Amaka,
Thank you for the memories, for the joy, for the grace evident in you, the passion for God, for the truth, for life, for doing right, for loving, for creating, for giving, for caring, for family, for making memories and you did make memories, for me, for our children, for family, for the nation, for the world.
I am thankful or the times we had together and for the gift you were to me and to this world. I am grateful to God for sharing in this world with you. I do know you have peace now, free from the labours of our world, present in the majesty and light of our Lord, for whom you lived and in whom you moved and had your being.
I will see you again, we will see you again. This is to say I miss you and our children miss you.
However I say thank you, my life with you was an amazing life. Till we meet again… Charles
TRIBUTE BY DAVID IGWE
A MODEL MUM
“Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life”
My mum was a wife, a woman who stood by my dad, an advisor to the head of the family. My dad definitely trusted my mum, she was trustworthy, a woman of excellence. From the beginning to the end, though there were arguments, my mum never caused my dad evil; instead she strived to make a positive impact on everyone around her.
“She girds herself with strength,
And strengthens her arms
She perceives that her merchandise is good,
And her lamp does not go out by night”
My mom was very hardworking. If she did not go out to her office, she was at home, doing something just so she could provide for us, along with my dad.
“She extends her hands to the poor,
Yes she reaches out to the needy.”
My mom had chosen to help people in need. Though some people took it for granted, she actually provided for a lot of people under her, not just family. Her charity stretches to the ends of Nigeria and beyond.
“She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.”
My mom was a person you could talk to, about anything from girls to school to God. She had wisdom flowing out of her, and it washed the heads of us people around her, and soaked into our minds. She told us many stories with morals, and never failed to teach us new things. She wanted us to be amazingly smart, and knowledgeable, at the same time humble.
“She watches over the ways of the household
And does not eat the bread of idleness”
My mom was a person of principle. The rules she laid down in the homes she resided are what moulded my siblings and I into what we are today. They were carved out in our brains, so that we could carry it wherever we go.
“Her children rise up and blessed;
Her husband also and he praises her
Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all”
Not only her blood children, but her spiritual children in whom she formed a motherly bond to, and taught them and raised them and even some who rebuked her know that my mom blessed. My dad would say too that my mum was successful and that she was blessed in everything she did.
“Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder’ a phrase my mom said a lot. As a beholder, I saw my mom as beautiful, and amazing, regardless of all other thoughts, and my mom feared the Lord and indeed she deserved to be praised and she was.
“Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates”
My mom always said death isn’t physical, but a physical separation from God, so surely I know my mum goes to present our truckloads of good works to the Almighty; all her physical achievements, all the lives she has touched, the spirits she called to Christ, he will surely say.
“Oh God and faithful servant, come and receive your crown, and your robes, and dwell in my house forever.”
Adieu the love of my life, until we meet again (Adapted from Proverbs 31:10-31)
TRIBUTE BY DANIEL IGWE
My mum, words can’t express my feelings. I am sad because I could not repay everything you have done for me. From my birth you have cared and loved me. I am sad that you could not have had more time on this earth. I know you have gone to a better place for sure. I’ll see you when I get there. Wait for me.
Puttimandoo