It is indeed tragic that such could happen in this country. What exactly happened to Dr. Olawunmi Thorpe, an Ogun State indigene, who died a homeless man, may never be known.
To passersby and residents, who saw Thorpe everyday in the rubbish dump beside the rail line at Fagba Bus Stop in Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area of Lagos State, he was a deranged man. But what many people did not know was that… Thorpe had a Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Mass Communication and a PhD in English Language.
All these information came to light when the we got information that the “mad man” who spoke impeccable English had died about 5pm Wednesday last week.
It took two ‘good Samaritans’, Mr. Larry Happiday and Mr. Dele Olawale, who had interest in Thorpe’s case before he died, to ensure that his body did not rot on the same rubbish dump he used as home.
When the two men were asked how they knew Thorpe and their efforts at helping him before he died, Happiday said he first met the deceased about a year ago.
He said, “I began noticing him around Fagba about a year ago because I live around Fagba. One day in March, he approached me and I thought he was going to ask for money. But he did not.
“He told me it was his 58th birthday and begged me to buy him a Bible and a book, ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’.
“The first thing that struck me about him was that he wasn’t the average destitute. He spoke good English with good diction.
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