MRS AGU HEDWIG IFEOMA HOBIS (NEE NKEOKELONYE): A JEWEL IN THE SUN
She is a jewel in the sun.
Strangely, until I left on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 and she following me closely the next Year on Friday, March 15, 2013, we were never really closed as friends in colleagues while in the employ of Oceanic Bank International Plc and later Ecobank Nigeria Limited, perhaps only in official relationships in her employment documentation processes leading to her confirmation of appointment effective Saturday, March 01, 2008 and other personnel related activities like leave administration, processes that I superintended in the Human Resource Department for a very long time.
For the records, I was already eight (8) years old in the Bank having been employed on Monday, August 23, 1999 when she joined the Bank on Sunday, April 01, 2007 as an Assistant Officer 1 (AO 1), converted from the Professional-in-Training (PIT) program and was deployed to Customer Services Unit (CSU), Ibachem Branch and subsequently worked in the various Operations Units of Daleko, Creek Road, Apapa and Aswani Branches.
These were the treads that joined us together and in the African traditional parlance, she can be referred to as my ‘little’ sister in Oceanic, yet we were not really closed, but all these were to change drastically in Year 2012 and as the old saying goes, ‘it takes something to wake up something.’
I cannot readily recall now, but I want to believe that it was my friend and brother, Mr Cletus Omale Igah that referred her to me for an assistance for a change of Unit or Branch, even weeks after I have left the Bank and this was the birth of the story that I am about to tell today.
It was a Monday morning when I received that call from her and after a very professional introduction, she told me of the reason for her call where I promised to speak to one or two of my former colleagues in Human Resources to see what could be done for her.
This was how I met Mrs Agu Hedwig Ifeoma Hobis (Nee Nkeokelonye) and a beautiful friendship began.
Truly, the first time that I encountered her after the referral by Cletus, I remember her name, Hedwig Ifeoma Hobis forever and as a Catholic, I cherished the combination of these beautiful and saintly names.
Hedwig of Silesia is a 13th-century Duchess and Saint and she was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1267 by Pope Clement IV, a supporter of the Cistercian Order at the suggestion of her grandson Prince-Archbishop W?adys?aw of Salzburg and she is the Patron Saint of Silesia, of Andechs and of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wroc?aw and the Roman Catholic Diocese of G?rlitz. Her Feast Day is celebrated on the General Roman Calendar on 16 October.
On the other hand, Ifeoma is a beautiful Igbo name, meaning ‘good thing’ and instantly, I noticed her personality in the combination of her names.
Sincerely, I have always been really privileged to have different shades of friends, especially female friends, but in Mrs Agu Hedwig Ifeoma Hobis (Nee Nkeokelonye), I found a Jewel in the Sun because of her personality.
Firstly, Ifeoma has the personality of truthfulness. She speaks plainly and clearly where in our daily conversations, she is not afraid to speak the truth.
This gave me a rare opportunity to know her very well and reasonably, I can say that I know her strength, her strong points as well as her weak points, however, she is simply a jewel in the sun and the point here is not about perfection because no one is, but she is a jewel in the sun, of course, not in her own eyes, but in the eyes of others.
It is said that success in any friendship or relationship for that matter is rarely down to one person, but in our own case, the successes of our friendship is down to only one person, Ifeoma, for her tolerance, patience, commitment, trust and love, love of herself and love of her neighbour and I am grateful to have a colleague who became a friend and in it, a true sister, a jewel in the sun.
Truly, Ifeoma has got some positive personality and she is really a humble person, an easy going woman who believes so strongly in God. She is an excellent professional who is always very dedicated to her work whenever she finds herself and always prefer to work with the tools of her hands in order to provide for her family.
She does not only look beautiful on the outside, but excellent in the inside. Her heart is beautiful.
These and others made her stand out for me and naturally, I was drawn to her and I just love her personality.
Secondly, it is pertinent to state here that Ifeoma is a believer. She always respond to every situation in true obedience to God’s will by placing God at the centre of her life.
In telling me the story of her life, she has continued to place emphasis in her trust and faith in God and where many others would have shrink in their faith in God, she is resolute, believing that all that we have, are given to us by God.
This is a profound testament of the faith that Ifeoma profess in her God and I found this, not only inspiring, but as a moment of truth for every living being that no matter the situation that we find ourselves, we must always believe in God and obedient to His commandments by waiting on Him because obedience to God cannot be based on what we feel, which can change, but it has to be based on Who He is, which does not change.
True talk, patience is a key virtue in the life of a Christian and if the faith of a Christian is not tested with patience, one cannot be said to be a true Christian.
