Top Nigerian politicians turned the burial ceremony of the First Lady of Akwa Ibom State, Patience Umo Eno, into a huge carnival.
Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, on Friday, leading Governors wives, was among the dignitaries who graced the funeral service.
Former Presidents, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and wife, Patience; Senate President Godswill Akpabio and wife, Unoma; Barau I. Jibrin, the deputy president; members of the National Assembly; Governors Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers, Bala Muhammed of Bauchi, Hope Uzodinma of Imo, Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta, Alex Otti of Abia, and Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi were in attendance too.
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Also in attendance were the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas) Ekprikpe Ekpo and wife, Esitmobom; Chief Don Etiebet, a one-time Minister of Petroleum Resources; ex-Governor Victor Attah, Mr Udom Emmanuel and wife, Martha, Umana Okon Umana, one-time Minister of Niger Delta Ministry, among others.
Aged 57, Patience had been married to Mr Eno for 38 years and had six children and 10 grandchildren.
Mrs Eno, who died of an undisclosed illness on 26 September, was buried on Friday, November 29 at the family compound in Ikot Ekpene Udo, Nsit Ubium Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom.
Represented by Nana Shettima, the wife of the Vice-President, Mrs Tinubu commiserated with the Akwa Ibom first family and prayed to God to comfort them.
“To be sincere with you, we are all going to miss her, but who are we to question God? Our hopes and prayers are with you and the family,” Mrs Tinubu told Governor Eno.
Mrs Tinubu recalled the laudable contributions to humanity of the departed First Lady, urged the family to emulate her legacies.
Umo Eno’s farewell message to wife
In his vote of thanks at the funeral ceremony, Governor Eno thanked President Bola Tinubu, former President Goodluck Jonathan, and the Governors’ Wife Forum for their show of love.
“You were my anchor, the one who could tell me what was right and what was wrong. With your death part of me is gone, but I will cherish the memories we shared forever.
“Today, as we bid you farewell, the whole world is here, celebrating your memories, and as I look at our children and grandchildren. I take consolation in the fact that, the journey that began 40 years ago, in church, has been a journey of growth and immeasurable blessings and we will be fine
“I will never describe you in past tense. You will always be my “Oluwakemi” alive in my mine, fresh in my thoughts and warm in my heart,’” Eno stated.
“I remember that night preceding the week she departed. She woke me up and said, ‘UB, I think I’m tired; take care of the children.
“I promise Kemi, I’ll do the best to take care of them and I hope they cooperate with me.
“My wife was naturally beautiful. She needed no gold around her neck.
“Goodbye, my wife. God bless you!,” Mr Eno said as he bade his late wife farewell.
Mum was Santa Claus- son
Earlier, Ebong Eno, the first son of Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State, had described his late mother, Patience, as “very kind, very loving, and very caring.”
“She was an amazon in the true sense of the word. My mother was very kind, very loving, very caring,” said Ebong, who is a pastor like his father and his late mum.
“The key thing that stands out, and everyone speaks of it, is the strength of her character. Her patience and the ability to love – she loved everyone, whether you are close or far. She meets you for the first time, she takes you in, she is able to relate with you.”
Ebong spoke about Patience’s strong role in the family and described her as “the bonding force for the home.”
“I remember many years ago, growing up as children, mummy was the one that was a secret Santa (Claus); every Christmas, she’d get gifts and drop them by the Christmas tree at home.
“And when we wake up on Christmas morning, she’d tells us that Santa came last night and dropped the gifts. But we kept wondering where the Santa came from because all the doors were locked. And we kept asking her if we wanted to see Santa, and she’d said, ‘You’ll see Santa’.
“One Christmas, we (the children) all planned and said, we will see who this Santa is because all the doors are always locked. She thought we were asleep, she tucked us into bed, and we came out, just at about midnight, and saw that mummy was the secret Santa.”
Ebong also described his late mother as their “fashion designer”.
“Mummy was futuristic. She looked into the future and made our clothes so big, and we have to grow into them. But as we grew older, she made us finer clothes.”
He said she was a strong support for their dad and a “gist partner” for all of them. “When you need a gist, mummy would always be there to give you a long, good gist,” he said.
Ebong pledged that he and his siblings would do their best to live the good life their mum lived.
“God, if there are roses in heaven, please pluck one and give it to mummy, let her know we love her so much.
“Mummy, we love you,” he said as his closing lines.
In his homily, Rev. Simeon Afolabi of the First Love Assembly in Port Harcourt, who spoke on the topic; When Death of Love Ones Occurs said when ever loved ones die our world strains because of what we think of her, adding that anyone who makes a difference in life does not die alone.
Drawing from 1 Thess. 4;15-16, Afolabi urged the family of late first lady to emulate the good legacies of their mother.
A book written in honour of Patience Umo Eno by Anietie Usen, a journalist and an author, was publicly unveiled.
