TRIBUTE TO A QUINTESSENTIAL GENTLEMAN-
DR. ANTHONY NNAMDI OBIAGO
From my philosophical perspective; every day we all die a little and every day we all live a little; but at last, we all must die fully, so as to be subsumed in a brand new life with God.
In the words of the famous playwright, - WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE- “It seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end will come when it will come”.
DR. ANTHONY NNAMDI OBIAGO has played his part and taken a bow. He was a strong, silent, and self-contained personality. He had an admirable carriage, a great smile, and a charming aura! Tony was energetic, outgoing, and greatly devoted to friends and family, he was also a generous, debonair, and quintessential gentleman.
Tony (aka “Namdis” or Uncle T”), was my cousin, my friend, my confidant, and a regular part of my family during his off and on sojourn in Jos, Nigeria, between 1988 and 2001.
When my wife Pamela and I asked him to be the Godfather to our newborn baby girl, Dumebi in 1989, he delightfully accepted. He dutifully played that role, constantly keeping in touch and advising her, until he took his sudden bow from Earth.
Tony was a great entrepreneur, highly intelligent, full of ideas, detailed, very expressive, and a high-risk taker. He was the managing director of a group of companies, including PROPER TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED, an International company that engaged in the prospecting, exploration, mining, processing, and export of solid minerals such as cassiterite, tantalite, barite, kaolin, tourmaline, aquamarine, and gold, - the precious stone that eventually made him relocate from Jos to Ibadan where there was more deposit.
He loved his business and gave his whole soul and energy to it. I was glad to act as the legal adviser and solicitor to his company, helping him organize the secretarial, administrative, and legal departments of his thriving business.
Tony was a regular visitor to my home with Carla, Nnamdi (Jnr.), and Obias, and relished tremendously, Pamela’s African and Continental dishes. Despite the constraints of time and distance, he endeavored to attend Pamela’s mother's 86th birthday celebration, a few years ago in Alor, Anambra State, all the way from Ibadan, with his wife June and their son Luka. A show of love and affection which we shall treasure forever.
My dear brother, we are pained by your sudden and unexpected departure, but we know that your kind and gentle soul with find favor with God. We shall take solace in the words of the famous writer, JOHN MARK GREEN, who wrote as follows;
“How do we go on, after the unthinkable happens? How can we carry the burden of knowing that the world can be cruel and dangerous; the future so unpredictable. How do we grieve with empty arms and a head filled with echoing memories?
We are stronger than we know and this is how to show it; Holding each other,
giving comfort in the midst of pain, loving more fiercely through our actions and the things we say; making the world just a little bit better every single day. Never taking life for granted knowing that it can be snatched away. This world may bring deep darkness, but we are the bearers of light. We’ll join our flames together, and shine in the blackest of nights!”
REST IN PEACE DEAR TONY!
IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME, WE SHALL ALL MEET AGAIN!
JERRY C. AZINGE ESQ
(on behalf of Pamela, BB, Dumebi, and C.J Azinge)