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ABIGAIL LUCY AGU  (1925-2017)

BIOGRAPHY OF MAMA, MRS. ABIGAIL LUCY AGU

In the early hours of Monday, May 15 2017, a call came from my elder brother Dee Ngozi. Surprise was registered all over me that Dee Ngozi could call me around 1.00am. Quite unlike him, lo and behold he dropped the bomb/news that our mother had just died few minutes ago. That was the end of my sleep. The bed, the room and every aspect of the environment was no longer friendly to me. That was a rude shock. I was confused but later took solace in the fact that she had at least achieved some things before her death and that she died a peaceful death.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Mama was born at Umuene presently known as Umugwu village in Alaoma Community, Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area in Abia State in the family of Nwosuagwu. Grandpapa Nwosuagwu died when mama was very young. We doubt if mama could pick on any face that looked like her father’s. It was her mother and she that constituted what could be referred to as members of Nwosuagwu’s  family  - just a family of two members; mother and daughter. So it can be said that Grandpa Nwosuagwu’s direct members of his family finally disappeared from planet earth on the 15^th of May, 2017, the day our mother died, leaving their grand children and a great grandchild behind.  May God grant them a safe and successful journey that everyone present here and the world at large  would appreciate with thanks to  Almighty God on the day of Christ’s second coming in Jesus name.

As fate would have it, our grand mother died young. She died when our mother could easily be described as a young mother. The third child of my mother then had not started secondary education when she died.

LONGEVITY

Contrary to her parents, mama died at a mature age of 92 years irrespective of teething hurdles marriage  and life created.

OCCUPATION

Our mother embarked on various kinds of occupations in order to cater for her children. As it was common then mama’s first occupation was farming and later ,she developed interest in hair-dressing. She went into trading. This led to her opening a provision store. She ran a provision store at the popular Ariaria Market. This business too was shattered by over-submissiveness. She  later went into firewood business. The same phantom of submissiveness hunted her and brought the business to an unexpected collapse.  

Mama tried to earn reasonable money that could enable her to take care of her children  but  misfortune came knocking,  using her marital relationship to shatter her dreams in life. In her attempt to learn and start hair dressing business, marital relationship misinterpreted it as an attempt by her to go into harlotry and unfaithfulness. Her over-submissiveness in marriage could not allow her to run her business independently and making provision for saving for capital formation and enlargement. This placed her in a tight corner which could not allow her to meet the demand of her children to reach the very enviable heights they aspired. She and her children were hunted by this stigma infinitesimally or remarkably, closer friends and relatives can bear witnesses to this. We all have our sense of judgment to carry out this analysis, assessment and quantification. Not that Abigail Lucy Agu lacked the love for her children, she was simply misunderstood, misconstrued and her business efforts misinterpreted. Daa Abi  was unlucky in marriage.  Daa Lucy’s unfortunate marital relationship, killed her dreams, earned her condemnations and destructive criticisms and brought unnecessary challenges and difficulties which negatively affected her until her last day on earth. It may not also be wrong to say that Daa Abi/Daa Lucy  made some mistakes which could have badly affected her family. As a human, she could not have been infallible. And since none of us can claim infallibility,  we could have forgiven her. This is why we are here to give her the last respect before she finally departs to her creator.

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP

Mama was very friendly. As a child, I did not witness her exchange words, bandy or argue with anybody in anger. This is a rare and noble quality in a world of today full of envy and malice.

PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION OF LOVE AND FRIENDLINESS BY MAMA

Mama always smiled. One of mama’s hubby was bathing of babies on behalf of their mother during the early stages of child birth. Mama  believed in peaceful living. Mama knows how to make people smile even in  times of challenges.

 She did not like a situation in which she would be given “meat and stabbed on the back”. She used to advise us that it is better to drink garri and leave peacefully than eating a whole cow and quarrelling.

In place of envy, my mother will tell the achiever that he or she is not the cause of her failure or inability to achieve and congratulate the person. O bugi ngharam uba (Igbo interpretation)

CHRISTIAN LIFE

Mama would go to church and encourage her children to do so. She was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. She was a choir until old-age marked came calling.

NEATNESS

Mama detested dirtiness. She would always like to ensure that the environment I is clean.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Mama was blessed with children whom God Almighty kept guiding, providing and protecting in their life struggles. Permit me to  also say that this is where Mama Abigail Lucy was blessed on planet earth. She bore children that can pass for responsible humans from her last child to the eldest.

I make bold to say that this is an achievement using the Lagos environment  where one of her children resides. Situations  abound where the so-called  united and wealthy parents spend their money, begging their children  to live good lives to no avail but none of Lucy’s children belong to this breed of children.

