"Born To Run"

Today is my father's 24th anniversary.

Twenty-four years ago, the man I called "Daddy" was killed by a letter bomb. How heartless can someone be? We will get to that later.

Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Dele Olojede wrote a book about my father. "Born to Run - The Story of Dele Giwa" was written in 1987 and it gives details about him that I never knew about. I read about what he went through growing up, and how he got to be one of the most famous men in Nigeria.

The book was very interesting to read. I loved how the writers made you feel like you were part of the events. The conversations my father had with his best friends, with the ladies (did not know he was suave like that...lol) - especially my mother, and with political leaders.

It's funny to see how he was friends with IBB (he was president at the time, and suspected of killing my father), but when the "truth"got out, IBB turned on him. Too much power is not good for anyone.

I was one year old on October 19, 1986, but I don't remember anything. All I know are the stories my mother and everyone else tells me, the pictures that she gave me, and from the book. I strongly believe that I am alive for a reason. I could have been in the study with him and his friend.

God has a plan for everyone. I believe the only reason he died that day was because his purpose had been fulfilled: he left behind five beautiful children, a magazine that did VERY well, and a legacy that NO ONE can touch. To think that this happened twenty-four years ago, and looking at the condition Nigeria is in, I really don't see a difference.

Here is an example:

I read about Cecilia Ibru, the former managing director and CEO of Oceanic International Bank Plc, and how she was arrested for so many crimes, that if I start, I won't stop. She gets six months. SIX MONTHS. There is something very wrong with this. We all know that she will not stay there six months, because she will get out in four due to "good behavior", or a "deteriorating health condition". Bernie Madoff got 150 years. That is just wrong.

And the fact that IBB is running for President in 2012................................................................................I'll leave it at that.

How do you kill someone??? With a letter bomb?? WHY? HOW do you sleep well at night, knowing that you were involved in murder? Call me naive, but maybe I just have a conscience and I have the Holy Spirit dwelling in me, because it really blows my mind the way people think sometimes.

When my father's case went to court, IBB refused to testify. How does that work? Shows that Nigeria has a LONG way to go. All we can do is pray. Pray that justice is done. Pray that Nigeria becomes a better country. Pray that all the wrong people in power will one day pay for every single thing that they have done. Pray that God has mercy on us as a country, because we have SO much potential.

Daddy, I wish I had the chance to meet you and get to know you, because knowing the respect and love people still have for you after 24 years is amazing. I hope you are proud of your children and what we have become and I hope that you are having a great time in Heaven with God because I know that is where you are. Also, I just wanted to say that it's not over. The people who did this WILL suffer, and your death will not be in vain. Continue resting in peace Daddy, and I love you.

Sumonu Oladele "Baines" Giwa

(March 16, 1947 - October 19, 1986)