"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."
Psalm 116:15

The death of a saint of God is viewed, by God, as something special and a time of rejoicing as the saint leaves this world of sin and goes to a perfect place to be with our Lord. Just four months shy of her 80th birthday, Pastor (Mrs) EMILY OKHENREN AIG-IMOUKHUEDE was called home by the Lord peacefully in her sleep in the night of June 8, 2021 in Surrey, England.  Naturally genial, amiable and kind-hearted, Pastor Emily, as she was widely known, has had a beautiful life of service to God and humanity. She was a loving mother and grandmother who loved and served the Lord till the end. Pastor Emily retired from active life in the last one year and spent a great deal of her time with her children and grand children. Her days were filled with prayers, quiet moments, supplications, meditations and praise and worship.

She prayed fervently for her family, friends, the Church and Nigeria. Yes, Nigeria - the country she loved dearly and served most passionately in many capacities. Nigeria was on her mind all the time. She listened to messages from the US evangelist, Kenneth Hagin and the Singaporean Preacher, Joseph Prince. Her favourite TV programme was Fareed Zakari GPS, the Sunday talkshow hosted by the brilliant Indian-American journalist on CNN.

Pastor Emily was born on October 27, 1941 in Sabongida-Ora, now the headquarters of Owan West Local government Area of Edo State. Her parents were Chief and Mrs Mefullbode Ihonde. Her father died when she was a toddler, and her mother, a young petty trader had to raise her with her siblings. It was a fairly big family and her mother worked hard to provide material comfort and love to the family; and because she loved education and appreciated the importance of quality education, she spared no expenses in training his children. 

It was in this beautiful setting, filled with discipline, peace and love, in which Young Emily grew into a beautiful maiden. Her native name was ‘’OKHENREN’’, which means star. She sure shone like one, and grew up to be a bright shining light in her family, church and country. As a young girl, she had her early education in the community. For secondary education, she attended Anglican Girls School, Sabongida-Ora in 1952, but due to her brilliance, she gained Western Nigeria government scholarship to study at St. Anne’s School, Ibadan, an elite high school for girls in what was then a burgeoning capital of the Western Region. She was at St Anne’s from 1954 to 1958, where she obtained her GCE in Division One. With this, she enrolled in the Nigerian College of Science, Arts and Technology in 1959 and graduated in 1961 where she obtained her A Levels (Advanced Levels Certificate). As soon as she left the College, she was admitted to the University of Ibadan in 1961 (then known as University College) from where she graduated with a Second Class Upper degree in History in 1964 – a considerable achievement at the time (and even now!). She grew up in a Western Nigeria that was brimming with active, and sometimes, incendiary politics and it is no surprise that her worldview was shaped by what she experienced.

Upon graduation from UI at age 23, Pastor Emily followed a broad and diverse career path spanning teaching, public service, private business, art collection and social enterprise. But it was in her days in the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) that her leadership skills, organizational talents and capacity for social mobilization were fully appreciated. She started off in the classroom as a teacher; teaching at Aunty Ayo Girls Comprehensive High School, Lagos (1964) and part-time lecturer in history at her alma mater, St Anne’s School, Ibadan (1966). In 1967 she joined the civil service as the Curator of the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos. At the museum, she introduced the use of the museum to Nigerian children. This initiative led to the establishment of the Directorate of Education in the Commission for Museums and Monuments.  She served for six years till 1973 when she resigned to pursue her passion for the arts. This also allowed her enough time to take care of her young and growing family. She started by hosting arts exhibitions at her home in Lagos. She hosted works of well-known artists like David Dale, Joshua Akande, Kolade Oshinowo, the Lijadu Sisters and Bruce Onobrakpeya and the late Chuks Anyanwu who have all turned out to become Nigerians masters. Chuks Anyanwu even lived in her family house for about a month to prepare for his display. These exhibitions were so successful that it attracted many arts aficionados, including some from the Lagos diplomatic and expatriate communities. Encouraged by the achievements of these exhibitions, Pastor Emily established an art gallery in Lagos christened Gong Gallery essentially for the promotion of Nigerian arts and artists. It was the nation’s second art gallery, and it became an instant hit among Nigerians of diverse backgrounds who had just emerged from an internecine civil war in search for a new meaning for life. The fact that her husband was also carving out a name for himself as a culture specialist in the federal bureaucracy provided the needed complementarity to her efforts.

