By Prince Ejeh Josh
Even though we are still quietly mourning and missing our beloved mother, Late Mrs Ezinne Margaret Nwomeh, the beautiful and virtuous woman who gave birth to Mr. Dan Nwomeh and the other Nwomeh’s of great family who slept in the Lord on February 25, 2024, at the age of 77, with funeral arrangements ongoing and scheduled for Saturday, April 27, 2024, when we will bid Mama goodbye at Ozalla in Nkanu West local government area of Enugu State, coincidentally within this transition and preparation phase is Mr Dan Nwomeh’s birthday.
It’s quite a solemn moment for us who are friends, brothers, colleagues, staff, employees and admirers of Mr. Nwomeh because we’re boxed into the corner at a time like this. To be or not to be? That’s a recondite question. But we have taken refuge in God Almighty and accepted the will of the Creator who gives and takes at the right time. Mama lived a life full of grace, virtue, responsibility, love, compassion and affection for humanity. She lived a dedicated and faithful life of a Christian (devoted Catholic) who altered the course of history of those around her. She gave all to humanity. It was a dedicated and selfless service to humankind, and we have been enjoined to follow the steps to make our society a better place. Indeed, Mama was a nurse and a midwife of uncommon repute with records of successfully delivering all women in labour in the course of her profession. To God be the glory, for the hundreds of deliveries she handled, no single child was lost. It was a fulfilled life that history and prosterity will be kind of. We appreciate all that she did for us. Eternal rest, oh Lord, grant unto the souls of the departed. Amen. One day, we shall the story in a more elegant manner.
Meanwhile, here we are glad to celebrate one of the fruits of Mama. This is the reason behind this short apostolic and literary epistle. While exploring the beautiful world of artistic and poetic appreciation to draw inspiration that would enable a graphic, precise and remarkable description of the fascinating qualities that ought to adorn the human existence and shape our world to a just, peaceful, secure and egalitarian society where the spur and urge to live life itself to the fullest would be motivated by neighbors, I found a vast swamp replete with agony, cobwebs entrapping and eliminating humanity in a display of Hobbesian’s state of nature where life is brutish, nasty and short.
My composure of a lyrical serenade in a world where humanity is progressively running on a treadmill of selfishness compounded by the entrenched commodification of self and autogenous desire borne by introversion, narcissism and egotism, I could only find solace in the faintest part of the sphere after a flash of luck. After all, all hope is not lost on humanity as very few in the crowd of overlords is still dedicated to the restoration of that pride and goal of being, first and foremost, humankind.
It’s this cradle of hope, though faint but flickering within the globe and spatially distributed even amongst our neighbors that compels me never to be dismissive of the benevolence of the human race.
Coincidentally, in the Christian calendar, we’re still in the Easter period or what the Catholics called “Pascha or Festa Paschalia”. A period of hope and reconciliation of humanity with God following the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Catholic liturgical reading, one could glance from the community reading of the book of Isaiah and the Gospel of Luke the foundation of the restoration of that search for the “just, peaceful and secure” world amidst tumults, confusion and distortion. We need not be religious before these values of brotherhood, selflessness, good samaritanism and love for the neighbors can be fulfilled. “Jesus was going about doing good without asking whose religion or faith his good deeds were being extended,” a strategic scholar once ended his remark.
Like Prophet Isaiah tersely worded the true message of hope, and not only being fulfilled by Christ unrolling the scroll and reciting the good news; “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,” but far beyond that. The message was handed down to us as a cross to shoulder the burdens of our neighbors, of the oppressed, of the wounded, of the captives, of those depressively leaning at the “extreme corner of the earth”. Franz Fanon, the famous Algerian psychiatrist would refer them collectively as the “Wretched of the Earth”.
