CHIEF SIR LOUIS IZUCHUKWU ONWUGBENU MOURNS HIS BELOVED SISTER MRS MATILDA OGOCHUKWU CHUKWUJEKWU.
TRIBUTE
Adannem, my loving sister. It has not been easy for me since your demise as I pounder on our discussions since this year. It was as if you knew the end was close and seized every opportunity of our discussions and meetings to appreciate and thank God that you had me as your brother. You recounted with excitement and joy your various visits to the United states of America and London, how I took you to different tourist sites and exciting places including the white house and Buckingham Palace. But little did I know that you were sending a message across to me and that in no time I would not see, speak or touch
you again. In your words “Oburu na ana abia uwa ozo, I ka ga abu kwa nwannem nwoke” meaning “if there is anything like reincarnation, you will still be my brother.” You said this happily on several occasions even during
your last moments. Adannem, it is so painful to lose you at this time. Our late mother asked me to take good care of you the way I took care of her so you can live longer than she did. I prayed and wished that I could do that and had hoped you would have lived past our mother who aged 93. Death, where is your sting? In you, I lost a kind and loving sister. In you, I lost a mother. In you, I lost my first light to civilization. Yes! Indeed, you were the person that took me at a tender age of nine from our Town (Nnewi) to visit a
modern city (Onitsha) where I saw electricity for the first time. At that time, my appetite for food was huge, you didn’t mind, you were happy and fed me as your beloved brother . I ate bread with tea and rice with tomato stew to my satisfaction. A treat that motivated me to become who I am today. You were generous. Born on Valentine Day, 14th February,1943, you radiated love from birth to all around you and touched humanity. You were a strong support for our family Palm oil milling business which endeared our parents. My heart is heavy because I miss the one person that truly loved and cared about me, the one who stood firmly by my side during the most difficulty time in my life .The person that would call me at least twice daily to know how I was doing wherever I am, not minding if I was in Nigeria or abroad. That person and voice that calls me ‘IZUU NWANNEM’ is no more. Adannem, I really missed your motherly care and love. According to our Lord in John 5:24 “I assure you that whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and won’t come under judgment but has passed from death into life.” With confidence on the good and caring life you lived, the joy and happiness in you when you recount your past experiences, I am sure you are in a better place, where you and our late parents will still be my pillar through this difficult challenges. We will one day meet to part no more where God has prepared for us and you will still be my sister as you wished. May God grant your soul eternal rest. Amen.
Nwannem, jee nke oma
Your brother,
Louis Izuchukwu Onwugbenu