My farewell to dear Orlando, by Donu Kogbara

Orlando Modesti was born on 4th May 1944 in Argentina, to Raquel and Belmo Modesti. He studied architecture at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario, then left his country with high hopes in his heart, to seek global work experience, multinational friends and adventure.

He fulfilled his dream. He worked in Rome, then in London for Norman Foster, a world-famous architectural guru, designing projects located in the UK, Canary Islands and Spain. Then, in 1978, he accepted a coordinator position in a Lagos firm owned by Oluwole Olomuiwa and fell in love with Nigeria.

After a one-year stint in Los Angeles, assisting an American company that had interests in the Middle East, he eagerly returned to Nigeria in 1980 and stayed put for the next four-and-a-half decades. Initially, Orlando worked for other people, in Kano and Kaduna. Then, in 1988, he formed a business partnership with an equally talented foreign Nigeriaphile, Miguel Cabrera, a Spaniard, and became the Abuja-based executive director of Jardin Nigeria Ltd.

Jardin went from strength to strength. The company has an excellent reputation for creative energy and technical competence. It specializes in design, construction, landscaping, urban renewal and agriculture. Orlando was a key player who made many things happen.

 One of his and Miguel’s triumphs took place in Akwa Ibom State where the Jardin team landscaped a new state government hotel and built an 18 hole golf course, alongside several sporting and residential facilities.  

 I first met Orlando via Miguel in 1999, when I moved to Abuja from London with my then husband and our 4 year old son, Oliver. Miguel is married to a Brit called Carol and they have 2 wonderful daughters called Carlota and Gabriela, who is my goddaughter. Oliver is the same age as Gabriela and when he joined her in the kindergarten class at Abuja’s American International School, they became close chums. Carlota, meanwhile, was a big sister to both of them. I, meanwhile, bonded deeply with Carol and Miguel. And thus was born an amazing family friendship that looks set to last forever.

Orlando was part of the deal. He was a gentle man and gentleman. He was intellectual, artistic, self-deprecating, kind-hearted and a lover of nature. I have so many happy memories of endless hours spent with him, Carol and Miguel, drinking, eating, laughing and discussing Life, The Universe, Humanity, Books and so on in their fabulous gardens.

I got to know Orlando’s devoted daughter, Domitilla, a clever girl and generous soul who was also a much-loved member of my social circle. 

Last week in Abuja, on September 12th, Orlando left us after a brief illness. He went to meet his Maker; and we are all devastated. This loss was totally unexpected. Abuja won’t be the same without him. He is being buried today on his farm in Abuja. May he rest in perfect peace in the bosom of Almighty God. May Domitilla and her sister, Jemila (who doesn’t live in Nigeria) find the emotional fortitude to live without their lovely, lovely dad.  

MIGUEL’S TRIBUTE  

“Orlando fulfilled one of his most important dreams. He wanted to continue working as an architect until the last day of his life and he succeeded. He also fulfilled another dream. He dedicated the last forty years of his life to the development of Abuja and fully engaged, whenever he could, with the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to plan, develop and conserve the green areas of the city.

He had, in that field, many satisfactions and as many or more frustrations watching a very large proportion of the future public parks, protected and conservation areas and all other types of essential green spaces continuously disappearing under the pressure of the increasing commercial value of those lands. He was also extremely happy to have contributed, for over 20 years, to the development of Akwa Ibom with the planning and implementation of many “green projects” following the vision of his good friend and fellow architect, Obong Victor Attah, the former Governor.

In 1978, Orlando decided to leave a dream job at Norman Foster and Partners, to came to Nigeria. He has been blessed and lucky to have a very interesting and fulfilled life until the end.

He always accepted death graciously as the other face of life, intimately joined together, and he was ready to welcome it at any moment. He has now happily completed his circle. May he rest in peace.”

STEFANIA’S TRIBUTE

Stefania, now based in Italy, is another beloved member of our group. “I met Orlando in 1999, when I first arrived in Abuja with my family.

My son Carlo Alberto, who was 7 at the time, and his school mate Carlota Cabrera used to spend time after school in Orlando’s house doing homework. My son remembers those afternoons as magical because of the atmosphere of Orlando’s enchanted garden…and  endless collections of pencils, erasers, and objects he kept on his desk. Oh Orlando… He was a star on earth. Now he is a star in heaven.”

DONU’S WORLD

I have a YouTube channel. It’s called DONU’S WORLD. 

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NIGERIA UNFILTERED – spicy commentaries on Naija issues – appears every Wednesday, while DONU’S WEEK appears on Fridays and is international as well as local and covers a mish-mash of soft and tough issues around my personal life, my work and my worldview. Two days ago, in this week’s Nigeria Unfiltered video, I said that Nigerian followers are often as guilty as Nigerian leaders. Please check out my Donu’s World library (dating back to early 2024) on YouTube, plus the new videos I produce every week. I would love to hear your opinions and any constructive criticisms you may have to offer. And I will be very grateful if you “like”, subscribe and share!

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