To be justified by those relishing on self-pleasure, the holy book had it that the “lawyer” asked Christ, “Lord, who is my neighbor”. Such a refined question. It’s question as this that sundered the world into the centre and the periphery with centrifugality of a polarised creed and sectarian appeal. This has ripple effect ad infinitum. Within the centre is the centre of the centre, periphery of the centre, centre of the periphery and periphery of the periphery. It’s quite understandable. The definition of who a neighbor is has been narrowly defined not only by the human minds generally but by those that heard the message of Christ, insisting neighbor encompasses the known and the person unknown. To me, my mind overstretched such imagination to even animals and nature in need of our help. Weirdly, while humans are yet to come to term on their moral obligation to lend help to even persons known, the crass was given another dimension. In a recently shared video clips and pictures, a dog could be seen consoling a actor acting Jesus Christ during the past Good Friday’s Passion of Christ. Whether real or imaginary, one could imagine the dog leaning on the “wounded Jesus” with the thought that “You’re not on this alone. I’m with you.” It’s a challenge to humanity to love, care and be compassionate regardless of whether person known or person unknown.
In all this, like the American priest of the Maryknoll Order, James Keller, factly stated, which to me is incontrovertible in thought, a candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. This is where I draw my inspiration and love for humanity. Among people who could have had this philosophy as naturally ingrained in them is my senior colleague, Mr. Dan Nwomeh, the Senior Special Assistant to Enugu State Governor on Mainstream Media.
I have an undefined sphere of immutable deference for this character and outstanding figure whose neighborhood principle is beyond the stretch of imagination. Far beyond the propagation of egocentrism, Chief Nwomeh (even though he kicks against attachment of titles) believes in the philosophy that there is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others.
Permit me to deviate a little. When Governor Peter Mbah was vying for the governorship position of Enugu State, some of us couldn’t understand the motive behind his passion because of his successful background in the private sector as a global entrepreneur. A man sitting on the top echelon of a multi-billion dollars investment would climb down from that Olympian height and join the murky waters of politics where hungry hyenas and vultures prowl. In the words of the former governor of Lagos State and sometime minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr. Fashola Raji, “When you fight a pig in a mud, the pig gets happier and you get dirtier.” Politics in Nigeria is like the mud where a herd of pigs find solace.
But Governor Mbah had explained the justification for his decision – the love of humanity. Perhaps, he couldn’t understand why bad leadership had been the bane of the country in the public space. He came to reframe and retell the narrative not minding the mudslinging from pigs and hyenas that were already operating effortlessly there. And Jesus said: “My Father’s house shalled be called the house of prayers and not the den of robbers.” Here we are today with a New Enugu State in the Making. A transition from the old order to a new order where humanity will live a fulfilled life. Some have been ordained with such mission to bring good news to humankind. Enugu people are today happier and confortable with the system of leadership Governor Mbah has heralded. Selfless service to humanity in action.
Back to our primary focus. It’s often acclaimed that helping one person might not change the world, but it could change the world for one person. I could vouch that meeting Mr Nwomeh has been a new turn in my life and has, indeed, changed my world. It’s a new phase of a new beginning. Not peculiarly for pecuniary measure; that benefit spans through intellectual inputs, new formation, learnings, and attitude to work. It’s a value that I would forever cherish as I sojourn through life.
We’ve seen in Dan Nwomeh, the passion, desire and transcendental motivation to reach out to neighbors and persons unknown immaterial of where and when of the environmental consideration once all ethical principles are complied with. He remains unassuming, friendly, and lively to work with. I appreciate his experience and intellectual grits. That equal measure of treatment, egalitarian pursuit and undying, sincere love to ensure justice for all, especially for the weak and oppressed is anchor of hope for many.
Hon. Nwomeh, describing you as a man changing the world in every slightest opportunity that presents itself is not an overstatement. It’s a testament of fact and testimony for us. You’re showing the light and setting the pace for others to follow. I have no doubt that the numerous lives you’ve touched positively and genuinely impacted upon will also be proud of you. You have shown you can work with people of diverse backgrounds and orientations. You’ve shown that you command respect through legitimacy and special character.
As you celebrate today, I want to commend you on how you piloted the Governor Media Team with adroitness, understanding, maturity, love, compassion and competence in the face of pressure, storm, and calm. You have displayed mastery of team spirit with your other colleagues in the Governor Media Team and the State Information Management body. I’m happy working with you and toeing that path of commitment to serving the people of the state. Many more years of God’s goodness and grace. Congratulations.
