I recall the smile on the face of former Edo state First Lady, Mrs Clara Aiyebho Oshiomhole when she organized her first free health care mission under the aegis of Health Foundation for Maternal and Child Care, HEFMAC, her Non-Governmental Organization, NGO. It was so infectious, the kind one finds on the face of a child basking in the protective comfort of an all-powerful father. I didn’t quite understand the reason for it then but it was both comforting and reassuring for me particularly because in spite of the challenges imposed on her by a failing health, her energy for giving life-saving help to those in need continued to look up. Sadly, she passed on few years later, leaving her husband, children and those who received from her bag of benevolence in distress.
Five years on, hearts are still heavy even as her memories remain fonder
For her immediate family, Clara, as she was fondly called by her husband, the Comrade Governor, meant the whole world and more. She was the quiet pillar of enduring support he needed when the call of duty made being with the family a near impossibility. Almost effortlessly however, she played role of both the mother and father for the children. She was actually condemned to playing the roles when her husband’s freedom became a plaything in the hands of some some of the country’s uncaring regimes that held the view he was better incarcerated having become the the conscience and voice of hapless Nigerians.
During such moments, they were many, she became the prayerful saint who found courage from being on her knees all the time with unceasing intercessory supplications to God her sole benefactor and pillar of strength.
Surely, her immediate family will remember her today for the enduring capacity with which she combined her value driven maternal responsibilities to her children, belief in her husband and unwavering faith in God. Yes, they will remember her fondly for her uncommon commitment to delivering well to her children the lesson that humility is a golden virtue that no right thinking individual can ignore.
Certainly, it is not only her immediate family that will miss her today and always. Every indigent woman, every girl child and every less privileged at the receiving end of life’s vicissitudes, who met and received from her, they are too many to have a number, will never forget how “Dear Clara” showed no hesitation in giving succour to other people even while denying herself the luxury of a little rest she needed so badly as she struggled to curtail the debilitating ravages of breast cancer, the ailment that finally ended her mortal journey. Hmmm! They really will not forget how, many a time, she would insist on attending to matters affecting them even when expert medical opinion suggested strongly that she avoided any stress, no matter how minor.
Certainly, the entire people of the state will recall with nostalgia her dignifying maternal aura, the same that reminded them of the presence of a benevolent kindred spirit ever ready, ever willing to reach out to all without scruples. Five years on, those unforgettable traits continued to make her memories fonder and more endearing.
For me, her humility and devotion to making the poor feel a sense of belonging in a world so uncaring, evoke the conviction that if we make kindness a culture as she advertised so effortlessly, our world will be a better place for all. Surely, I cannot forget all these, even in a hurry. My only consolation is that she will continue to find eternal rest with almighty God, the most benevolent.
