NET Extra: Abubakar Audu and 3 other prominent Nigerians who died after smelling victory

One. Two. Three times he had tried and failed to get back into the government house in his home state after he had twice occupied it. Given the resources it takes to contest in an election in Nigeria, that he wasn’t tired of trying is a testament to his tenacity. So, when the chance to contest for the prime position in his state sufficed again, he took it, again.
He contested in the primaries in the All Progressives Congress (APC) Kogi state and won the ticket to represent the party in the 2015 gubernatorial in the state. That victory was the catalyst for the myriad of activities that followed in the build-up to last Saturday’s election in Kogi state.
Many interviews and campaign trails later, the day of decision came. The electorate took their turns at the polls to decide who their next leader would be. He took his turn too. And he went back home to see out the whole process.
The elections ended and the umpire began to count the votes. News filtering in had it that he had taken an early lead. Some media houses had even declared him the winner. People only awaited the umpire to confirm him winner and…
Death happened.

Frozen, frosty and frigid, death has a way of taking away one of many while casting gloom and grief on the rest. And the grief can take mammoth proportions if the victim was on the verge of breakthrough before being snatched just like Abubakar Audu was. The grief is better imagined than experienced.
As the country smarts from the shock of Audu’s sudden departure, Newsroom recollects a few other prominent Nigerians whose exit coincided, unfortunately, with an impending breakthrough in their careers.
In no particular order:

MKO Abiola

Abiola too died on the long road to victory.
He contested and won the 1993 presidential elections. The elections were annulled. In 1994, he declared himself president and was subsequently arrested. He was detained in solitary confinement till 1998. After the death of General Sani Abacha, the country went agog with the news of his impending release. The celebrations didn’t have a chance to mature as it soon turned into mourning. ‘He died on July 7, 1998, the day he was due to be released from incarceration under suspicious circumstances shortly, a report says.

Funsho Williams

After losing the 2003 Lagos governorship elections to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Funsho Williams was on course to pick up the People’s Democratic Party governorship slot for the 2007 elections. Many even touted him to oust Tinubu from office but the election took place in his absence. He was assassinated on the 26th of July, 2006 in his Ikoyi residence.

Yemi Tella

Few weeks after he led the Nigerian U-17 football team to global victory, Coach Yemi Tella was primed for more exploits in Nigerian football, but he didn’t even outlast the euphoria of his team’s victory as he lost his battle with cancer of the lungs on October 20, 2007.
Our hearts go out to the families of not only these icons whose name we all know but also to the families of countless Nigerians who have fallen in the course of making our world a better place.
May their souls rest in peace.
This post first appeared on Newsroom.ng