The faith of Ifeoma in her God has been tested, and with patience, she has continued to wait on God.
My dearest sister, it is that obedience means blessings and because you have continued to be obedient to God, He will bless you and your family. God will come good for you and your family at His own time.
It is said that often times, we got caught up comparing ourselves with others, but not Ifeoma as she always prefers to maintain her little corner of the room without necessarily comparing herself with others.
In her profound words, ‘are we in this world to compete with one another?’
Sincerely, that old adage that states that we cannot give what we do not have is very true of Ifeoma. She is always giving out love, true love to anyone and everyone because she has this in abundance.
Love brings life. Her love for others have continued to bring life.
Thank you my dearest sister for blessing me with your positive personality. You are my jewel in the sun, proudly!
Another very important part of my encounter with Ifeoma is her kindness. She is very good at kindness where she can offer her last kobo for the need of another.
When our Daddy in the Bank, our lovely Chairman, Olorogun Michael Ibru died on Tuesday, September 06, 2016 and a special cloth popularly known as ‘Aso Ebi’ was designed for members of the Oceanic Bank Family for his final burial at his home town of Agbara-Otor, Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State on Wednesday, December 14, 2016, I had no money to pay for it and I was worried.
Providentially, it was Ifeoma that paid for hers and mine on Friday, November 25, 2016 and I recall that when I went to collect the clothes from Mrs Abigail Ogheneruemu Duopma-Obomanu at the Stallion Building Corporate Head Office of Union Bank Plc at Marina on Tuesday, November 29, 2016 and took hers to her at her previous place of work at Keystone Bank Limited, Ire Akari Branch, 46 Ire-Akari Estate Road, near St Mary’s Catholic Church, Ire Akari Estate, Isolo, she gave me my transportation fare back to my house at Ajah having warmly received me.
Strikingly, this remains the only time that we have met physically, yet she has continued to be a jewel in the sun in my life.
Truly, these are moments, beautiful moments that I will never forget in my life.
Prior to this day, I recall with gratitude when I received that alert earlier on Monday, October 31, 2016
On these beautiful days, Ifeoma took those journeys for me with the kindness of her heart and she has continued to take those beautiful journeys for me and my family by her true and sincere friendship.
My dearest sister, my jewel in the sun, it is support like yours that have continued to give us hope that friendship is beautiful.
Your friendship with us is simply beautiful and we appreciate you greatly.
For a fact, every aspect of Ifeoma’s life has continued to reflect simplicity, kindness; goodness and love.
However, there is no one without challenges and certainly, Ifeoma is not a paragon of perfection, but, I have been very impressed with her human qualities and I am incredibly proud and happy to be her friend and her brother.
We always have honest conversations, yet, we fight a lot, in fact, we fight every other day in our chats, not negatively, but positively because Ifeoma would always express her thoughts clearly and cleanly where I am naturally drawn to her for her frankness, sincerity and honesty!
Sincerely, how much we quarrel in our everyday conversations. How much we disagree to agree in our everyday conversations. And how much we tease ourselves in our everyday conversations. Yet, every other day, I look forward for a new life because in this, I will have a chance to engage in a chat with Ifeoma, the jewel in the sun because of her simplicity and honesty.
Thank you my dearest sister for blessing my heart with your honesty.
Ifeoma is one of the reliable resource persons to the Oceanic Bank Family WhatsApp Group, keeping it alive and lively by her contributions on daily basis, yet, she would rather prefer to take the backseat especially on the days of her birthdays.
In her Year 2020 birthday, a Year that was truly ravaged by the ‘twin’ evils of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and ‘#EndSARS’ Protests, she simply said to me at about 12:17am on Monday, October 12, 2020, the day of her birthday ‘please remember our agreement’ and our simple agreement or understanding was for me not to post her birthday wishes on the platforms that we both belong, not out of pride, but simply out of quiet calmness and humility where she does not intend to disturb another with her space.
This is Ifeoma for you who is always oozing with patent honesty and beauty, but more than these, simplicity and humility where one only needs to see her and see the jewel in the sun that she is.
‘True humility, according to C. S. Lewis, is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less’ and this has truly be the positive mantra of Mrs Agu Hedwig Ifeoma Hobis (Nee Nkeokelonye) and I am simply proud of her because she is a Jewel in the sun.
For a truth, Ifeoma takes her spiritual life seriously and she is always quick, not in condemnation, but in a faithful example and as a good witness to her Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, to remind me of the season of the Year that we are in whenever my mind tends to take me ‘somewhere’ else in our conversations that is not in sync with her spirituality.
