It is a reminder for all of us that sometimes all we need to do is “show up” and be there for someone else.
Bless you Banky W. We are also grateful to Mary for sharing.
***
So today this happened. On the surface it might look like an ordinary
celebrity /child-of-starstruck-parent photo opp but there is a deeper
story here.
About 8 years ago, while about 6 months pregnant with this little
girl here, I fell onto terribly hard times. I have chronicled most of it
on my social media platforms but to summarise it, I was abandoned by my
child’s father, lost my house, was kicked out unceremoniously from my
job at MTV for no reason, and to crown it all, diagnosed HIV positive.
Shortly after that, my then best friend, with whom I was staying, decided she had had enough so I was given an eviction notice.
Long story short, I began to reach out to my friends and
acquaintances to try to pick up the pieces, get a place to stay, deliver
safely and move on. Suffice it to say that practically none of my
celebrity ‘friends’ ever came through. These were people who would call
me non-stop when I was in MTV but suddenly, I was invisible.
The only people that did were this man, @bankywellington, and
@funlolafar. (Funlola I don’t consider a friend but a sister, or worst
case my cousin anyway.)
What was funny is that both of them had no knowledge of the situation I
was in. I think this will be the first time Banky will be hearing of
it. I just told him I was trying to raise money for a place, I think.
In those days @bankywellington had not even come close to being as
successful as he is now. Yet the next morning, before 7am, he had driven
from his place in Lekki, to my house in Magodo with cash for me. And as
usual, a hug.
Now one reason people are scared to ask for help especially money
from friends is that the dynamics of the relationship changes after
someone has helped you out. People who give suddenly feel somewhat
superior to the receiver or even feel that the receiver is a tiresome
distraction. Not all the time but a lot of the time. However, with Banky
there was never that awkwardness. I met him several more times as I
managed to get back on my feet over the years and he never behaved like
anything like that transpired between us. He was always warm, always
hugging, always kind.
Today at ICM which I took my daughter to entirely by coincidence, I
ran into him doing his ambassador duties at the Samsung stand. This
would be the first time he would see my daughter ever. I had no
intentions of her taking pics with him but he just grabbed her and asked
‘where’s your camera’? Then he began to tell her how he and I go way
back. It was all I could do not to cry a little. As we left, my daughter
asked “Is he a famous person”? I said “Yes. But more importantly, he is
a good person.”
***
We are so inspired!