It is no doubt a tough job penning a tribute to a loved one who just died. It is even more painful when the writer is an about-to-wed fiancee of the dead. Only two words can describe the picture- painful and traumatic.
The story of Bunmi Oladuntoye evokes emotion, grief, empathy, and sympathy at the same time as she is inconsolable over the death of her fiancé, a Nigerian Air Force pilot, Flt Lt Taiwo Olufemi Asaniyi, who died alongside 10 others when a Beachcraft 350 aircraft crashed near the Kaduna International Airport last Friday.
Oladuntoye and Asaniyi were engaged and had fixed their wedding date before tragedy unexpectedly struck last Friday and took away the pilot.
A grief-stricken Oladuntoye took to her Twitter handle, @bunmioladuntoye, on Sunday after the burial of her fiancé on Saturday to pen an emotional tribute in honour of the late gentleman and lover.
She wrote, “Femi, I have no regrets walking this journey with you. You asked me to be your wife last year in August and I gave you a resounding yes.
“One of the last things you said to me was to keep on being humble and continue to give. You were a giver, oh you were such a giver.
“Femi mi, Olowo ori mi. Who will hype me now when I make a new hair? Who will call me fine girl? Who will call me the most beautiful woman in the world?”
“I have cried and cried and cried. People have spoken to me, James and Kamal have told me you wouldn’t want me to be sad and I know that for sure because whenever I am sad and I cry, you will be like ‘what’s the meaning of this now?’
“The world deserves to know how great you are. To Nigerians and the world at large, my fiancé, Flt Lt. T.O. Asaniyi was a great man who dedicated his life to serving this country.
“Please pray for him, pray for his family and pray for me. Adigun miiiiii, Femi miiiiii, Hot choco miiii sun re o!!!! I want your blue diary so bad because you had lots of intelligent things written in there.
“You treated me already like we were married. You would always say ‘Babe, don’t worry, everything will be fine, don’t worry’.
“Hot choco miii, jo ma fimisile. Olufemi Taiwo Asaniyi, I love you now and forever.”