Ever versatile, Mrs Aig-Imoukhuede also worked as a freelance journalist for Sunday Times and Daily Times, contributing articles on arts and culture. She also scripted for Voice of Nigeria and NTA on women and children issues, in addition to hosting and producing many children’s programme on TV.

In 1976, the US embassy in Lagos acknowledged Pastor Emily’s towering credentials in the arts and gave her a grant to visit the United States for the bicentennial celebrations that year. In a recently declassified diplomatic cable, the embassy described her as ‘’one of Nigeria’s leading entrepreneurs in art’’. The cable noted ‘’her educational background and her past position as curator of National Museum elevate her to unique and singularly noteworthy position in a profession where few Nigerians and fewer women are found. She is keenly intelligent, well poised and articulate. Mrs Aig-Imoukhuede is a combination of feminine charm, artistic sensitivity and business acumen. These attributes have earned her much respect in Nigerian artistic/business circles and will, if she continues, take her even further’’.

In addition to establishing a gallery, she also set up an art school and hired an Indian national as artist-in-residence. In terms of business ideas, Pastor Emily was always overflowing with many initiatives that complemented each other. To cater for the emerging middle class of the mid ‘70s, she established a business which offered packaged tours to schools and groups to foreign countries. It was an idea that was far ahead of its time! Travels and tours is now a booming subsector in the tourism area. She authored a storybook for children titled ‘’Seven Maidens and Other Stories’’ based on the stories her mother told her when she was a child.  

Little wonder the federal government soon took notice of this vivacious lady and appointed her director in many state-owned enterprises, including Nigerian Mining Corporation; Nigerian Cargo Handling Company; Warri Refining and Petro-Chemical Company Limited; National Universities Commission (NUC) and Peoples Bank Limited. In addition, she served as a foundation member of the Assessor Committee for the Nigerian National Merit Award and also sat on the Board of Kaafee Enterprises Limited and Majestic Securities Limited. She is also a member of Board of Trustees for Women and Children of Hope (HIV AIDS Support Programme), Women in Peace Initiative and Center for Africa Settlement Studies and Development in Ibadan.

One of Pastor Emily’s most prominent national assignments was her election as the President of the National Council of Women Societies in 1988. She served till 1993. She had risen through the ranks in the Council, becoming as Assistant Secretary in 1978 under the Presidency of the unforgettable Mrs Hilda Adefarasin. A federation of women’s organizations that promotes the welfare and progress of Nigerian women, NCWS is the biggest and most influential non-partisan and non-political women group in the country. In its March 1990 edition, Ebony magazine, the well known US-based African American monthly publication, carried a special section on Nigeria.  The glossy eight-page supplement, titled ‘’Nigeria: The African Giant’’, featured the nation’s economic and social panorama. Pastor Emily, then President of NCWS, was among the few Nigerians interviewed in the publication. She said in the interview: ‘’For a long time, we (Nigerian women) have been happy to be appendages to men, but we no longer want to be viewed as second-class citizens’’. It was a resounding voice of reason that reflected the ascendancy of the women folk then. The nation has just had its first female university Vice Chancellor and the first female Board Chairman of a bank. It was during her tenure as the President of NCWS that the foundation stone of the headquarters of the Council was laid in Abuja after which construction work started also during her presidency.

The welfare of women, proper child upbringing and the role of the family as the building block of the society have always been the focus of Pastor Emily’s official and Christian life.  The federal government did recognize her specialty and passion in these areas. She was appointed, at various times, as member, Child Welfare Committee of the Federal Ministry of Social Development, Youths and Sports; member, Police Community Relations Committee; Member, International Council on Women and member, the Lambo Foundation. She also served as member of SOS Children’s Village Association of Nigeria Nigerian and Member, Association of University Women. In addition, her skills in museum management were also invaluable when she was elected member of Museum Education for Africa Committee and International Councils of Museums.

