Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has commiserated with the Chairman of ThisDay Newspapers and Arise Group, Nduka Obaigbena, on the death of his mother, Margaret Obaigbena.
In a tribute by his media office in Abuja, Ngige described the death of Margaret as a huge loss to the Obaigbena royal family and the entire Owa kingdom in Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State.
The minister, who described the late princess as an adorable matriarch, said her exemplary life in love, compassion and hard work should serve as a watershed to all who wish accomplishment as well as fulfilment in earthly life.
“Beyond dedication to her children and the ultimate family values which she strongly inculcated in all, it is consoling to the glory of God that these virtues are today, self-expressing in the greatness of the offspring she left behind.
“For late Princess Obaigbena, how better is human fulfilment qualified than that which bears itself out in the scions? Behind her, her family towers even better. When a parent hands over the baton to children who do the race faster, longer, tenaciously and more successfully, it is a symbolism of eternal life in the pantheon of my native Igbo wisdom. The dead lives forever in no better way.
“Obaigbena also gave much to the society. As a public health worker, a profession where all is sacrificed to save irreplaceable lives, the peerless and seamless patriotism that was her service years in the old Bendel State, where she rose to chief nursing officer is a veritable lesson today that health workers embark on endless strikes even under a pandemic emergency.
“Therefore, my dear brother and friend, Nduka, be consoled over this sure lesson in ephemerality of life. Find further solace in the nobility that was the life of your dear mother as I pray with your family, friends and well-wishers for God’s mercy upon soul.