I lost a friend, a mentor, an extra-ordinary man. Death took him away on August 19th, 2014.

I was reading for my exam when I received a call from Feyi.
Have you heard, she said.
Kunle Olaifa don die
I screamed, wetin happen, how, when, what the hell...I said.
She gave me details.

Do you realize I am writing an exam tomorrow, I told didn't I, I said.
Ore no vex, I don forget, she replied.
I will talk to you after my exam, I said and the call ended.

I was angry, not at my friend but at death.
A part of me was angry at her for sharing such news.
For those sharing bad news, they forget to take into account the state of mind of the receiver.

Another death by accident
Kunle was taken away on the 15th year anniversary of my late cousin.
To be honest, I forgot about my cousin's anniversary but when I heard Kunle died. I remembered.

Death just has a way of taking away good people, people who are leaving indelible marks in the life of people.

Kunle was a game changer, he was a professional, he was building careers and he was passionate about his calling.

I met Kunle for the first time in 2006.
It was at 17a, I was talking to Osibo (One of his besties) and he walked up. We said our hellos and I listened to him talk passionately about his then job at Triangle Nigeria Limited. We became friends ever since then.

The last time I saw him was last year at the Career Solutions Africa's Job fair.
The last time I had a chat with him was in May before I moved to Lagos and he wished me all the best at the new place.

He was my go to guy for anything HR related. If he does not know, he will link me up with someone who knows.  Everyone who has met Kunle has only good tales to share about him.
Words cannot describe him, you will only know what I am talking about if you ever met him.
Kunle humility was endearing. He was one of a kind.

You see Kunle was many things to different people but to me, Kunle was a good man with an heart of gold, he was a friend and a mentor.

Africa has lost one of it's best...the HR world has lost one of its best.
His death is a shock to us all.
I guess we all never prepare for death, especially when it is the death of someone so young and so full of life.

Rest in Peace, great one.
Rest in Peace, Kunle Oludare Olaifa

♥Lara