The very year Pastor Emily graduated from UI - 1964 – was the year she got married to the husband of her youth, Mr Frank Abiodun Aig-Imoukhuede. Both of them are not only from Sabongida-Ora, but were also at the same university. Mr Aig-Imoukhuede had however graduated a few years earlier and had easily settled into employment in the federal civil service. Mr Aig-Imoukhuede had always known Emily Ihonde from her childhood. She was one of the eight girls who used to go to the house of his aunt, Late Mrs Christiana Longe, for preparatory lessons for St. Anne’s School in Ibadan. Together, Mr. & Mrs Aig-Imoukhuede have four children and 17 grandchildren who are very successful in various walks of life. Pastor Emily was blessed with parents who placed high premium on education, and so it was not difficult for her and her husband to invest heavily in the education and proper upbringing of theirs. To the children, she was ‘’mumsie’’; a mother in a million who encouraged her children to be the best and aspire to the highest levels in their chosen careers.

Her first child, Dr (Mrs) Erekpitan Ola-Adisa, a university professor, has fond memories of her mother whom she describes as  ‘’an incomparable woman of virtue, a pillar of support for all and a rallying point for her friends and family’’. She says: ‘’If I had wanted to run for President of this country, my mother would have supported me. That is the extent to which she supported and encouraged all of us in all our aspirations. She loved all of us to a fault; and for her there was no favourite child. She loved and supported us all in equal measure’’.

Pastor Emily had very loving relationships with her two daughters-in-laws and two sons-in-law whom she related with as her biological children. She doted on all her grandchildren and spent a lot of time with them either in-person or on phone calls. She studied the Bible with them. She had a particularly close and loving relationship with Chief (Mrs) Evelyn Oputu, one of her in-laws with whom she shared many pastimes, notably holiday travels and cruises. Mrs Oputu describes her as ‘’a big sister to me; a very giving and selfless person. She was with me during my own very trying moments, including when I lost my son. She was a very peaceful person. We spent her last few weeks all alone together, praying. Her faith was unshakable to the last minute.’’

Pastor Emily’s children and their spouses are Erekpitan & James Ola-Adisa (Erekpitan is a professor and educationist and James is a professor and scientist); Aigboje & Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede (Aigboje is a banker, investor and philanthropist and Ofovwe is a banker and Development specialist); Oluwakemi & Mobolaji Balogun (Oluwakemi is an educationist and pastor and Mobolaji is an investment banker) and Aigbovbioise & Olufunke Aig-Imoukhuede (Aigbovbioise is wealth and portfolio management specialist and Olufunke is a fashion entrepreneur).

Pastor Emily was born an Anglican into a deeply religious and God-fearing family and was brought up in the fear of the Lord. But to deepen her knowledge of the Bible and the fundamental principles of Christianity, she enrolled in Word of Faith Bible Institute (WOFBI) in January 1998. WOFBI is the Bible College of Living Faith Church (Winners’ Chapel). The class was christened ‘’Laughter ‘98’’ because the Church had earlier declared that year the Year of Laughter (Gen 18:12).  She was the Class Secretary, and according to one of the students, ‘’she related with us like a mother and even accommodated some of us’’. Mrs Emily Aig-Imoukhuede was ordained pastor in December 1998 by Bishop David O. Abioye, at the Garden Faith, Living Faith Church, Kaduna.

Throughout the years, Pastor Emily grew stronger and stronger in faith and she devoted her time and energies to teaching the gospel, winning souls for Christ and mentoring the younger ones in the Church. Her ministry was New Life in Christ Ministry, later renamed Believers Life in Christ Ministry.

As indicated earlier, Pastor Emily devoted her life to the service of women, children and the family. Her network of friends and social contacts extended to every corner of the country. One of her closest friends is Hajiya (Mrs) Zainab Maina, who was the National President of National Council of Women between 1997 and 2001 and former Minister of Women Affairs (2011-2015). Hajia Maina makes the following reminiscences:

‘’I met my sister, Mrs Emily Aig-Imoukhuede for the first time in 1979. That year, the federal government had appointed a committee of four women to travel around the country to visit states that did not have branches of NCWS. The committee was to help mobilize the women in those states to establish the branches of the Council. The members of the Committee were: Mrs Hilda Adefarasin (National President of NCWS); Hon. Justice Ifeanyi Nzeako(rtd); Mrs Adeola David and Mrs Emily Aig-Imoukhuede.

