Words are indeed insufficient to express the pain that came with the heartbreaking news of your passing. Truly, a great tree has fallen. The trees and grasses echo the loss, the wind carries the news, and even the birds of the sky seem to proclaim it.
I could write at length about your immeasurable impact on my life, but no tribute would be complete without mentioning your extraordinary talent for nurturing and managing people. You were a mentor, a life coach, and a builder of lives. You trained, groomed, and refined countless people, some I had the privilege of meeting and many others I only heard about through the remarkable stories of their lives.
I came into your home at a tender age. There, I met your children and many others whose lives you had taken under your wings. You made it your responsibility to nurture us, train us, educate us, and instill in us enduring moral values that have shaped many of us into the people we are today. You ensured that we attended the best schools within your means and taught us that there was no shortcut, no ‘apian way’, to greatness. You prepared your children for excellence, and you pasted that exact strategy into us, that have become one of my greatest assets.
You were a salary earner, yet, somehow, that salary transformed countless lives. I don’t know how you managed to do that. It turned boys into responsible men and girls into women of substance. Your generosity, wisdom, and selflessness were evident in the many lives you touched.
The last time I saw you was in Glasgow. You looked at me and said, “Chiboy, I am proud of you. Keep up the good work and never give up!” Those words have been crested for perpetuity in my heart. I never imagined that would be the last time I would see you or hear your voice. Today, I write this tribute with a heavy heart. I know that death is an inevitable part of life, yet I still wished you could have lived longer to enjoy the goodness from me and others you groomed.
Thank you, Mom, for everything. Thank you for raising me and making me the man I am today. Thank you for investing your life in countless others and helping them become who they are. Thank you for setting us on the path of righteousness, for teaching us the true meaning of hard work, discipline, integrity, and perseverance, and for allowing me to share in the blessings of your home. Thank you for your care, your immeasurable love and support, and above all, for preparing us for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I believe you, alongside your friend and inlaw, Mrs Kate Ngozi Ogbanufe are dancing and rejoicing with the saints and elders in heaven. In the words of Thomas Campbell, “To live in the hearts of those we love is not to die.” Your legacy of kindness, humility, generosity, faith, and love will continue to live on in us, in our children, and in generations yet unborn.
You will forever remain in our hearts.
I love you, Mom. Good night.

Chidiogor