BIOGRAPHY OF

Mrs. Monica Nnuona Nwobi (EZINNE)

Aged 87 years (1926-2013)

Mrs. Monica Nnuona Nwobi (nee Adogu) was born on 21st March 1926 at Uromi in present day Edo State to Mr. Daniel and Mrs. Idah Adogu (both late) of Urukpaleke Village in Enugu-Ukwu town, Njikoka LGA, Anambra State. Monica was the eldest of six children of the Adogu family and as a young lady of her time; she got married in 1946 to a young veteran of the Second World War, Late Gabriel Ifemnacho Okafor Nwobi-Akum (Alias: Amulu na mma, “D.O”) of Umuriam Village, Nawfia, Anambra State. It is to the glory of God that the marriage is blessed with eight successful and thriving children.

EDUCATION AND SPORTS

Young Monica was sent from Uromi by her parents to the paternal grandmother (Mmankwo Okuano whose name was always on her lips) in pursuit of Basic Western Education, beginning with her Primary School education at the Central School Abagana. She was a lover of sports and excelled in field events with laurels, especially netballing during her school years and occasionally as a hobby even as a young mother.

She also trained at the Young Women Christian Association Center (Y.W.C.A) Onitsha and ‘Ugwuogba’ (St. Monica’s Domestic Training Centre, Ogbunike) where she acquired various skills that included sewing and home keeping as a future responsible house wife. The foundation of entrepreneurship skills guided her tremendously throughout her active days and also brought out the virtuous woman in her, an excellent wife and quality mother that she continued to be until death.

 BUSINESS LIFE

Mama, as she was fondly called by her children, was quite an eager beaver, involving herself in a lot of lucrative businesses. She was a good seamstress as much as she was trained to be a house wife. She effectively combined her child-bearing years with sewing and bakery business while sojourning at Onitsha and Nsukka (early 1950s), Awgu (late 1950s), Enugu (early 1960s) and Ikot Ekpene (mid-late 1960s). During the Nigeria-Biafra Civil war at Umuchu (1968-1970), she managed a restaurant with the combination of petty trading. In the 1970s, her retinue of experiences translated her to a mogul of multiple entrepreneur, house wife, baker, farmer, foodstuff contractor to hospitals and colleges, an accredited distributor of the now defunct Premier Breweries Limited while maintaining retail outlet shops at both Nawfia and Awka Main Markets. All these were done to assist her husband in supporting the family, an evidence-based trait she maintained even after losing her husband in 1992. Her intermittent ‘hotel business’ (actually a restaurant) during these active moments did go a long way to keep the family in good health. She also never lost sight of monitoring all the young assistants that she employed throughout these years of toil. Those graduates are gainfully managing their own enterprises with successful marriages in their various homes far and wide.

SOCIAL LIFE

Mama’s sense of humour did not detract from an inveterate disciplinarian and love for sharing views and knowledge-exchange with other people; she was the founder and Past President of the Ladies Social Club, Ikot Ekpene. She also had an ephemeral but active involvement with politics in the 1980s serving as a powerful women leader of the defunct Social Political Party (SDP) in Nawfia. She was a member of the women wing of Udoka Age Grade Nawfia. Mama also led the Inyom Esike and Umu-ada Enugwu Club, (Nawfia wing) effectively exploiting the platform as a good match-maker for Enugu-Ukwu and Nawfia young men and women so that she easily came across as an unlicensed local marriage counselor that worked for the people. With her endowed wisdom and little education, she pulled through lifetime challenges within the extended family. Mama’s combination of sociable and highly hospitable qualities earned her the appellation of ‘Nwanyi malu ogo’ which permeated the extended family especially her mother in-law for whom she cared and converted her to a Christian before her death in 1970. Again, this feat of pleasant mother in-law relationship earned her yet another conferred appellation of “O chili nne di ya eze”.

CHRISTIAN LIFE AND SERVICE

Mama loved singing a lot and her favorite hymn was Abu 216 ‘Ka m soro onye nwem ga na ndagwurugwu….’; her love for the word of God remained throughout her life with her favourite scripture as Rom. 8:31b ‘O buru na Chineke diri ayi, onye ga emegide ayi?

Mama remained an ardent Christian all her life, an active member of Women’s Guild and Mother’s Union and continued to worship at St. Michael and All Angels’ Church, Nawfia, as physical fitness permitted.

She was a virtuous woman that raised her children in the fear of God and even as grown children, these Christian virtues have not left any and all of her eight children. Her sagacious quality impacted people around her with benefit from her wealth of knowledge so earning her yet another sobriquet ‘College’.

Mama offered an earnest service to her church as a Sanctuary Keeper, Singer, a women representative at Diocesan Meetings and General Secretary (Akawo) during which she kept the Minutes of the Meetings and guarded the Books of the women of the Church for over 20years.

It is, therefore, no wonder that Monica Nwobi was recognized on August 12th 2012 and conferred with “Mother of Honour” by St. Michael and All Angels’ Church, Parish women, Home and Abroad. Ezinne triumphantly exited unto glory exactly one year after this conferment on August 11th 2013.

May your gentle soul, rest in perfect peace. Amen.