By Amaechi Agbo

Ezeagu – The Executive Governor of Enugu State, Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, former minister of Power and Vice-Chancellor, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, (UNN) Ven. Prof Chiendu Nebo, Former Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Lolo Cecilia Ezeilo, were among to politicians who attended the burial Mass of Late Lady Cordelia Anibeze on Saturday.

Aged 94, Lady Anibeze died on 24^th December 2024 and was buried on February 8, 2025 in her country home at Aguobu Owa, Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State

The requiem mass, officiated by the Auxiliary Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Enugu, Ernest Anaezichukwu Obodo, was held at the Christ the King Parish, Aguobu Owa

In his homily, Bishop Obodo who traced the life profile of Lady Anibeze and how she became a widow at 36 years and was able to train the children (Six of them) and lived for 94 years, described the late matriarch as a “strong woman” who was committed in whatever he believed in.

Describing her as a “virtuous woman” who strived through thick and thin in training her children, noted that death is an inevitable end to mortal life but a passage to life of redemption.   

“Lady Anibeze was a dedicated mother. She worked and dedicated her life to the service of God and humanity. Widowed at 36, she soldiered on, trained her children and lived for 94 years.

“She’s a virtuous woman and today she has transitioned to eternity. Death brings to an end our mortal flesh which transforms us to redemptive life. To the family, do not mourn hopelessly, be strong in faith as she has gone to prepare a better place for you,” he said.

In his speech, Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah urged the family to uphold the legacy their mother left behind.

The Governor who spoke through his Deputy, Barr Ifeanyi Ossai noted that Lady Anibeze lived a life of emulation and urged the family to be consoled.  

Lady Cordelia Ogbonne Anibeze left behind five children, a female and five males as well as great and grand-children.

Governors Mbah, Uzodinma Pay Tributes

Governors Peter Mbah of Enugu State and Hope Uzodimma of Imo State have extended their condolences to Saturday Vanguard Editor, Mr. Onochie Anibeze, and his family over the passing of his mother, Lady Cordelia Ogbonne Anibeze.

Lady Anibeze, who passed away on December 24, 2024, was laid to rest on February 8 at her residence in Aguobu Owa, Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State.

As part of her farewell rites, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Trans Ekulu, Enugu, concluded a three-day prayer session for the repose of her soul. Lady Anibeze was a prominent leader in the Catholic Women Organisation (CWO) and active in societies such as St. Anthony and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Governor Mbah’s Tribute

In a letter to the Anibeze family, Governor Mbah conveyed his heartfelt condolences, stating:

“On behalf of my family, the government, and the good people of Enugu State, I convey our sincere commiseration on the passing of your beloved mother, Lady Cordelia Ogbonne Anibeze (née Ezeilo).

“She was a woman of enduring and vehement faith who inspired peace and unity in her home and community. Her life was marked by boundless generosity and devoted service to God and humanity. She will be remembered for her unyielding hope, responsible motherhood, and rich legacies.”

Governor Uzodimma also shared his condolences, writing to Mr. Anibeze:

“I received the news of your mother’s death with sadness. Although blessed with longevity, living to 94, she will still be deeply missed.

Ex Rangers players condole family

“As a practising Catholic, she undoubtedly enveloped you with maternal affection akin to our Mother Mary. Her physical absence will be painful, but her spiritual presence remains.

“On behalf of my family, the government, and the good people of Imo State, please accept my sincere condolences. May her soul rest in perfect peace.”

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What a bumper dance hall party there is in Heaven as Angels welcome Mrs Cordelia Ogbonne Anibeze with a ceremonial parade. And commanding the saintly Guard of Honour is Sylvester Chidobu Anibeze who will be reuniting with his darling after 59 years.

I am sure Ma Anibeze, 94, is already doing Gwo gwo ngwo with her love. The woman and Mike Ejeagha shared the same paternal cord. Her late son, Thomas, was a musician and could blow the trumpet to high heavens. The atmosphere is electrifying and Mother Earth is not left out. Grandson Chisom continues with the musical legacy, communicating with the piano and guitar.

