My favorite uncle, a product of grace

Happy birthday great guy. I hope you find joy in everything that matters to you. (Photo credit: Mobolaji Gold)

There’s only one human that can make me do this, it’s a day I set aside to brag, to remind y’all of the consistency that I’ve achieved on this space, and to tell a story of how amazing my 2022 has been but this man will make that wait, we call him Hulk.

Abiodun Hulk Opawole is my favorite uncle, he gave me a second chance in 2008 and the rest is history. I learned a lot from him during that time and while I wish things panned out differently with his wife, the tutorial I got from both of them shaped the man that I have become.

Hulk was painted as a rebel to us while we were growing up but he came around during one of our holidays in 2005 and he gave all of us fifty Naira each, whatever it was that Baba Opa said after that day fell on deaf ears, yes I was happily bought and I hope that makes you happy.

I had my episode in 2008, everyone was pouring words on me and I will never forget what everyone said, but Hulk took me in and gave me reasons to believe; it was the most difficult year of my life as a young lad that was trying too many things to stay relevant, I should write about that soon but nah!

Hulk is a man of faith; he left his role at BAT and the events that followed proved to me that God will always be God. While being out of a job, he paid tuition fees for me at a college in London, he stood in for every single one of us that was around him at the time, and he never complained.

All he needed to do was to say it; “oh, we need to do this”, “oh, we need to pay this money”, and before you know it, resources show up and we fix it. I was his accountant, and everyone was always coming to me for money, I felt good dishing out cash like it was my money, you must be nice to me, or else you’re on your own.

Hulk is commanding, quite towering and strangely, he never abused it. I remember how Della, the event manager at Planet One that year desperately wanted Hulk that year, she’d come to me and ask personal questions on how she could get him, my uncle is a Christian brother that doesn’t cheat, and I learned that from him if you like you can “yinmu” from today till eternity na you know.

Whenever we go to events, I see how ladies lust after him, he was faithful to his wife despite their differences. Speaking of his wife, I cried the day I heard they finally separated, two strong personalities that couldn’t find a common ground, I’ll rather leave that part as it is.

Hulk is special, a sensational family guy. When he was going to start his security firm (Tom Salem Security), I had fears because I felt he was trying to compete with K-Square his good friend then, but look at how God has made him a force in the industry.

There was a time I thought he had anger issues, he’s a little obsessed about his own ways and that made me feel he was hard to live with; as time happens, I realized people are allowed to be who they want to be without judging them, you can’t even judge Hulk, can you?

Hulk is an incurable giver, a great guy by all standards and I’m grateful to God for him in the family. Hulk encouraged my creativity, he was always happy to take me out, introduce me to influential people and he got me on the path of Storm Records that year.

Happy birthday my favorite uncle, I hope you find peace in everything that matters to you.