BY CHARLES KUMOLU

LAGOS  – WIDOW of Dr. Alex Ibru, the late publisher of The Guardian Newspapers and former Minister of Internal Affairs, yesterday, gave a detailed account of how her husband died of colon cancer.

According to Mrs Maiden Ibru, the turning point started in October 2009, exactly two years ago, when medical tests at Chelsea and Westminster Hospitals showed that Alex Ibru was already in the last stage of the terminal disease.

In a tribute to the media icon, she said: “My husband died of cancer, aged 66, I turned 62 on  November 20, the day he chose to die,  he took something off  me with him. Towards the end we knew it was coming , the doctors had said so and we were able to give him what is known as a good death between the hospital and home. Yet none of this made it tolerable. He had a good life, and for that we give thanks to God Almighty.

“Death no longer knocked at the door. It entered our house. It was all around us. Then fate delivered its verdict one cold grey afternoon in October 2009. Whatever it was being scanned and investigated turned out to be stage 4, the end stage of colon cancer, liver mestastases, meaning it had then spread to the liver and another type of cancer, low grade non-Hodgkins lymphoma.”

Day Two of burial activities

The disclosure came on a day that the burial activities of the late media guru and industrialist entered Day Two with a commendation service at Our Saviours Church, Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos and lying-in-state ceremony at the Rutam House, corporate headquarters of The Guardian Newspapers. The final journey began on Wednesday with a service of songs at Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos.

While giving insight into how the illness was detected and the last days of Ibru, she noted that  her husband faced his illness with courage.

Mrs Maiden Ibru,Widow flanked by children, Toke (left) and Tive (right) at the Commendation Service for Late Dr Alexander Ibru at Our Saviour's Church, Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.

She said: “Even to the end, his voice was strong, commanding and authoritative. But as the beast took its toll, his voice became weaker and reedy as his energy levels dwindled. And as I watched Alex acquiesce to illness, a terrifying thought punched its way into my fulminating brain: ‘He’s not going to make it to Christmas, I’m losing him … Oh God please help him, have mercy.’

“I ran over and over the events of the past few months thinking of the moments of joy such a short while ago, moments we might never share again. It was taking its toll on me too, and leaving the house one morning, I looked in the mirror and saw a face I didn’t recognise. It was etched with fear and tension. Our plight was written into its gaunt features, worry chiseled into its eyes.

“Alex was a patient facing his own mortality and I was fighting not just for his survival, but also for mine. ‘Maiden look after yourself,’ people would say to me. All the time.

Waking up in a world without you is like waking up in a world without a sun. He was, moreover, a model father; clever a man who lived ahead of his time, quintessentially gentle, an astute businessman who honoured his business ethics of fairness and equity. He was kind and adept at dispensing comfort and wisdom.”

The commendation service

Yesterday’s twin events afforded eminent personalities ample opportunities to eulogise Mr. Alex Ibru.

The commendation service commenced with the arrival of the corpse in a metallic colured casket. And the service was an avenue for family and friends of the Ibrus, to pay their last respects to the ex-Minister, who was generally described as someone who lived a truthful and exemplary life.

Roll call

Those at the event included Governors of Lagos and Ogun states, Babatunde Fashola and Ibikunle Amosun; former governors of Ogun and Ekiti states, Chief Segun Osoba and Otunba Niyi Adebayo; Publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Sam Amuka; Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Mr. Jim Ovia; Professor Pat Utomi; Mr. Gbenga Adefaye and Dr. Walter Ofonagoro.

There were also Chief Ayo Adebanjo; Mr. Sumi Smart Cole; Pastor Itua Ighodalo; Archbishop of Ecclesiastical Provence of Lagos, Most Rev.  Adebola Ademowo; Mr. Ladi Williams (SAN) and Dr. Sheyi Roberts among others.

Alex was a man of wisdom —Ven. Isemede

In his homily, Teach us to Number Our Days That We May Apply Our Hearts to Wisdom, the officiating Minister, Ven. Igien Isemede, described the late Ibru as a man of wisdom, who knew his limits in life.

Stressing the need for people to stick to the principle of forgiveness, as exhibited by the Ibru, he said: “Alex was a man with a forgiving heart. You people are familiar with what happened in 1995 when he was shot, he made it clear that he had no bitterness for those who allegedly shot him. When we knew his days were numbered, we dwelled on the need for forgiveness during the communion we administered to him. We asked him if he had forgiven those who shot him, he nodded because he could no longer talk much.

“We are made of clay materials, that is why it is often said that everyone has an expiry date and we are in an environment that is not good. For you to think that the future is bright and all is well for you, is wrong because time is not under your control. If you turn your life to Christ, he will take you out of trouble, today is your opportunity to do so.”