The story of the Anibezes says so much about the Civil War. They lived in Kano until the Genocide began through the pogrom that followed the July 29, 1966 counter coup. Mr. Sylvester Anibeze did not sense danger when he sent his family to the Eastern Region, on holidays.

He returned to his Nigeria Railway Corporation job in Kano. That decision turned out to be a costly mistake. When the killings began, Anibeze tried to escape on an outward bound train. As the mob overwhelmed the station, he jumped out and ran for dear life. That remains the last anyone heard of him.

That was also the lot of the Uduezues. Nosike was at Government Secondary School Owerri in 1966. His parents lived in Bukuru, near Jos. Mr. Phil Anaedozie Uduezue, a miner, returned to the East with his family after the July 29, 1966 coup.

In August, Emir Ado Bayero of Kano who had become Chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, assured the Igbo that all was well in the North and they could return. The miner harkened to the call, with his friend, Brown Ogbogu. They reported to work. And the mob appeared. He ran into the forest. Lost forever.

Left with no news of her husband’s fate, Mama Anibeze assumed the role of father and mother. Picture a 36 – year – old woman left to take care of six children, all alone. Then in 1967, war broke out. The family which found a new home in their Agu – Obu Owa, village, Ezeagu, became homeless when Federal troops overran the Northern part of Biafra.

A widow and her battalion, roaming war ravaged Biafra. Mama did not sit idle. She ventured into business, beginning with a restaurant at Nkwo – Agana in Olo. Nigerian Air Force bombers would give her no peace. The family moved shelter legion times, as refugees.

To break her heart the more, her second son, Thomas, a teenage boy, was conscripted by Biafran soldiers to join the Army. The widow dared them. She walked the distance, visiting all military formations, as bombs dropped from the air, looking for her son. When she found him, nothing could stop her from going back with the boy.

The soldiers’ heart melted when they heard the Anibeze story. They let her go. It was quite unusual. I remember how one of my uncles was conscripted and thrown into a dry well to hinder escape. His wife took food to the military base. Soldiers on duty, welcomed her, collected the food, ate it and pooed inside the plate.

After the war, the Anibezes waited, praying that the head of the family survived in Kano. He remains missing. Mama remained strong for the children – Moses, Thomas, Charles, Chike, Onochie and her only girl, Vivian. A devout Roman Catholic, she held on to her Rosary.

Hardwork paid. Mama Anibeze rose from the ashes of war, to buy a brand new Toyota car in 1978. While some others relied on their husbands to gift them vehicles, she made herself husband. Four years later, in 1982, another ‘tear rubber’ ride came, a Mazda 929.

Her last son, Onochie, Editor of Saturday Vanguard, will continue to miss his mom who departed on December 24, 2024. “She is the greatest mom I have ever known in life. It is now that I look back and I wonder how she coped with six children, during and after the war,” he said.

Onochie’s nickname is Onyegwu, which could mean good dancer. No, he is nowhere near Mama in dancing. His own is football where he played for Enugu NEPA before the lights went off, through injury. Some of his contemporaries in the Coal City, Charles Okonkwo, Ikechukwu Ofoje and Francis Okaro, later played for Rangers.

Mama spent her last years with Onochie in Lagos. There was no sign that she wanted to depart but she probably knew it was extra time. When Vivian, now Mrs Iworah visited, their mother confided in her that she wanted to go back to her Trans Ekulu home in Enugu.

Onochie did not know about this. Eventually Mama flew back to her roots. I joked with Onyegwu that Mama outsmarted him because she did not want to bother anyone with flying her corpse back from Lagos, which would cost some money.

Mrs Iworah eulogized her mother. “ My mom remained very strong. She did not need help to bathe and made sure she did not spend time in the hospital for the children to spend much on bills. She loved her Rosary and held on to it, even on the death bed.”

“Anytime the doctors removed the rosary from her neck in the course of medication, she never forgot to bring it back, closer”, Vivian said. “I am not praising her because she was my mom. Mama taught me love, dignity, forgiveness.

