LOUD WHISPERS with Joseph Edgar
I once had an encounter with Majek. He had jumped in front of my car in an attempt to get me to get him some strong drink that early morning somewhere at the Jibowu bus stop in Lagos. I came out of the car, hugged him, bought him the drink and had a spiritual battle with him. The encounter was perfectly documented in a write-up published by the beautiful Linda Ikeji. The write-up sent him to rehabilitation and his son Randy called to say thank you. So when I woke up this Monday morning, on my way to take a leak, the news feed hit my phone, Majek had passed on. I smiled.
I finished taking my leak, went downstairs to take my daily Vitamin C- they say we must boost our immunity and since I no fit drink all that garlic, I just respect myself with Vitamin C. After all this ritual, I now took my time to start reading all the commentaries on the great man’s passing. You see for me, I remain very happy that he is finally free. I had prayed for this moment and really wished for it to come sooner and peacefully. This was a tortured soul. I saw the fear in his eyes that morning. He pleaded with me through those beautiful eyes to allow him go. He wanted to leave the suffering that comes with that level of ingenuity, it was too much for him to bear.
I understood, I saw where he was coming from and in our usual commune in dreams he kept pleading and wanting to go. I saw Majek fairly regularly in my dreams since that encounter. We connected and his eyes held me captive. It was almost a weekly ritual – the dreams. I knew the time was near cos by this time, the pain in his eyes had been replaced with a weary resignation of prayers answered. The last time he came to me on my couch, he hugged me and said thank you. So I smiled at the news of his death and went out the window to peer at the heavy rains bellowing over rusted roof tops in honour of the great magician that was Majek Fashek. He was truly a god and rain fell even in his death in perfect obeisance to one of the greatest that came this way.
