One Year Without Oddy: Remembering Canada-based Nigerian lawyer Ayo Odekunle’s death
Today marks one year since Canada-based Nigerian lawyer Ayo Odekunle passed on after an unsuccessful battle with cancer.
Mr Odekunle, fondly known as Oddy by his close friends, died on December 29, 2023, from stage four gastric cancer.
His zest for life was reflected in his brilliant hot takes on social media, particularly X, where his tweets endeared him to tens of thousands of followers, the majority of whom contributed generously to the Gofundme account opened for his family following his demise.
Mr Odekunle had a penchant for knowledge so much that he refused to let his cancer diagnosis stop him from getting called to the bar in Canada, despite hearing from doctors that he had little time to live.
He was already a practising lawyer in Nigeria, and upon his relocation to Edmonton, Canada, in 2020, he activated all the necessary measures to get called to the Canadian bar.
Originally on a life quest to become a journalist due to his love for the profession, Mr Odekunle soon enrolled at the University of Ibadan to study law after his parents convinced him to ditch journalism.
“Writing was my forte, I told daddy, but daddy felt otherwise,” Mr Odekunle revealed years before his demise.
The Gofundme appeal spearheaded by writer and political commentator Japheth Omojuwa to cater to Mr Odekunle’s wife, Halima, and their two children, Kamilah and Khalil, exceeded C$30,000 on its first day of launch.
Prominent personalities, including former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, activist and rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju, Mr Omojuwa, and others, paid tributes to eulogise the lawyer.
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