“When marriage approached, millionaires came knocking. Mama advised me to follow love, not money. She cautioned that with love, money will come. Even when I settled down and the usual marital challenges came, she gave me the book of St. Augustine. So religious, Mama stopped eating beef after I had my first child in 1991. She made a vow to God to take that as her prayer offering to lift people in purgatory.”

Mama lived to see her brother, Malachy Ezeilo’s wife climb the political ladder. Cecilia Ezeilo, the immediate past Deputy Governor of Enugu State, was married to Chief Malachy Ezeilo, Commissioner for Works and Rural Electrification during the administration of governor Jim Nwobodo in the old Anambra State.

I was opportuned to enjoy the Anibezes’ hospitality in 1989, at their New Haven home in Enugu. My journey back to Enugu from Nsukka after watching Rangers against Iwuanyanwu National at the Akanu Ibiam Stadium ended in that house. I slept over, with Mama wondering why I wanted to spend money lodging elsewhere.

These days, Onochie seems to have abandoned football for tennis. An Anibeze once played for Lagos Railways but ended up as an Accountant at the African Continental Bank (ACB). Ben Anibeze, better known as Little Ben, also served briefly as Chairman Enugu Rangers board. Pa Sylvester Anibeze played tennis at the NRC quarters, Kano.

The music goes on. Mrs Cordelia Anibeze will be buried on February 8. Before moving to Trans Ekulu, her home was New Haven, Enugu. The permanent address henceforth is Heaven. What a party it will be as Sylvester and Cordelia Anibeze begin the everlasting chapter of their truncated love life.

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Barr Ossai  who doubles as the Special Guest and Chairman of the occasion, impeccable sources in the Government House, told this paper, will grace the ceremony.

“The Award ceremony is registered as part of his itineraries on Monday,” the source said.

His presence will further deepen the already existing excellent relationship the university has with the Enugu State Government who has spent over one billion on infrastructure in the College.

Speaking on why the College decided to institute the award, Chairman of Local Organising Committee, (LOC), Dr Mba Sunday, said the management of the College thought it wise to initiate the award as part of its strategic plan in recognition of the meritorious service provided by the awardees and for motivation of the staff towards excellent service delivery to the University.

“This is one of the activities in the strategic plan of management of ESUT College of Medicine aimed at recognition of the meritorious service provided by the awardees and for motivation of the staff of the ESUT College of Medicine towards excellent service delivery to the University,” he said.

On the processes leading to the selection of the awardees and sustainability of the award, Dr Mba said “The process of selecting the awardees was a rigorous one to ensure that the best is selected. It was a painstaking exercise.

“Talking about sustainability, this is the first edition of the award ceremony and as such has come to stay as an annual event to be organized after the end of every academic session.”

The Full names of the awardees will be made public when the ceremony begins at 11am at the College Auditorium, ESUT Parklane, Enugu.

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Enugu – In keeping faith in Martin Luther King Jr’s age long assertion that “All labour that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence” because the dignity of labour is the idea that all types of jobs are equally respected, and no job should be discriminated against, the board of management of ESUT College of Medicine, ESUCOM, will on Monday, December 16, 2024 honour five staff for their honourable and exceptional performance in office.

Tagged “First Edition of ESUT College of Medicine Annual Merit Award Ceremony”, the event hold at the ESUCOM Auditorium starting from 11am

Five Staff who distinguished themselves meritoriously will be honoured during the ceremony that will feature the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Barr Ifeanyi Ossai as the Special Guest and Chairman of the occasion, ESUT Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alyosius-Micaheals Okolie will serve as the Chief Host while the Host is the Provost of the College, Professor Uchenna Ekwochi.

The five staff will be honoured in the following categories:  Best Lecturer in Faculty

Of Clinical Medicine; Best Lecturer in Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences; Best Lecturer in Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences: Best Performing Non-Teaching Staff in ESUCOM and Best Performing Casual Staff in ESUCOM.