Recently, she said to me simply ‘we are still in Lent oooooo,’ reminding me to be mindful of the kind of conversations that I should be engaged in. That is Ifeoma for you, always very conscious of the kind of food that her spiritual soul should be fed with on daily basis.
Sincerely, Ifeoma is an authentic Christian in the practice of her Faith, living out her faith in practical terms daily.
And in practical terms, Ifeoma do not always dwell on the past and never worried about any time that may have been lost or the blessings that may have been missed, but always believe that the grace of God is always available and this is what we should always seize hold of as it is free and abundant for those who actually desire it.
My dearest sister and trusted friend, as we celebrate our nine (9) years as friends on the social media platform of Facebook, my sincere prayer for you is that you will continue to stay committed to God who have called you and continued to call you to a life of faithfulness and simplicity.
Believe Him. Believe Him because you are not a mistake as stated in her Thursday, March 25, 2021 meditation on ‘You are not an accident’ by Daily Strength Devotional (DSD): ‘Do you know that you are not a mistake? Yes, everything about you had been planned by the omniscient Creator even before the earth was created. The colour of your eyes and skin, height, build and every other features you have are all part of God’s plan. There is a reason you are an introvert or an extrovert. Whatever trait you have is part of the big picture already painted by God.’
Believe Him because He knows your present situation and He will give answers to the true yearnings of your heart.
Believe in Him always as you have continued to do.
Another striking personality of Ifeoma is her belief and trust in my abilities in our friendship, where she has continued to seek for my advice on daily basis. She can tell me anything, confident that I can do it and I can only be grateful, grateful to her for her trust in me because this is very pivotal for me.
Sincerely, true friendship is good, which according to Daily Strength Devotional (DSD) in her Saturday, March 27, 2021 meditation on ‘You are my friends,’ states clearly that “Friendship is a necessity in the life of every human person, as it fosters the realization of every individual’s desire and yearning for love, communion; companionship, mutual co-existence; interrelation and interaction. True friendship entails being always ready to help and stand by one’s friend whenever the need arises, both in good and bad times. More importantly, true friendship is characterized by readiness to sacrifice one’s comfort for the sake of one’s friend.’
Ifeoma has continued to sacrifice her comfort for me by her trust in my abilities and I am grateful.
Truly, love, like water is essential for life because it is said that in extremely arid environments, plants squeeze every drop of moisture out of the soil or air to stay alive so also is love to humans because of its healing powers.
Love contains healing powers at all times whenever we stir our hearts to love. The presence of genuine love in our lives, can soothe us like living water because it is our natural desire to be loved and to love. And genuine Love can fill us with a peace that does not come and go. In Love, we can find answers to the natural desires of our hearts and in love, we can find hope, the hope of a new life. And in love, we can be the source that satisfies us like the essentials of water.
This is exactly what my friendship with Ifeoma has continued to be as she has continued to love me in spite of myself.
On this day that we celebrate our nine (9) years as friends on the social media platform of Facebook, my special prayer for you my dearest sister, is from your own message to me on Friday, February 05, 2021: ‘keep walking through the storm. Your rainbow is waiting on the other side.’
On that day, you have said to me ‘you may be in a season of silence, you feel like you are hidden, but the silence does not mean that God has forgotten about you. God hears every prayer; He sees every tear. At the right time, He is going to bring you into what He has already prepared for you. He is not preparing the blessing for you; He is preparing you for the blessing because the Scripture talks about the amazing things that God has prepared for those that love the Lord. Favour is already in your future. There are blessings that already have your name on them. The right people are already lined up. When you keep passing the test in silent seasons, you keep getting prepared, then you are going to come into more than you can ever ask or think.’
These are the special words of prayers that I speak to you on this day and always.
Devotedly, you have continued to be faithful to His commandments. He will reward you. Just hold unto Him.
Yes, it is true that we all have hopes and aspirations for the future, but sometimes things do not always go as we had hoped, but we must always believe God.
God sees the entire arc of our lives, from before we were conceived until eternity. He alone knows how our situations fit into His bigger plan to bless us and to bless future generations. And He is with us, even in the unclear times, even in the suffering.
God is with you my dearest sister no matter what the lines of your stories have been or continuing to be. He will bless you. He will protect you. He will guide you.
Thank you for being my friend and colleague, but more than this, thank you for being my dearest sister, my jewel in the sun.
And thank you for being a true representation of the words of Gordon B. Hinckley to me ‘being humble means recognizing that we are not on earth to see how important we can become, but to see how much difference we can make in the lives of others.’
God bless you now and always.
Na me your brother and friend
Oga Mark (HR)
Tuesday, March 23, 2021