From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Days ago, family, friends and well-wishers from all walks of life gathered in Abuja for a memorial lecture in honour of the late Amaka Ndoma-Egba, the wife of former Senate leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba.
Chairman of Heirs Holdings Limited, Tony Elumelu, chaired the occasion.
Amaka Ndoma-Egba, alongside six others, died in an auto crash in November 2020 on their way for a burial ceremony in Igbokoda, Ondo State.
One year after, the memorial lecture was held at the event pavilion of the Start-Rite School, Abuja, a school she founded some years ago.
The event provided the opportunity for family members and well-wishers, some of whom came from far-flung parts of the country, to relate and recommit to the dreams and aspirations of the late banker, educationist and philanthropist, Amaka Ndoma-Egba.
Teachers, students and other management staff of the Start-Rite School, Abuja, also turned out en masse, and made presentations in music, dance and poetry, among others, to celebrate the late Amaka.
In his welcome address, Ndoma-Egba appreciated the support and condolences he has received from friends and well-wishers since the death of his wife, last year. He said the deluge of support has been the strength and inspiration that have kept him going, thereby appreciating the calls, visits and others that showed concern.
The widower said: “My late wife loved children and she never hid it. She picked up children from the street, cleaned them up and gave them (a new) life. So, I wasn’t surprised when I was presented with about four pages of names of children that were on the pay list of my late wife.
“She was, unarguably, a builder of human beings. She built more human beings than structures. In our house, nobody is referred as housegirl or boy. Everyone who entered our house became part of the family and all of them are university graduates.
“Amaka was very full of life but she died suddenly. I know we could do something to ensure that the people she cared for get the kind of attention she had wished for them whether alive or dead, and the only way to do so is to institutionalize the support.
“We decided to float a foundation, Victor & Amaka Ndoma-Egba Foundation (VANEF), which stands for helping, healing and caring, to immortalize her and care for these people that depended on her for a better tomorrow.”
Elumelu eulogized Amaka and what she stood for, particularly human capital development. He described her as a dogged and committed person, who made her mark in the banking sector through her commitment and dedication to duty.
He said: “Late Amaka was a pioneer staff of the United Bank for Africa (UBA), right from the time of Standard Trust Bank. Many people don’t know that what we have today as UBA was made possible by our pioneer staff, and the late Amaka was one of them.
“I interviewed her at Standard Trust Bank. I could still remember that she took night bus from Onitsha to Lagos to participate in that interview. That was the early signs of commitment and seriousness. So, I was not surprised with her achievements. My only regret is that she’s not here to conduct me round the school and other facilities therein.
“I, therefore, encourage the current management of the school to ensure that her legacies live on, and I am confident in their ability to do that. For instance, I heard that, before her death, the school had little above 500 students, but the figure has risen to over 700 within one year. It’s an indication that her legacy is on.”
He pledged to provide empowerment opportunities for students of Start-Rite School, Abuja, in entrepreneurship and other skills that would increase their chances for global opportunities. Elumelu said the choice of the school was because of its strategic position in grooming future leaders and experts in different areas of human needs.
He said: “At Tony Elumelu Foundation, which is my personal commitment to leadership and entrepreneurship development, we try to catch talents and potential at a young age. Once that is done, we educate, empower and expose them to necessary opportunities so that, collectively, we would make a great society.
“We believe that the best thing for people is to teach them how to feed and not to feed them. So, we would work together to see how Tony Elumelu Foundation, UBA Foundation, which are committed to education and economic empowerment, can support the legacy of late Amaka Ndoma-Egba, to turn these young ones into entrepreneurs, thereby, creating future billionaires out of them. This is because the future of Nigeria and the world belong to them and we would support them.”
Meanwhile, the principal of the school, Philip Reynolds, said the school has been able to pick up the pieces and move on after the founder’s demise a year ago, and has achieved a lot of successes.