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By Amaechi Agbo

The Archbishop of Enugu Province and Bishop of Enugu Anglican Communion, His Grace, Most Rev. Professor Emmanuel Chukwuma, has retired from active episcopal service as a shepherd of the church.

Rev Chukwuma’s over three decades of service to humanity in his capacity as a shepherd of the flock came to an end on Sunday, January 14, 2024 during a Valedictory Church Service held at the Cathedral Church of the Good Shepherd, Enugu.

In attendance during the service were prominent Nigerians including the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo; Labour Party Presidential candidate at the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi; Enugu State Governor, Mr Peter Mbah, among others.

Rev Chukwuma has been a bishop since 1990, having served in Bauchi, Gombe and Enugu dioceses. He replaced Bishop Gideon Otubelu as Enugu Bishop in 1998.

The Thanksgiving service served three purposes – First, it marked the 34th Lordship of His Grace, Marked also his 70th Birthday and also served as his farewell service as a bishop to the church.

Obasanjo calls for hope amidst difficult situations

Speaking during the service, former president Obasanjo praised the enomous achievements the retiring Bishop achieved for the church and humanity and called on Nigerians not to lose hope despite difficult challenges in the country.

“Let me say this, you will be retiring but you are not tired. But more importantly for me, because if you do not serve humanity you cannot serve God and part of the work you have to do in the vineyard of God is service for Nigeria.

“So retired you will be but not tired and not out of job. Let me say this, I sought your advice this morning on the issue of security and you gave me a wonderful piece of advice. As they say in my part of the world I put it on my left palm so that I won’t use the right palm and eat it up. There are so many areas that this country will still need your service, I appeal to you never, never shy or relent from rendering such service, he said.

On the state of the nation, Obasanjo who was Nigeria’s President for eight years, 1999 to 2007, said “let us not deceive ourselves, Nigeria is not what it should be. And for you and for me and for many that are here who are your age and above, we should thank God because this is a country where, if you are able to live up to the age of 50, you are lucky. With Boko Haram, with kidnapping, with IPOB, with banditry or whatever they call them, there’s so much that can take your life when you least expected. And now there is poverty raging, I was told that the rate of suicide has increased.

“One of my friends looking after a hospital with mental health said the number of people now coming to the hospital has increased, because they are worried about what they will eat, about security for themselves, for their family and their community.

“Let me say this, in spite of the bad situation we are in, as Christians we should never lose heart and we should never lose hope. To lose hope is to give up and there is no giving up in the vineyard of God. We must persevere, we must persist, we must go on until at first we complete the race and then we wait for the crown when we meet our creator.”

On his part, the Enugu State Governor, Mr Peter Ndubisi Mbah, represented by his Deputy, Mr Ifeanyi Ossai, lauded the tireless efforts of the archbishop in promoting peace, unity and love within and beyond

“As a shepherd and leader, Archbishop Chukwuma’s tireless efforts in promoting peace, unity and love within and beyond the Anglican faithful in Enugu has been evident since his appointment as Bishop of Enugu Diocese.

“Though he bids farewell to active episcopal service, his unwavering commitment to faith and goodwill leaves an indelible mark on the countless people who have encountered him over the years.

“I congratulate Archbishop Chukwuma as he marks 34 years in the episcopacy while wishing him a peaceful retirement,” Governor Mbah said.

In his farewell sermon, Rev Chukwuma lamented that corruption and bad governance has affected the people of the country negatively but called for hope, “But in all there is hope for Nigeria,” he said.

Archbishop Chukwuma’s Biography

His Grace, Archbishop Professor Emmanuel Olisa Chukwuma was born on 15 January, 1954 in Asaba, Delta State.

After secondary school, he trained to become a teacher. He graduated in Theology from Immanuel College of Theology, Ibadan, was ordained in 1981 and served at Christ Church, Ibadan.

He was elected as Archbishop of Enugu at the 11th General Synod of the Church of Nigeria, held at the Cathedral Church of the Good Shepherd, Enugu, in September 2014.

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