Business executive and culture icon, Farooq Oreagba, has recalled the tough experience he had when he was frost diagnosed with cancer.
Not many people have survived the disease but he has – like Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.
Among eminent Nigerians who died of cancer were former NAFDAC boss, Professor Dora Akunyili; co-owner of GTBank, Tayo Aderinokun; and a former Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Arisekola Alao.
Oreagba’s survival story became popular after his ‘staeze’ pose went viral based on his performance at this year’s Ojude Oba Festival in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.
Revisiting his cancer story in an interview with ‘Sunday Punch’, Oreagba notes: ” It was never guaranteed that I would pull through, but I decided to give it my best shot. I was scared, and I cried almost daily. I could not understand why I had been chosen to suffer cancer. However, every time, I would pull myself together and convince myself of the need to fight. My father died when I was four years old, and I was raised by my mother and uncle. At the time of my diagnosis, my sons were 14, 11 and two years old respectively. My love for them made me fight. And also, the fact that I was not willing to make my aged mother bury her only son, after having to bury her husband years before strengthened my resolve.”
