This is for Yemi, a friend who, above all, LIVED!
I moved into the Alakahia area of the University of Port-Harcourt, as a 22-year-old with big dreams of growing my career in tech and making a transition to Developer Relations.
The thing about moving to a new house is how much you’d need to set up your new place, from electrical issues to getting someone to customize a bed frame for a new apartment. I suck at handling this barrage and like to have someone carry the burden of doing this.
I asked my friend Providence, a Software Engineer, and “Chief” personally recommended and vouched for “Yemi, the plug.” I came to recognize that he was called “the plug” because of his plenty of contact with people, from hairdressers to cleaners. Whatever you needed, Yemi had someone for you! And he was good!!
Two months down the line and with a completely furnished apartment, I had to meet Yemi as all we’ve done is chat on WhatsApp and via phone calls for the house furnishing. Once jokingly told him that if he ran away with my money, I wouldn't know what he looked like or who he was; we laughed about that.
The first time we met, he came to my apartment and commented on how much of a nerd I was with my choice of colors (blue and white ceilings); according to him, it was bland. Next, we hyped each other on “how broke we were,” He commented on how much he loved that Providence and I were making money the legal way or, like he says, “the tech boys” way!
Growing up with an absent father was something Yemi and I had in common. We both understood having to work hard for everything. When we talked, mostly about life, what we wanted to do, where we wanted to travel, tech, and how much he wanted to learn design for his “influencer lifestyle.” We even got as far as talking about women and what we wanted in our partners.
It's Tuesday, the 29th of November, at 12:37 am. I had just asked Yemi about our planned trip to Obudu, Cross River state, for a weekend at the resort. We even argued about movies, and I recommended he watch the Netflix series Wednesday. I mentioned we should spend more time in Calabar to relax a little before coming back to Port-Harcourt. I ended our chat at 1:34 am, with “Make I try to sleep for another shege tomorrow — Yemi replied with Oga for tech Oya now.”
I woke up at 7 am with texts from Providence that Yemi died around 4 am. He was a friend, more than that, a brother in the struggle for a better life, a better time, and a better moment. For most people, he was the plug, he’d always be “Yemi, my guy.”
Rest on Yemi, the plug.
Dropping Yemi’s IG here, so everyone will experience how he lived!
