Tribute By Dr. Mumini Alao

I am writing this tribute reluctantly. In my Yoruba culture and, I guess, in most other cultures, the hope and prayer is that the young will mourn and bury the old, not the other way round. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen that way. Sometimes, the old have to bury and mourn the young. That is my sad lot with Kayode Tijani who passed away on Wednesday, 7 February 2024. He was 55, four years younger than me.

I was at his Janaza (Islamic funeral) at the Atan Cemetary in Yaba, Lagos the day after he died. After we did all the funeral rites and Kayode was committed to Mother Earth, the officiating Imams asked only me, amongst the whole crowd present, to say a word of prayer before the funeral was closed. I did.

I knew who nominated me for that role. It was Kayode’s

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