A tribute to my brother-in-law

by Cortez Rice

(read at the Memorial on 8th August 2023)

Greetings to all. I am sorry that I cannot be there to help celebrate the life of Bankole Omotoso in person but rest assured that I am there in spirit.

My sister Maggie was not only intelligent, but she was also a visionary. This is borne out by the fact that she chose a man among men to be her best friend, husband, and the father of her three children.

It was on a trip to visit her when she was studying at Edinburgh University that she introduced me to Kole. In fact, I was to stay with him for the time I was there. I quickly realized that he was a writer. The typewriter on the table, books, papers, and journals filled the room. We spoke about books and writing well into the night. I was awoken in the morning by the tapping of the keys on the typewriter.

Kole got up from the Typewriter to make me breakfast. After eating, we got into talking about writing and different writing styles. I was soon to understand exactly what he meant. I had read many crime fiction novels by Mickey Spillane.

" I THE JURY"" THE BIG KILL" and " THE DEEP " come to mind. On the table was a novel by CHESTER HIMES. It was "COTTON COMES TO HARLEM" I picked it up and started to read and could not put it down. A crime fiction novel but a different style to that of Mickey Spillane. After that", IF HE HOLLER LET HIM GO" was next. I was now hooked on CHESTER HIMES.

I remember the day Maggie brought Kole to London to meet the family. You never knew what my Father was thinking but my Mother had no hesitation in letting you know her feelings. My mother wanted to know everything about this man her daughter was clearly very much in love with. So much so that Maggie had to go to Nigeria to meet his family before any union could take place. Whatever her findings were, my mother was satisfied. In her words."You have to know what you are getting into before you get into it". I could see her point.

Unfortunately, at that time some of the stories of relationships between Nigerian men and West Indian women were not positive. A clash of cultures was mainly to blame. Fortunately, this union was to prove successful.

The wedding was an event to remember. This was no surprise to us in the family as we knew how capable Maggie was of organizing such things. The event was talked about it for years.

I remember going with Kole to buy his first car. As we drove out of the showroom in Park Lane in London, I remember telling him how to drive around Hyde Park Corner. There were no traffic signals in those days. I told him he had to drive as if he were a madman otherwise, we would never get around. He was a good listener and we laughed as we got around.

Another day I would never forget was the day we went to have lunch with that great Barbadian writer GEORGE LAMMING. He was living in North London at the time. The food and the wine was good but the conversation was great. To listen to two literary men in conversation was quite an experience for me. It was there that I was introduced to Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, and James Baldwin. After that conversation, I just had to read "NATIVE SON", INVISIBLE MAN and ANOTHER COUNTRY. I found James Baldwin very interesting and would go on to read Giovannis Room, If Beale Street Could Talk, and my favorite The Fire Next Time. No one has been more responsible for my reading of books than Kole Omotoso.

Kole came into contact with the late John Larose and his wife Sarah. They owned THE NEW BEACON BOOK SHOP in Finsbury Park, North London. Kole Spent a lot of his time at the bookshop and stayed with John and Sarah on his visits to London. I spent some time at the bookshop also. So many books that you would never find in the mainstream bookshops.

When Kole came to stay with us on some of his visits to London my Mother would spoil him rotten. By now he was well and truly her second son. Whatever in the way of food he wanted would be prepared for him. He loved Bajan Hot Pepper Sauce. Mumma always made sure she had a bottle for him when he came.

Kole was warmly embraced by all the family in London and when he moved to Barbados for a few years with my sister he was also embraced by the family there. Of all the books that he has written, I still have a copy of THE COMBAT..Just Before Dawn will long live in the memory though. It will be interesting to see if Akin can bring any of his books to the big screen. Now that would be something. Not sure if any Directors Son has ever brought one of his father's books to the big screen in history before. Go for it, Akin.

Bankole Omotoso was deeper than many people realized. One of the many things he knew was that MANKIND is made up of two types of people. Wise people who know they are fools and fools who think they are wise. He also knew that we are all little souls carrying around a corpse. He was blessed to see all of his children get married and have children of their own.

I got quite emotional upon learning of his passing. I will always be grateful to Peylayo for facilitating the video call I was able to have on his 80th birthday. It was good. So good to see and talk with him on his historic milestone day.

In closing, I just want to say thank you to my sister Maggie for choosing you to be my Brother In Law and thank you Bankole Omotoso for such wonderful memories.

REST IN PEACE, MY BROTHER.