by Shola and Moji Agoro
When I think about our dad … it brings a smile to my face. He is that person that makes you feel safe, that person that makes you laugh when you really want to cry or makes you laugh so hard that you do cry.
The sacrifices he has made just so that we can succeed is ‘awing’ for lack of a better word. Choosing to leave his family to embark on a new life through higher education, only to fight against a system that did not want you to succeed. Compete for jobs that he was over qualified for. All obstacles he came to Canada to prevent.
The struggle of an immigrant parent has its commonalities. The want for their children to pursue their education, the expectation that their children will respect them and our culture. The need to see them succeed. Our father was no different. He taught us to respect others, to embrace knowledge and immerse ourselves in our culture and traditions. This has molded us into the women we are today and the one’s we strive to be as we grow older.
He leads by example, where he shows us how to put our family first. Keep our loved ones in our thoughts so that effortlessly our actions are helpful not only to us but the people around us well. Like any loving parent, he wants us to have it all and for that we thank him. When taking that all in account as his daughters we have to pause and appreciate the totality of his conviction to lead our family.
Pops as we call him is a good balance of strict and kind, of teacher and student, of parent and friend. There are so many things that go unsaid because they are implied, but it worth putting down in black and white so here it goes…
We love you
We appreciate everything you do for us
We understand that even though it was a pocket dial … you just want to hear our voice.
We love how much you love our mom
Thank you for our love of music
Thank you for always believing in us
We get our thirst for knowledge from you
We would not be who we are without you
Your daughters,
Shola and Moji