A TRIBUTE TO AN AMAZING MOTHER AND QUEEN -
Her Royal Highness Nono Agnes Akanenechi Otiji nee Anekwe
“Osodieme” “NNEDIEBUBE”
“My mother’s life can be likened to a Comet that comes once in several generations and to Gravity always around us - constantly working to keep her family, friends, community, and environs together and successful, with love, incredible intelligence, Unshakeable faith in God, dependable disposition, great compassion and organizational capacity and her uncanny ability to bring peace, forgiveness and happiness to people.”
Nono, I have tried several times to describe your life and remarkable legacy in this write-up without success and have concluded that only a book will do justice to the exemplary and humane way you lived and the level of success you achieved in life. Very few people can make the extraordinary sacrifices you made and live the admirable life you lived, bring a smile to the faces of so many people and enjoy the love you had from so many. Your life is a remarkable story for the ages and your legacy has indeed been cemented in time’s endless journey.
You were a dutiful and loving wife who supported and encouraged your husband and family in every way possible. You were a devoted Queen, grandmother, mother, sister, aunt, godmother, and mentor to many. You were an inspirational soul who welcomed everybody and made them feel important. You always had kind words and sound advice for anyone who came to you with their problems and always sought to render any help you could. You were Loving, Humble, Compassionate, Understanding and family orientated, and one of the most beautiful, gracious, and God-fearing souls one could ever meet. You were a remarkably happy and confident person and exuded an incredible aura of peace and inner contentment that attracted people and made them find harmony when they were with you. You genuinely loved your friends, the Otiji family, Anekwe family, your people from Aguobu Umumba, and Eke, the good people of Enugu State and Nigeria in totality and continued to make sacrifices till the very end.
Your loss is the single most devastating event that has ever happened to me. Words can never capture the true depth of the pain of your loss. One moment you were there in all your glory, and as always full of love, wisdom, kindness, and empathy and the next moment you were gone, called by God in the same way that you lived your life - peacefully and always striving to put a smile on everyone’s face. God took you home and made sure that you did not suffer. For that, we are eternally grateful, though my heart is broken because I cannot understand why someone so good and precious to so many people had to die so soon. But God knows best and has called you to rest. I know my concerns are personal as I know that you are in heaven, but I can only hope that time will begin to reduce the terrible pain and the depth of emptiness and sadness in our hearts.
You gave me so much and loved me unconditionally. Always there to defend, advise, comfort, and support me. I learned so much from you and those lessons continue to guide and influence who I am today. It is impossible to describe how important you were to me and what a formidable influence you continue to be in my life. I will continue to savour and cherish every memory of you forever.
Mummy, you are very loved and admired all over. You are still and will always be with us. I need only look at the faces of all the people whose lives you have touched to see you and we will continue to celebrate, love, and thank you forever.
May your very gentle soul rest in perfect peace.
Adieu omalicha mummy mu until we meet to part no more.
Your loving son,
Ozumba Augustine Otiji