‘’My husband, who was then the Permanent Secretary, Government House, Yola, Gongola State, was mandated by the military governor to receive the visiting delegation from Lagos. I joined in the reception, and after we organized thousands of Gongola women to form a branch of NCWS in the state. Emily was the youngest of the four women that came, and she was very friendly, charming and affable. Immediately, we hit it off and our friendship grew stronger and stronger and we became a family. Since when I first set my eyes on her in 1979, we visited each other often, slept in each other’s room, ate and prayed together all the time we were together.

‘’But Emily was very pleasant and friendly. Women were always streaming into her office at NCWS and always following her home after work. She had friends from all over the country; Northern Nigerian women in particular took to her and she forged and sustained strong friendship with them right from her NCWS days. She was a completely detribalized, cosmopolitan and gracious person who mentored many women and children from different backgrounds.

‘’I admired Emily a lot and I looked up to her. I always sought her counsel on all my personal issues. I called her ‘’my sister’’ all the time, for she was indeed a dear sister; very godly, ever so willing to help others. She always gave me good advice and would say ‘Let’s hand over everything to God’ when I sought her opinions on what was bothering me. I miss her a lot’’.

Pastor Emily was also very active in St. Anne’s Old Girls Association, her secondary school alumni group. She kept in touch with her old mates and participated actively in their activities.

Pastor Emily was particularly moved by the plight of prisoners and the inability of ex convicts to fully reintegrate into the society after serving their time. She founded an NGO, The Dreamland Foundation for Economic Empowerment, to empower prison inmates and ex-inmates to live useful lives so as not to return to crime after serving their prison terms. This came to being after her engagements with many inmates through her correspondence Bible School (Believers Life in Christ Ministries). She had noticed that that most of the prisoners became hardened criminals while still in prison, not outside it. This explains why they almost always returned to crime upon release.

Dreamland Foundation started giving out grants for empowerment to prisoners and ex-inmates and those that call upon the Foundation for help. Some of the help the Foundation has offered so far include the following:

 

• The Foundation invited and brought in SMEDAN to the Kaduna Prisons.
• Training of inmates and ex-inmates on fish farming and construction of earthen ponds.
• Grants given to various ex-inmates to start up barbing saloon and also hair dressing saloon.
• Purchase of tricycles which were given out to a beneficiaries.
• Opening a fashion shop for a beneficiary
• Opening a wood/timber processing company for a beneficiary (This person now has a personal house and has moved his family to Anambra State where he is doing his business)
• For many years now the Foundation has been paying WAEC and NECO fees for many inmates who wish to write the exams.
• Paying of School fees for inmates at the National Open University.
• From time to time, the Foundation pays for fines for inmates who cannot pay their fines in order to be released from the Prisons. (you will be surprised to know that some people are in prisons because of inability to pay N10,000.00 or even N5,000.00 fine)
• Equipped Library for a Prison in Auchi
• The Foundation had several empowerment programmes with the Kaduna Borstal Home.
• The Foundation teaches women in Kaduna how to bake snacks and be self-reliant.

Through the outreach arm of the Foundation (Believers Life in Christ Ministry), the Foundation is present and has made impact in 31 States of the Federation, over a period of time and through its correspondence Bible School, it has reached out to more than 10,000 inmates, some of whom are presently ministers of the word in their various ministries. The Foundation has a farm in Kaduna where it is based. It produces NONI fruit juice which is fully certified and approved by NAFDAC from the farm in Kaduna. The Foundation has been a testimony as the lives of individual it has impacted cannot be quantified.

Conclusion

PASTOR EMILY OKHENREN AIG-IMOUKHUEDE (NEE IHONDE) lived a fulfilled and accomplished life. Spiritually, she was a woman of faith, totally committed to serving God in various ways, including her many charitable initiatives.  May the good Lord receive her in eternal rest and comfort her husband, children and the rest of the family.