This
is the story of a jumbo giant bottle of whisky that has survived untouched for
four decades. Passed down from his late father, Taiwo Abiodun speaks with son,
Adeyinka Williams on the old bottle of whisky and how they have kept it
unopened for decades.
It’s
a jumbo giant bottle, and heavy, as one can hardly lift it with one hand. For a
lover of liquor, the brown liquid content looks attractive and ‘tempting’ as
well. The 40-year old bottle and its content is sealed and packed in a brown
carton, with an iron metal holding it. A look at the big heavy bottle could be
a little irritating due to the rustic iron handle and cork and the peeled paper
pack that has carried it for decades, but its content nevertheless remain
enticing, if one is to go by the saying that considering the saying that ‘old
wine tastes better. Still, one can make out the inscription on the pack: Walker
Red Label. SCOTCH WHISKY, ONE IMPERIAL GALLON WITH WIRE CRADLE AND POURER. This
therefore is a relic; something befitting for the museum
According
to Adeyinka Williams, the custodian of the relic bottle, the Whisky has been in
the family safe since 1977. “There were two of them, which were gifts to my
father in 1977, when one of my sisters was getting married. I was a little boy
then, but I remember vividly that occasion.
“My
late father only opened one to entertain his guests then, and kept this one for
remembrance. Now my sister, Esther, who got married on that day, has many
grown-up children. My father could have drank it, but he was only used to
taking Stout, so the bottle gradually gathered age. He also begged us to keep
it intact and show it to people as a relic. It was kept in his Oyingbo family
house for years, before it was brought down to Agbelekale in Ekoro Road (Lagos)
here, where we live.”
Wading
through the temptation to sell
According
to Adeyinka, “My late father once told me how somebody bargained 1.5million
naira for it in 1985, but refused to sell because he was looking for a bigger
and better offer. Even after his death some years ago, some of my friends
offered me 2 million naira for it, yet I declined selling it because my father
did not ask us to sell it but to preserve it. Many have attempted to steal it
from here, but we kept it in a vault, no-one knows except me. To tell you the
truth, it has become an antiquity for us.”
Asked
if he would release it if the government expresses interest in it, Adeyinka
smiled and said “Yes, that is what I want. I want the government to come for it
and put it in the museum, such that it would be for record purpose and our
family would have its name written in gold.”
Looking
at the background of the fairly old man, Adeyinka, one could infer that his
parents were averagely rich, and he confirmed it: “My father was a wealthy man
who held a chieftaincy title, while my mother was the Iya Alaje of Egbaland in the 80s.My mother was
into business like transportation and also had a block industry. She died
several years ago due to an accident. She tripped on a banana peel and fell,
which led to her breaking her leg and hand. She was then rushed to D.Bailey
Hospital where they wanted to amputate her leg and hand but she refused and was
flown to America for medical treatment. She came back without being amputated.
She died later in 1985.”
Adeyinka
revealed that his father died in 2009 at the age of 85. The pictures on the
wall are also evidence that the parents were of notable means and affluent. One
of the pictures was of the late Chief Williams and the late Oba Alake of
Egbaland. There were also some with personalities and the old man’s one and two
story buildings in Oyingbo.
Said
Adeyinka, many of his siblings are not here in Nigeria, “Out of 12 children, my
two sisters and I are the ones here in the country, while the rest are in
America and Europe working as pilots, medical doctors, engineers. Amongst them
are Asojo Williams and Lekan Williams.”
Adeyinka
who is a technician prays to the Lagos state government or the federal
government to come and acquire the drink and put it in museum. He said “I don’t
need the money and I am not in a hurry to make it in life. How much will I sell
it that will give me honour and dignity? .I don’t even drink alcohol, and our
family members are not hungry to sell it either; so we’ll rather keep it in a
museum, where it will be well-preserved”
Source: The Nation
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