·Recalls God’s awesomeness in the affairs of their unique union
By Ignatius Chukwu
Preamble:
A dogged media fighter, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, and his wife, Ada Chioma Henrietta Nwaorgu, marked their 31 glorious years in marriage, a week after marrying out their first daughter.
The family thus celebrated two great events to show the glory of God in their family.
Chief Eze calls it a journey of bliss, ssying it started at the University of Calabar UNICAL where they were undergraduates in 1987. It led to their formal wedding at St Theresa Catholic Church in Yola, Adamawa State, in May 23rd, 1992, under the then Rev Father Ignatius Kaigama, the present Arch Bishop of Abuja Catholic Diocese and President of Catholic Bishops in Nigeria.
Chief Eze said: “To the glory of God, our union has produced six beautiful children, five graduates, and one undergraduate.
“When I reflect on how I met this lady who accepted me as a husband even as a student with a very poor background with nobody in mind to assist me, I look at her as the craziest lady ever on this earth.”
Chief said based on his relationship with this great daughter of God, “I have since come to understand and appreciate what Proverbs 22:18 says, ‘Whosoever findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.’
He agreed with the scriptures that every good wife builds her family. “It is based on this singular fact considering how this passage of the bible tallies with the vision of Mrs. Evang. Ada Chioma Henrietta Eze, who toils daily to build her house from nothing to what it is today, that I hereby decorate this inspiring woman whose life is totally dedicated and committed to building her home.
“She has become a model to many Christian families in all aspects of what a God-fearing family should be.”
Taking pages to praise his wife, Chief Eze said the former Ngor-Okpala Babe (Imo State) is the third child of late Pa Paulinus Nwaorgu and late Mrs. Celine Ada Nwaorgu of nine children with renowned Physician, Prof. O.G.B. Nwaorgu of ENT Department, UCH Ibadan, and Romanus Nwaorgu.
“She started her educational career at Umuodage Ntu Primary School from 1970 to 1976 and thereafter attended Amala/Ntu Secondary School from 1976 to 1981. Both schools are located in Ngor Nkpala Local Government Area of Imo State.
“From 1981 to 1983 Ada attended the famous Federal Government Girls College (FGGC), Owerri, where she did her Higher School Certificate, which qualified her for direct entry admission in the famous Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri, and University of Calabar in 1985. She however preferred the University of Calabar, where she read History and graduated in 1988.
“Mrs. Eze did the compulsory National Youth Service (NYSC) with the Ministry of Sports in Rivers State. In 2006, this Amazon obtained her Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) degree from Federal University of Technology, Yola, Adamawa State.’
Giving a hint of how he met her, Chief Eze said it was sports that brought them closer. “We have been lovers till date and it never surprised many of our school mates that we ended up as husband and wife.
“I was the Faculty of Arts Sports Coordinator in 1986 and it happened that we were in the same Faculty. Impressed with her outstanding interest and performance in sports, I called her to assist me to coordinate the female athletes as it would be difficult for me to be visiting the female hostels to ask them to come out for training and participation in the games. At the end of that year’s Inter-Faculty Games, Faculty of Arts came tops; while she was the most outstanding female athlete. I was declared the Best Sports Coordinator that year, which made me to be elected unopposed as the Director of Sports during the Students Union Government (SUG) election of 1986.”
He admitted that the wife had made huge impact in his life, especially helping him to manage the UNICAL Football Team to become the champions of the maiden edition of the NFA/Pepsi Cola Football Tournament amongst Higher Institutions in Nigeria in 1987. As a result of that feat, he was awarded scholarship with the rest of the players to complete his education in the university.
“In 1987, Ada assisted me to organise the first Sports Honours Nite ever in UNICAL where prominent sports sponsors like Alhaji G.NA. Hamza, Chief M.K.O Abiola and Chief Emmanuel Iwanyanwu were honoured.
“On completion of her youth service in Port Harcourt in 1989, she joined me in Yola, where I was posted for the same exercise. Again, this angel assisted me to become the Most Outstanding Corps Member in the State and the first Corps Member in Nigeria to have served the nation without receiving the normal allowances paid to NYSC members, as I donated mine for the development of my host community.
“We stayed back in Yola after the youth service and by the grace of God were able to complete the traditional marriage rites of her people. We were thereafter formally wedded by the then Rev. Ignatius Kagama (now Bishop Kagama in charge of Abuja Diocese of the Catholic Church) at St. Theresa Cathedral, Yola, on 23rd May 1992.
“With her assistance, we established a sports company, Eze Continental Sports Ltd., through which we donated several cups for competitions and made our names household in the entire Adamawa State. Regrettably, after several years in Yola, we were forced to leave and return to the South about eight years ago due to the menace of Boko Haram insurgents. Today, we are blessed with six wonderful kids, five undergraduates and one as an undergraduate.”
Chief Eze listed most important personalities that played roles in their marriage and those that sent congratulatory messages on their anniversary.
