“Iye no koko omo, kevbe owa gha fiya, ede ‘hia aghaa ye re rhe”, It is a memorable lore of the Great Benin Kingdom of Nigeria which also expresses this world-view translation; that; “A Mother, who fended for her children and husband, as well as for other neighbours, will always be celebrated in her lifetime and for long after her demise”.
It is, therefore, remarkable that the foregoing maxim prefigures a woman of great substance, who is the actual anchor-subject of this article, alongside a locational citation of Benin, a globally celebrated kingdom, in which she was married and had achieved greatly.
Behold, it is instructive that this write-up asserts a delightful and unforgettable wife, mother, caregiver exceptional, Senior Mother-In-Israel Alice Janet Obaseki, who passed to the great beyond, a little while ago, at the age of 83 years, whereupon her burial rites are being performed about the same time this article is published.
Born and partly nurtured at Ikoro Community, in Ovia North East Local Government of Edo State, Senior Mother-In-Israel Obaseki, who until her passing was a pillar of the family of the late Rowland Obaseki, a tributary of the extended, but famous dynasty of Obaseki of the aforesaid Benin kingdom, was indeed, a dutiful and caring mother, drawing vivacious testimonies by all and sundry, about her goodness and exemplary lifetime.’.
For several decades of her endearing marriage to Pa Rowland Obaseki, who also passed to eternal glory in September, 2022, countless of her late husband’s relations and all who knew her so well, had had very pleasant and memorable eulogies to make. So also are her family members and the entire community of Ikolo, her hometown and the environs.
Mrs. Esiohe Enaruna, a blood-relation of Pa Obaseki, her late husband, had sorrowfully declared as thus, with her eyes formed in tear drops;
“Iye, (a fondly Benin word for Mother), was a compassionate mother and a great care-giver to her children, my uncle, her late husband, and all of us in the family. She was peaceful and forgiving, just as she was also very supportive to others. After the passing of Papa, my uncle, she became one of the rallying figures of the family”. Now, the cold hands of death have snatched her from us. If there is reincarnation, life after death, as many Benin natives would believe, it would be wished that Mama returned to our family fold, where she could continue with her good deeds. We will all sorely miss her”.
But, the late Madam Obaseki, was a devout Christian, whose convictions and piety were never in doubt. No wonder that she rose through the rungs of the leadership of the Eternal Order of Cherubim and Seraphim Church in the Upper Mission Road, Benin City branch, to the ecclesiastical Senior-Mother-In-Israel position. The church, which is known to be circumspect with its positions, as this writer was informed by a top member of the church, will only appoint those who have the divine grace and are devoted.
Suffice that her aforesaid eldest seed, Princess Orobosa and her Siamese husband, Prince Clem Agba, are dedicated members of the entire church, who had also risen through the ranks to its top leadership.
Still, Prince Agba, the immediate-past Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, in the President Buhari’s government and a holder of two important chieftaincy titles and a Commander of the Order of Niger (CON), a Nigerian national award, as far as one could say, was very closed to Iye
In a written and soulful elegy, with a generic title; ‘Tribute to ‘Iye’ (Mother), and sub-titled “A Mother-In-law That Stood in the Stead of a Mother”, bewailed that he was weighed down with emotions, so much so that he barely have the right words to express his dejection, but with thanks to the Lord God for her enviable lifetime..
Prince Agba, who some years ago expressed a similar loss of a “father”, when Pa Rowland Obaseki, his father-in-law passed on in 2022, tended to teel of the conviviality and closeness he had shared with the late couple, a euphemism for a successful marriage with Princess Orobosa, their daughter.
Hear Prince Clem Agba, in one of his oral testimonies, although not his exact wordings, to this writer, when his Iye was still alive. “My mother of blessed memory, was very closed to my mother-in-law. They would wear same attires and hobnob. As my late mother was a constnt visitor in her house, so was Iye, my late mother-in-law to my mother’s house. Now and then, I, my wife, the children and my late mother and my mother-in-law used to go holidaying abroad, in one unit. But, when my mother passed on my late mother-in-law was no longer enthusiatic doing the travels with my family, because she missed my late mother in the midst” hliday
The late devotee in the Lord’s vineyard was also compactible and loved by all her grand and great grandchildren, with Baba Clem Agba jnr; a Senior Special Assistance on Creativity to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as first grandson, while Baba Clem Agba III is her first great-grandchild.
Next to Princess Orobosa, the first child, amongst the surviving children of late mother, is Dr. Tom Obaseki, first son and incumbent chairman of Oredo, the core municipal local government area of Benin, which doubles as Edo State capital. Next are males, Theophilus Obaseki and Daniel Obaseki, who is a medical doctor based in the United Kingdom (U.K.). Mrs. Doris Ikharebor is a United States of America’s resident, who is married in Uromi, Edo State, whilst Dorothy Iyoyin and Christabel Obasuyi, both married women and a twin, also live in the U.K.
.’.
Prince Agba, a tall figure in his family, home-state, national and global realms, who tellingly exalts his late mother-in-law, laconically declared further, in his flowering and signed tribugave yte “You lived and surpassed the standards expressed in Psalm 90,by fulfilling your days in Eighty-Three years. Your life to Christ, and had since lived a pristine Christian life., and it is with this confidence that I know that you are resting in the bosom of our Saviour”
As said, this writer, having severally met the departed Senior-Mother-In-Israel, is verily at home with all the pleasantries attributed to her, excepting something that were not said.
“Mama was down to earth; a colourful and creative woman. She had a musical voice that would have beaten Mariam Makemba (Mama Africa), the song-heroine to it, if she had chosen to go that way. Besides, Mariam Makemba and the late “Iye” are look-alike. Also, if you can recall James Aggrey’s and James Brown’ “Black and Proud” sloganeering, then you get it right!
