More details emerged yesterday about the late matriarch of the Awolowo family, Chief Hannah Idowu Dideolu (HID), as her cooks and other domestic staff relived their moments with her.
Her former cooks, Mrs. Olufunke Akanfe and Mrs. Elizabeth Akinwunmi, said Mama HID Awolowo, ate twice a day throughout the period they worked for her.
They also stated that she was an early riser, who kept a strict feeding regime, and would not touch soup that was not fresh.
Reliving her 12 years working experience with Mama between 2000 and 2012, Mrs. Akanfe, said she had a daily schedule she followed.
As stated by her, she had to wake up 5am every morning to boil water for Mama Awolowo.
She said, “I would normally wake up at 5am and boil water for Mama. At exactly 6am, Mama would wake, she would conduct the morning devotion, and afterwards she would take her bath.
“At 7am, she would take her breakfast, which was usually pap and akara (bean balls) or with moinmoin (bean cake). At 3pm, Mama would take her lunch, which was amala and okro or ewedu, served with fresh fish or chicken.
“We normally prepared fresh soup everyday for her. Her soup does not last more than a day. Each day, we cooked fresh soup for her. Throughout the 12 years I served as her cook, she never took dinner. She took two meals per day.
“Mama retired to bed everyday after we must have held prayers at 9pm. She was very prayerful. I never saw her with any fetish thing. Even, I never saw her with herbal drugs.”
Akanfe's colleague, Akinwunmi, who served as Mama#s cook from April 2005 till she breathed her last on September 19, also confirmed that the matriarch of the Awolowo family never took dinner.
She said, “Mama never took dinner. Since I joined her over 10 years ago, she only took two meals in a day. At night she might just take tea to swallow her medication.”
She also confirmed that the late HID Awolowo never lost her memory.
She said, “It is true. Mama knew everybody. She could recognise anyone right from the entry point at the gate. Even from the voice, she could recognise a person. Mama did not lose any of her tooth. All her teeth were intact till the end. She was healthy, but she only suffered the pangs that come with old age.”
The cooks both agreed that Mama hated slothfulness, laziness and stealing, and she never kept grudges.
Akanfe said, “If anyone offended Mama, it would show in her countece. And immediately she expressed her mind on the issue, it ended there.
“She would not tolerate any form of laziness, or someone who steals. Mama was quite nice and generous, but she hated liars and thieves.”
Both Akanfe and Akinwunmi said they would miss the deceased sorely.
Akinwunmi put it succintly, “I will miss her for so many things. She was too loving and accommodating. She bought clothes for all the domestic staff during Christmas. She was quite generous and her children too.”
Another domestic member of staff, Alabi Jimoh, said she joined Mama as an electrician in 1987, and was working at the Ikenne home of the Awolowos.
He also stated that Mama was quite generous and she also offered his wife a job, at one of her stores in Ikenne, as a sales lady.
“Mama employed me in 1987, as a domestic staff in charge electrical appliances in the house at Ikenne.
“She was my mother and she treated me like one of her children. Her death is like I had lost my mother.
“Every December Mama would give us rice, money and clothes.”
Also, Mrs. Mercy Adebayo, who is a niece to the late HID Awolowo, said she accompanied her on trips to London on three occasions.
She said, “Mama took me to London for shopping. When we got to London, she didn’t want anyone to lack (anything). She took care of everybody. We will definitely miss her exit.”