Annie Okonkwo
As I struggle to make sense of this sad news, I am at loss for words to relate the grief in my heart. A thousand pages of tribute won’t be enough to express my deepest feelings nor to describe the person that you were to me. The world around me seems still. The deafening silence echoes in my thoughts as I think about you, my dearly departed friend. I clearly remember the comfort that your presence brought and the peace that resonated from you whenever I was around you.
Penning down these few but sincere thoughts of mine is the least I could do in honour of our friendship and in reverence of the memories of all that we shared together in this life. Omezimba, my dear friend and brother, it beats my imagination to think that you concealed your pain while yet laying to rest the remains of my beloved sister just a couple of days ago in my country home. Such selflessness and loyalty yet you carried the pains of a mortal wound you bore, Omezimba, you were a brother in deed! Had I known about your ailment or your condition, your sudden demise wouldn’t have hit me this hard but as the Bible says, in all things give thanks to the Almighty.
Omezimba Mba-ano, you left me when I least expected it. Death they say is a grim Ripper. It sweeps in unannounced to cut short the joy of living, but its sting is powerless to us who know our God! Writing this tribute is the last thing I expected to do, not now nor anytime soon because it is not part of the dreams we shared and our earnest expectation of how to end our friendship in this world of mortals. We discussed and talked about so many things as the New Year set in but your death was not part of it. Your death is a shocker and I must be sincere about this, I am sorely grieved.
My dear friend Ziggy, nothing material comes close to account for the beauty you brought to this life, you were one of a kind and a very special person. You were a caring father, a loving husband and wonderful friend. You have left an indelible mark in the lives of your beloved Wife, your Children, many loved family members, as well as friends. You literally touched and transformed a number of lives, lit up many spaces you walked into and was a caring and generous soul.
I am most grateful for the relationship you found lately with your Maker. You were a pillar in the Church, a soldier of Christ and a Knight of repute in the Communion of Faithfuls. You cherished life in all its ramifications, and was a living example of a life well lived and expressed. You have left a void but your memories definitely would be our comfort. Who can question God? It is He who gives and He who takes. To Him alone be the Glory.
Rest in the Lord’s bossom my dear friend, till we meet again where neither time nor death can separate us. Adieu Ziggy!!!
––Senator Okonkwo writes from California, USA
