The Man named Koye - by Tosin Akingbulu

This is the picture Tosin refers to in this post :)

So, one of the best young writers I know - Tosin Akingbulu - wrote this for me on my birthday yesterday... I'm positively blushing!

"Koye-Ladele Mogbekeloluwa.

I hear his name called and I know it's the sound of greatness. The singsongness of it. But it's not just about the name, it's more about the man that bears it. He speaks wise, walks with confident strides, smiles bright.

I've only known Koye for a short while. Two years, at most. And he only became my friend few months ago. I don't know him well enough. I haven't had much interaction with him. By some folks' standard, I do not qualify to write stuff about him. But then, we get inspired even in the briefness of a comet's flash. The encounter, though brief, lingers long in one's mind. I have been inspired by the man named Koye and I would like to write about it.

Koye loves who he is. Everything about him. There is this photo of himself he uses as a display picture on his Blackberry phone. His hair is uncombed, his exposed teeth probably unbrushed - looks like he just woke up from a nap. But then he loves it. I have thus learned to stop hiding the terrible pictures I took in secondary school, where we carried buckets on our heads and wore oversized pinafores. He has taught me to love who I am, completely, without reserve.

Koye loves intensely. You need to see the way he carries on about his girl. Like she's the only girl in the world. He isn't fearful of the drills of loving a girl, the complications, the conflicts. He has opened up his heart, and exposed, taken a deep plunge into the depths of this phenomenon we call love, where only the brave dare to explore.

Koye loves people. He meets you with a charming smile and steals your heart. You just have to love who he is. High-spirited, a good conversationist, he is a great fellow.

And Koye loves God. I believe so. It's only when you love God that you can love who you are, and love others too. Agape things... He is a love being. He is someone who inspires me. He is a Zion breed. The man named Koye."

Awwww... Don't I just feel so loved right now? Thanks Tosin!!!