Tribute

By Chukwudi George Ozalla

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” -Ecclesiastes 3:1

Some losses are felt deeply because of the place the person occupied in the lives of those left behind. The transition of Dame Ezinne Mary Oduah Amaechi, mother of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and his siblings, is one of such losses. She was 89 when she transitioned on July 16, 2026, bringing to an end a long life devoted largely to her family, her faith and the people around her.

Mama did not live her life in the public glare that later became familiar to one of her sons. She was not a politician and did not seek the attention that comes with public office. Her importance was found in the home, where she raised her children, watched over the family and played the role expected of a mother through the different stages of their lives. From that quiet place, she watched her children grow, establish their own families and take different paths in life.

One of those children, Rotimi Amaechi, would later rise to prominent public positions as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Governor of Rivers State and Minister of Transportation. But long before those positions came the years in which he was simply Mama’s son, growing up alongside his siblings under her care. Her story, therefore, cannot be separated from the lives of all the children she raised and the family she built around them.

Behind every public figure is a family that knew the person before the public came to know him. Mama knew her children in those early years, before political office, public recognition and the demands of leadership. She knew their struggles, their growing years, their different personalities and the paths they eventually followed. Her place in the family was established long before any of them acquired titles or public recognition.

The tributes that followed Mama’s transition described her as loving, caring, God fearing and benevolent. Those words fit naturally into the remembrance of a woman whose life revolved around family and faith. She lived long enough to see her children build their own homes and to welcome grandchildren into the family. She also had the opportunity to watch members of her family take different paths in life while maintaining the bond that comes from having a common home and a mother at its centre.

That bond will be particularly visible in Ubima on Friday, September 4, and Saturday, September 5, 2026, when family members, friends, political associates, community leaders and other well wishers will gather to pay their final respects. Ubima will witness an influx of people from different walks of life who will come to bid Mama farewell. The familiar village setting will take on the mood of a major family gathering as relatives return, visitors arrive, greetings are exchanged and preparations are made for the final ceremonies. On Saturday, September 5, Mama will be laid to rest.

Among those expected to stand with the Amaechi family is Hon. Ferdinand Dozie Nwankwo (Onye Ndozi), a frontline contender for the Anambra Central Senatorial District seat on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2027 election. Nwankwo, popularly known as Onye Ndozi, served as a two term member of the House of Representatives, where he represented Anaocha, Njikoka and Dunukofia Federal Constituency. His connection to the Amaechi family is both political and personal, as he is the brother of Dame Judith Amaechi, wife of Rotimi Amaechi, making him Rotimi’s brother-in-law. He had earlier sent his condolences to the Amaechi family, describing Mama as “loving, caring, God fearing and benevolent.” His presence at the funeral will therefore be that of a member of the family standing with his sister, Judith, and her husband as they mourn their mother.

Equally important is the expected presence of High Chief Jim Martins Nwabueze, Ichie Akubudike, a respected personality and philanthropist, who is expected to arrive in Ubima with his family and entourage. Nwabueze had also sent his condolences to the Amaechi family following Mama’s transition. His daughter, Anita Nwabueze, is married to Dr. Chikamkpa Amaechi, one of Rotimi Amaechi’s sons, making the Nwabueze family part of the Amaechi family by marriage. His presence, therefore, will be that of a family coming to identify with another family in mourning. He is expected to stand with the Amaechis, alongside his daughter and her husband, as they bid farewell to Mama.

The presence of Nwankwo and Nwabueze and their families is only a reflection of the wider circle of family, friends and associates expected in Ubima. Dignitaries from within Nigeria and from outside the country are expected to join the Amaechis in paying their last respects to Mama. Politicians, former public office holders, business leaders, traditional rulers, clergy, community leaders, friends and associates of the family are expected to make the journey to Ubima. Their presence will underline the many relationships built around the Amaechi family over the years, while the focus of the occasion remains the woman whose life brought everyone together.

The funeral will bring together people whose relationships with Mama were formed in different ways. Her children will gather to mourn their mother, but they will also celebrate the life she lived and the family she built. Her grandchildren will remember their grandmother with affection, while other relatives will reflect on the years they shared with her. Friends and associates will come to honour a woman whose life touched people in different ways.

At 89, Mama had lived through many seasons of life. She raised her children, watched them grow into adults, build their own homes and raise children of their own. She lived to see her family expand across generations, carrying with them the values, memories and bonds formed in the home she helped to build. That is why the occasion in Ubima will carry both sadness and gratitude. There will be tears because a mother has been lost, but there will also be thanksgiving for the years she was given, the people she raised and the family legacy she leaves behind.

In a Nigerian community, the burial of a mother is rarely a private affair, particularly when her children have touched many lives. The gathering in Ubima will therefore bring together people connected to Mama in different ways, but united by the need to honour her memory and celebrate the life she lived.

When the visitors leave and the ceremonies are over, what will remain for the family is the memory of Mama herself. There will be no more conversations with her, no more visits to her home and no more occasions when her children can sit with her as they have done over the years. The reality of her absence will become more apparent after the crowd has gone and ordinary life returns to Ubima.

For her children, the loss is personal. Whatever positions they may have held or may hold in the future cannot change the simple fact that they have lost their mother. For her grandchildren, she was the grandmother whose presence formed part of their family story. For the wider family, she was the woman at the centre of a home from which many relationships grew.

Mama’s long life is therefore worth remembering with gratitude. She raised her children, watched them become parents themselves and lived to see her family grow around her. She carried the responsibilities of motherhood through many years and remained connected to the family until her final days. That is a full life, and it deserves to be remembered with respect.

As Ubima prepares to receive those coming to pay their last respects, the sadness of the occasion will be accompanied by gratitude for the years Mama was given and the people whose lives she touched. On Saturday, when she is finally laid to rest, her children, grandchildren, relatives and friends will say goodbye to a mother whose work was done quietly, within the home and among the people who mattered most to her.

Dame Ezinne Mary Oduah Amaechi has left, but the memory of the mother, grandmother, Christian and family woman she was will remain with those who knew and loved her.

May her gentle soul rest in perfect peace.