When Papa Did Not Write It Down

In the heart of Surulere, Lagos, lived Chief Olumide Adebayo, a respected businessman known for his booming spare parts business and his towering presence at family meetings. He had four children with his late wife, Tola—three daughters and a son, Kunle. By Nigerian standards, he had “made it.” Several plots in Lagos and Abuja, two houses in Ibadan, a fleet of commercial buses, and fat accounts in three different banks.

But Chief had one flaw—he believed talking about death invited it. So he never wrote a will. “My children know themselves,” he always said. “They are responsible.” He also assumed his younger brother, Uncle Taju, would help guide them if anything happened.

Then one humid Tuesday afternoon, Chief slumped in his office and never got back up.

The funeral was grand, a weeklong affair with aso ebi, owambe, and the endless pounding of drums. But barely a week after he was buried, the real drums started beating.

Uncle Taju summoned a family meeting at the ancestral home in Abeokuta. With a straight face and a shaky voice, he declared: “As tradition demands, the family elders will now oversee Baba Olumide’s properties for the children, especially since Kunle is still young and the girls have married into other families.”

Kunle, 27, looked stunned. His older sisters, Sade and Ronke, exchanged glances. Bolanle, the youngest, burst into tears.

“But we have always been part of this family,” Sade protested. “Daddy trained us all. He always said the properties were for all of us!”

Uncle Taju smiled. “Ah, but your husbands will take care of you. It’s Kunle that needs support. Besides, how do we even know what properties your father had? There is no record. Let us manage it until Kunle is ready.”

Suddenly, distant relatives appeared from nowhere. Cousins from Ibadan claimed one of the houses had been “gifted” to them. An old driver said Chief promised him a plot in Epe. A pastor came forward with a signed “agreement” written on a napkin.

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Then came the banks.

Without a will or any clear documentation, access to his accounts was frozen. The children could not pay for even the youngest daughter’s final year fees abroad. Ronke’s husband tried to help, but his own family was stretched thin.

The children fought back. Lawyers were hired. Cousins were dragged to court. It became the gossip of the neighborhood: "See how Chief Adebayo's family is tearing themselves apart."

Three years later, only one house remained—rented out to pay legal fees. Kunle, once expected to take over the business, now worked at a car dealership owned by a friend. The sisters barely spoke to Uncle Taju. The extended family fractured like broken china.

At the end of it all, Bolanle stood before her siblings and whispered, “If Papa had only written it down…”

Moral of the Story: In Nigeria, where family ties are deep but entitlement runs deeper, failing to document your assets is an invitation to chaos. Death is certain. But without a will, your legacy may die with you.

Story Authored by Titilola Oladejo, CEO Decalion Ltd who writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

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