My father talked about death –Iyayi’s son

 

Prof. Festus Iyayi

SON of the ex-President of the Academic Staff Union of Univeristies, Prof. Festus Iyayi, Omole, on Wednesday said his father talked generally about death before he had the accident that killed him on Tuesday.

Omole, who said he was in constant touch with his father until moments before his death, said the late activist however did not not show that he had premonition of his death.

“Though he talked about dying generally, but it was just the normal people die every day stuff and the fact of life, but that yesterday morning, there was no black cat, no broken glass, nothing, it was just a normal day,” the son who is also a lecturer at the University of Benin .

He said, “Some of his ASUU colleagues came to me the day it happened and told me an accident had happened with his car, but they didn’t know the extent of the accident then, but as the day progressed they now finally told us that there was a fatality and he was the one.

 “We just talked generally in the morning when he was about to travel, we just argued that he should sit at the back because there will be more space there and said safe journey and that was it. I was supposed to do some things, so he kept calling me just to remind me about each one. The last time I was on the phone with him, he had said I should upload some things for him but he said I should not bother again, that was the last time I spoke with him.”

Omole however pleaded that the late don’s widow, Grace, who is Director of Personnel at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, be allowed to rest, having attended to others earlier in the day.

Asked about the widow’s present state of mind, Omole said it was stabilising.

 “Well, yesterday was bad, as expected, but today she’s doing a lot better,” he said.

A younger brother to the late activist, Kingsley Iyayi, who also spoke to our correspondent at the residence of the late professor of Business Administration, Kingsley said the news of the late University of Benin don got to the family around 1.30pm on Tuesday.

He said, “I was at work in the office when a friend of mine called me that he heard something had happened to my elder brother. I called the wife, the phone was ringing but she didn’t pick; I called my elder brother who is a barrister, who works in Lokoja and that one confirmed the news to us and it was a great shock to the family.

“I never had any premonition. The only thing he said was that he was going for ASUU meeting.

Also speaking on the late Iyayi, UNIBEN’s Public Relation Officer, Harrison Osarenren, said the vacuum that his death had left was huge.

He said, “We are in a mourning mood. The news was broken to us yesterday while the Vice Chancellor was leading a management meeting.

“Immediately he received the call he screamed and when he recovered himself he told us what had happened and there and then we postponed the management meeting, observed a minute silence and thereafter we directed medical personnel and some security staff to go with an ambulance to go to Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, where they said they were and the communication as of that time was with UNIBEN ASUU chairman, Dr. Anthony Monye-Emina. This morning, the VC led others to pay condolence visit to the family here in the house.

“I must tell you here that we are really in a mourning mood; it’s a sad loss to the entire university; there is nobody that will say he or she doesn’t know Dr. Iyayi and also what he stood for.”