Until her glorious call on the 30th December, 2015; Reverend Beatrice Onyegbula continued to work in the Lord’s vineyard, still loved to bake for her grandchildren, and was still a source of blessing to those who crossed her path.

The famous words of wisdom from Mother Theresa below truly symbolize the life and personal beliefs of Reverend Beatrice Onyegbula.

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered, Forgive them anyway,

If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives, Be kind anyway,

If you are honest, people may cheat you, Be honest anyway,

If you find happiness, people may be jealous, Be happy anyway,

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow, Do good anyway,

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough, Give your best anyway,

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God, It was never between you and them anyway”

(Mother Theresa)

May her gentle soul and sweet spirit rest in the bosom of the Almighty Father, till we meet again to part no more...

Amen.

Aside from her career and time spent caring for her children, Reverend Beatrice Onyegbula kept herself busy with her passion for children’s fashion and catering. She attended Singer Sewing Institute in Lagos from 1971 to 1972, where she learnt how to design dresses for children and young girls.

From 1973 to 1974, she attended Nigerian Hotels and Catering School, where she trained part-time and became a caterer, after which she established Vivy’s Catering Services, a pastry and confectionary outfit that catered for many celebratory occasions such as weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries, graduations, and end of year parties, for several individual and corporate clients.

She used catering as a vehicle to inspire and mentor many young girls by training them to be independent and self-sufficient through catering. In most cases, the time and effort spent on coaching these young women was at no charge, because of the joy and happiness she got from helping others.  

Nkwerre Imenyi Bu Ndi Mara Nma - Ezi Nnedim Newerem Iwe - Ikpogam Gini - Uwa di Egwu

Nkowara Gi - Inachomnu Nanu - Ayi Ganu Gale - Ndi Nigeria Mara Nma

Reverend Beatrice Onyegbula was a very active member and volunteer in her community and served her town, Nkwerre; as well as her marital village, Umueze for many years. She served as the secretary of Nkwerre Aborigines Union (Women’s Wing), Lagos Branch, from 1972 to 1976, then became the President of Nkwerre Aborigines Union (NAU), women’s wing from 1977. In 1979, she was the Lead Vocalist on the Nkwerre ’79 album, which was produced and released by the Nkwerre Aborigines Union (Lagos Branch). The Nkwerre ’79 album included popular folk tunes of the time such as Nkowara Gi, Ndi Nigeria Mara Nma, and Uwa di Egwu.

In her marital home of Umueze, Nkwerre; Reverend Onyegbula devoted about 25 years of voluntary community service to her people and was elected President General of Umueze Progressive Union, Women’s Wing from 1989 until 2014.

As a child, Reverend Beatrice Onyegbula started her Christian journey at Bishop Tugwell Memorial Church in Lagos; then later on at St. Paul’s Church, Nkwerre from 1955 – 1958 where she served as a Chorister.

A few years later, as a young wife and mother, she was led to the Sabbath Church in 1982, due to life challenges she was dealing with at the time. In the Sabbath Church, she found solace and a renewed outlook on life. She served the Lord as a worker in the church for four years - she was an elder and was eventually ordained as the “Mother in Israel”, a position of authority within the church that reflected the wisdom and strength exemplified by Deborah, a judge and prophet in the Bible.

In 1987, Reverend Onyegbula joined “New Gospel Mission”, a Pentecostal church in Lagos where she continued to serve the Lord for the next 17 years. During this period, she attended the Faith Bible College, Sango Otta in Lagos, where she was ordained as a Chaplain and a Pastor after completing her Diploma and BA Honors Degree in Theology.

While at New Gospel Mission, she served as the Director of the Children’s Ministry and a Marriage Counselor. She also served as a Chorister, which remained a passion from her childhood. She was later ordained and served in different roles and gifts as an Evangelist, a Reverend, a women’s fellowship leader and a Sunday school teacher.

In 2004, she joined the Real Gospel Believers Ministry, where she served as a women’s fellowship leader, choir leader, workers’ leader, children’s leader, a chorister, evangelical leader and church administrator. While there, she joined the Sisters Fellowship (a non-denominational women’s fellowship movement) and then moved to the Destiny Revival Church, in 2014, where she remained an active member and elder until her passing.

Serving and building the Kingdom of God, here on Earth, was her number one priority as she continued to serve the church diligently until her glorious call to our Lord Jesus Christ. To God be the Glory.

Reverend (Mrs.) Beatrice Onyegbula spent her entire career as a civil servant, serving her country diligently and with integrity for many years. Her career began with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Lagos, from the 1st of February, 1965 to 1976 in various positions, starting as a Clerical Officer, then moving up to Assistant Executive Officer and Senior Executive Officer (Accounts) after passing various departmental exams. She moved on to join the Code of Conduct Bureau as a Senior Accountant from 1977 – 1980.

In 1981, she was posted to Federal Ministry of Industries as a Senior Accountant up until 1984 and was posted in the same year to the Ministry of Trade as a Principal Accountant till 1987. In 1988, Rev. (Mrs.) Onyegbula moved on to the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs and eventually to the Nigerian Customs Service. At this point in her career, the then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, General Badamosi Babangida passed a law that ceased the practice of posting of civil servants from one federal ministry to another.

While at Nigerian Customs Service, God raised Reverend (Mrs.) Onyegbula from the position of Principal Accountant (Audit Unit) to Assistant Comptroller (Internal Audit) in 1993 and Deputy Comptroller (Internal Audit) from 1996 – 2000 where she retired, after 35 years of service to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, without a single disciplinary action or dent to her career and name.

On Saturday, June 11, 1966, Reverend Onyegbula was joined in Holy Matrimony to the Late Elder John C. Onyegbula of Umueze village, Nkwerre, at the Cathedral Church of Christ in Marina, Lagos. Elder John Onyegbula, who attended St. Augustine’s Grammar School, Nkwerre, was the first Chartered Accountant in Nkwerre, Imo State.

Both Accountants, with a love for working with numbers, and a shared passion for life, spent almost three and a half decades together as a happily married couple, until they were separated by the passing of her beloved and brilliant husband in June 2000. Their beautiful union was blessed with seven wonderful children and 15 grand-children. 

Reverend (Mrs.) Beatrice Deborah Nweke Onyegbula was born on the 5th of June 1944, to late Smart Ajomiwe Onwuzuruoha of Umulolo, Amaegbu village, Nkwerre and late Madam Hannah Ihuoma Onwuzuruoha (later Akano; nee Nwosu) of Okoro-Okwara village, Nkwerre, now called Amorji Ugwu village, Nkwerre. 

Reverend (Mrs.) Beatrice Onyegbula started her education at Princess Elementary School, which was at the time located on Catholic Mission Street in Lagos from 1951 – 1953; then transferred to Central School, Nkwerre from 1954 – 1958 where she completed her primary education. She proceeded to Our Lady of Apostles Girls Secondary School, Yaba, Lagos, from 1959 – 1964 where she excelled in sports and won many awards and trophies in athletics, specifically in the sprinting and high jump events. She moved on to attend the Federal Training Centre in Ikoyi, Lagos from 1965 – 1967 where she became a Stenographer. From 1967 to 1969, she completed her post-secondary education at Yaba College of Technology, followed by the Administrative Staff College, Topo, Badagry; where she studied various courses in Administration, Accounting and Auditing.

A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF LATE REVEREND (MRS.) BEATRICE DEBORAH NWEKE ONYEGBULA