Her children have been guided by  God Almighty to be good citizens of Nigeria and ambassadors of Christ, at least till her death and forever through Christ, our Lord Amen.

Anybody with evil plan to re-write what God has written in this family did not come here today and will never come in Jesus Name.

In a world full of undaunting challenges, a woman who lived up to the age of 92 cannot be said not to have achieved.

She has left five(5) men on earth, with nineteen grand children, one great child and five daughters-in-law.

SURVIVED BY:

a.     Sons  namely:

                               I.            Chikezie Richard Agu                    1^st Son

                             II.            Gabriel Ngozi Agu

                          III.            Lawrence Eze Agu

                          IV.            Chiemela Newman Agu

                            V.            Robinson Ugochukwu Nnanna Egbu-Agu

b.       Daughters-Inlaw namely:

                               I.            Eziaku Agu

                             II.            Gold Agu

                          III.            Josephine Patience Agu

                          IV.            Harrietta Egbu-Agu

                            V.            Rosemary C. Agu

GRAND CHILDREN

1.     Bestman Agu

2.     Caroline O. Akachi (Mrs)

3.     Obinna Agu

4.     Chimaobi Agu

5.     Glow Agu

6.     Adanna C. Agu

7.     Doris Agu

8.     Derrick Chinonso Egbu-Agu

9.     Emmanuel Ikechukwu Egbu-Agu

10.                        Mary Chioma Egbu-Agu

11.                        Prosper Chigozie Egbu-Agu

12.                        Patrick Chidozie Egbu-Agu

13.                        Bright Agu

14.                        Glory Agu

15.                        Chidinma Agu

16.                        Uchechi Precious Agu

17.                        Rex Chinedu Agu

18.                        Chinaza Victor Agu

19.                        Noble Agu

GREAT GRAND CHILD

Master David Akachi

R.C. Agu 

for the family

ABIGAIL LUCY AGU –  SOME NOTABLE INTERPRETATIONS OF MAMA 

Mama means different things to different people. Having noted this, I have been moved to state some of them here.

Description of this great and lovely woman has  come in different ways by people who know her.
 

 If you say  that she was a girl who had no father, brothers and sisters but very pretty as a young girl you are right. If you say that she was unfortunate to the extent that   her ambition and dream were misconceived in her chosen career, interest and passion you are a great analyst. And this was what seemed to make her journey on earth very disappointing but we thank God for his infinite mercy who made it possible for her to live up to a very mature age before she bowed out this terrestrial planet. And this also gave her sojourn on earth different interpretations by different people. The whole scenario was suffered by her hardworking, gentle,  and amiable  children. This also negatively affected the tall dreams of her gentle and positively unique and enduring children. So, if you have the impression that circumstances and mother luck were not favourable to her choice of trade as they did not get the approval of her husband or got the approval but was mismanaged or both you are correct.  Over submissiveness and too much belief in her husband, did not help matters. At the end of the day, the woman seemed to have been misinterpreted as her chosen trade did not get the nod of her first husband and over submissiveness for her second husband, dashed her hope of giving her children the much needed push and support to climb in life. The children suffered this till she finally bowed out of life.

However, her children cannot be said to be the worst hit in the difficult terrain of life. What could be ascribed as the worth-while-ness of this  write-up is that the desire to climb and get to the apex of mountain of life is very warm and manifest in her children but for this bitter dose of fate.

May the name of God be praised for He knows it all. He is the master of destiny.

AGU, C.N.

Re: Economic legacy: APC chief, Balarabe Musa tackle Jonathan

Friday, September 30, 2016

Punch Newspapers

Wishing Nigeria more bumpy roads at 56

September 30, 2016

Tayo Ogunbiyi

With the nagging reality of economic recession, it is quite unlikely that the drums would be rolled out to celebrate Nigeria’s 56th anniversary on Saturday. Without a doubt, these are hard times for our dear nation. The signs are, indeed, not palatable. There is hunger in the land. Of course, once hunger establishes its foothold in any place, anger is bound to surface. Thus, there is hunger-induced anger in the land. At the home front, husbands and wives are increasingly getting mad at each other. Palpable tension is everywhere. At the slightest provocation, people easily flare up. Domestic violence is on the increase. At major newspaper stands across the country, members of the “Free Readers Association” engage in animated squabbles that often lead to free for all. That hunger has given rise to anger in the land is, thus, not an understatement.

Characteristically, frenzy prayers are being offered across various religious centres in the country. Mission: For our nation to be free from its many troubles.

“Oh God, please put an end to the troubles of our nation” has now become a major prayer point in different worship

centres. Since nothing is impossible with the Almighty God, Nigerians are, understandably, knocking on the gates of the Most High for an end to the nation’s many woes.

