By Dr Alex Ogbonnia
In the Catholic Church, Mother General is an appellation reserved for a religious superior who leads a group of nuns in a congregation. By her training and position, she “dedicates her life to God and to the service of the church. She is bound to God, the church and her community by vows or promises…” Another striking quality of a mother general is that she is required to view her office as a service to the community, whose unity she must protect at all times, and to encourage and inspire others. The mother would hardly pass by a hungry member of the congregation without succor. In other words, her compassion is second to none.
However, there is one woman, a mother general essence, who has shown love, care and exceptional compassion to all manner of persons from diverse backgrounds, political and religious persuasions, especially in Enugu State. The woman epitomizes the St Thomas Aquinas characterization of beauty.
It was Aquinas who waved aside such weird remarks that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and asserted that beauty is empirical. He stressed that there are certain physical features, domiciled at the right places and in the right proportions, which not only pleases the heart when seen, but also shines forth with lustre. Such a combination of features expresses wholeness, harmonium and perfection. According to Aquinas, beauty is that intricate tapestry woven by the mysterious hand of God.
Here is a woman who, in spite of her Olympian status in society, accords respect, humour, compliments and dignity to even the lowest of cadres. A woman who would go round and ask her visitors if they had eaten. A woman who shared thousands of bags of rice and clothes to the less privileged. She would go the extra mile to pay school fees to the indigent students in not only Enugu West senatorial district but in many parts of Enugu State. She is a woman with a spark of God, a benevolent spirit and quintessential compassionate mother; whose inner feminine qualities play an archetypal role in the Ikeoha subconscious.
She is the Mother General who saw her station in life as a divine mission for humanity. Her name is Mrs. Nwanneka Beatrice Ekweremadu, PhD, the wife of Senator Professor Ike Ekweremadu, PhD, CFR, Ikeoha Ndigbo, the former Deputy President of the Senate, Federal Republic of Nigeria. An amazing Amazon, a paragon of discipline, kindness, sensibility and spirituality.
One is left to imagine the agonizing mood of the people of Enugu State on May, 5, 2023 when she was sent to prison by a UK court for illegal organ harvesting. On that day, Ohanaeze Ndigbo led by Engr. Dr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu protested vehemently. The Anglican Communion, the Catholic Church, the Political Class, etc were aghast. And today, it is a jubilation galore in all the nooks and crannies of Enugu State on hearing that “our Mother General” has been set free by the UK court.
The travails of Nwanneka is the disposition of all mothers in the animal kingdom. A mother can take any risk in order to save her child or offspring. Records are abound of women who paid the supreme prize in efforts to save their children. In other words, motherhood is a very complex and inscrutable phenomenon that only God himself can unveil.
Her daughter, Miss Sonia Ekweremadu, was grieving in excruciating pains because of her deteriorating kidneys. Sonia needed regular dialysis to stay alive and many options were presented to Nwanneka. And as they say, the rest is now history. While many out there had cast aspersions on Nwanneka and her husband, Ikeoha, there is little or no guarantee whatsoever that the same persons may not fall into the same temptation at the slightest grief of their own.
One may be surprised by the mammoth crowd that will receive Dr. Mrs. Nwanneka Ekweremadu on her return to Enugu state. This is in sharp contrast to the cold reception that may be accorded some others who have been in authority in Nigeria. The warm reception is because Sen. Ike Ekweremadu offered quality representation to his people in the Nigerian Senate. Ikeoha is the man who answered all his telephone calls and responded to text and Whatsapp messages. Time was when Ikeoha converted the entire Enugu West into a huge construction site in terms of roads construction and rehabilitation, erosion control; rural electrification, health and educational facilities, pipe borne water, amongst others.
His stellar performance was beyond the tarnish and reproach of even the most uncharitable in Enugu State. For instance, the entire Aninri local government area of Enugu State was one of the most neglected areas in the entire Igbo land. His Mpu community and the environs did not have access road, electricity and other facilities that make life worthwhile until the coming of Ikeoha. In the past, to punish a priest or a teacher was to send him on transfer to Oduma, Mpu, Okpanku, etc in the Aninri local government area. It is to the eternal testament of Ikeoha Ndigbo that my community, Ugbo and indeed many others in our area are today in sharp contrasts to their poignant pasts.
Through the instrumentality of Ikeoha Ndigbo, many illiterates are now literate; the unemployed are now employed; inaccessible communities can now be accessed, those in darkness have light; and many communities have a greater number of university graduates. It is a common adage that a prophet is not known in his home. Ikeoha has by his actions contradicted the assertion; almost all the communities in Aninri local government area went wild in ecstasy on hearing that Nwanneka is back in Nigeria.
This is a pointer to the reception that will be accorded the Ikeohas on arrival to Enugu. It is a quick admonition to the current incumbents who are intoxicated by the allure of transient power. Unfortunately, most of them have lost memories of where, when and how their oddysey started. Quel Domage!
Our thesis is that Nwanneka and the husband touched lives; and charity as they say, covers all sins. It is the Ikeoha quality representation and exemplariness that should form a benchmark for people in authority. Today, we are excited that our Mother General has returned to Nigeria in a splendor of grace, warmth and high spirits.
- Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia, PhD; Department of Political Science, Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu.
