By Chiekezie Emmanuel
The Vice-Chancellor of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Prof. Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, has disclosed that he misses his mother.
The Vice-Chancellor stated this on Saturday when he led the university management on a condolence visit to the university’s Director of Academic Planning, Professor Chike Anibeze during his late mother’s burial at Aguobu Owa in Ezeagu Local Government Area, Enugu State.
During the visit, Prof. Okolie sympathised with and consoled the family on behalf of the university community and advised the Anibeze’s to bear the loss.
“The advice people gave me (during his bereavement last year) is what I’m giving to him: take heart, it’s not over. It’s good for you to bury your mother not the other way around. He is now a father and a mother. I am an orphan and I understand the feelings and gap her departure created,” he said.
Speaking in an interview with ESUT Monitor, the VC said that the death of a parent is always painful and irreplaceable.
Sharing his experience and feelings since his mother was buried on 16th May, 2024 at the age of 81, the VC said he misses her.
“I miss my mother. Last Christmas was hard for me, celebrating Christmas without her for the first time was a difficult one. I am an orphan, but that is the way we have seen it.”
He stated that death is inevitable and a debt everyone must pay. “Prof. Chike Anibeze is a dedicated professor, always ready to discharge his duties. That’s why we have stopped everything to be with him today, to pay our last respects to his beloved mother,” he said.