But then, as our nation turns 56, my wish and prayer for the nation differ quite sharply from that of my other compatriots.  At 56, my wish for Nigeria is for her troubles to multiply; for her to be embroiled in tougher challenges and battles. My wish is for the country to be entangled in additional complicated circumstances, issues and problems. Before one is accused of all sorts, let me affirm that my stance in this respect stems from a patriotic standpoint that is stimulated by the stark reality that without troubles, difficulties, challenges and complicated stuffs, no individual, nation, or society could really make the needed head start. Troubles, fierce challenges and perils are the major ingredients required to attain greatness.

In 1964, foremost social activist and educationist, Tai Solarin (1922-1994), wrote a controversial article titled, “May Your Road Be Rough”. At the beginning of the contentious piece, Solarin wrote: “I am not cursing you; I am wishing you what I wish myself every year. I therefore repeat, may you have a hard time this year; may there be plenty of troubles for you this year! If you are not so sure what you should say back, why not just say, ‘Same to you’? I ask for no more”.

While trying to clarify his stand on the subject, Solarin wrote: “When my sisters and I were young and we slept on our small mats round our mother, she always woke up at 6a.m. for morning prayers. She always said prayers on our behalf but always ended with something like this: ‘May we not enter into any dangers or get into any difficulties this day.’ It took me almost thirty years to dislodge the canker-worm in our mother’s sentiments. I found, by hard experience, that all that is noble and laudable was to be achieved only through difficulties and trials and tears and dangers. There are no other roads.”

Though many people misinterpreted Solarin’s prayer as a curse, but the main intent is to bring to the fore the intricate relationship between the bumpy roads of life and success. The bottom line is that success is not achieved on a platter of gold. It comes through continuous struggles and battles on the turbulent waters of life. In Solarin’s words, life, if it is going to be abundant, must have plenty of hills and valleys. It must have plenty of sunshine and rough weather. It must be rich in obfuscation and perspicacity. It must be packed with days of danger and of apprehension.

At 56, it will not be far from the truth if one concludes that Nigeria remains a crawling toddler. This is largely because we have always preferred the easy route to greatness. Our Independence was more or less got on a platter of gold. As if that was not enough, we suddenly struck oil. Thus, began a life of misplaced allure and grandeur. At the height of our nation’s stupendous oil wealth, a former Head of State was quoted to have said that: “Money is not Nigeria’s problem but how to spend it”. Thus, we virtually squandered our oil wealth. Today, there is trouble in the global oil market.

Thus, unlike what the rookie Head of State had affirmed, money has now become our nation’s problem. Most states cannot pay salaries. The Federal Government cannot fund its budget. Companies are downsizing. From all indications, trouble is here. Yet, at 56, trouble and more troubles are what we actually need to get our act together. Most of the developed world democracies thrive under difficult situations and conditions. Ours cannot not be an exception.

Current trouble times, if well-managed, could, indeed, be a blessing in disguise. The lull in the international price of oil could be an opportunity for us to eventually focus on the non-oil sector upon which our fore fathers built the nation’s prosperity. Now that we are groaning under severe economic burden is the exact time to pay adequate attention to other sectors where unlimited opportunities for job and wealth creation as well as accelerated economic and industrial growth abound.

We could take a cue from the nation of Israel which turned a huge geographical adversity into gains to become a renowned global agro-economy. We could also draw huge lessons from China which bounced back from a great famine that took millions of lives between 1958 and 1961 to become the world numero uno in food production.  The Singaporean model as illustrated by the late pioneer Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, has equally shown us that bumpy roads are crucial necessities for national rebirth.

Going back to Solarin’s postulation, life will be worthless and unchallenging without rough roads. It is the rough paths of life that provide the desirable impetus for greatness. Therefore, at 56, here is wishing Nigeria many rough roads.

God bless Nigeria.

• Ogunbiyi is of the Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja

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Chiemela Agu • 5 days ago

My people, let us have a bit of the taste of joy and comfort at least for experience sake. Let us not die crying, staggering, stumbling, wobbling and fumbling on the rough road and die finally. Tie Solarin, one of our greatest fathers once had a good taste of life. Many graduates in this country may not have access to some of the good things Tai Solarin enjoyed while alive even at the starting point in life of the late sage and educationist.Many people cannot even comment as yours sincerely comment on some of the national issues for fear of being killed by the mighty, wealthy and most powerful people in this country. Some newspapers most times drop my articles for probably, fear of these people and in order to protect themselves and my humble self from their harassment. Tai Solarin did all of that and lived a long life. I may say more on this issue later. Let us have a good feel of this country my people. The journey to this planet earth if just once.