to us?

I now know with CERTAINTY that if we are still alive, then, at an appointed time, one after the other, we will all die.

It will happen irrespective of our age; race; tribe; religious belief; social status;level of education and mental sophistication;wealth; opinions/biases....

However, when it does happen, many will still ask the 5Ws and H questions and then eventually move on with their lives.

Yes, the world will move on...
Of course, the dead will be mourned/celebrated by whoever chooses to, however they choose to.

There may be fanfare after death or not..
Aso-ebí may be advertised or not...
Eulogies may pour in or not...
Curses/Abuses may be rained upon the dead or not...

But in spite of whatever happens after death, the world moves on revealing the INSIGNIFICANCE of the significance we attached to Life.

So, in our existence and living, in our relationships and associations, in our dealings with ourselves and with others, in our utterances, actions and inactions, let us remember...

...we are only a breath away from dust...
(Dedicated to Prof Pious Adesanmi who lost his life in Boeing 737 Ethiopian Airline with 156 others, last weekend.)

*Ismail, a doctoral student, currently lectures at Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State Nigeria