Emmanuel Aimioshio Obinyan:Adieu to my loving husband

There stood three friends talking and really enjoying their conversa¬tion after a meal at FORKS AND FINGERS restaurant, situated at the SUB. Among these three friends was a particularly very vibrant and active one. His vibrancy endeared him to me. These three friends were EMMAN, JOE, and ZICKY. Emman instantly struck a chord in me. I am from a very reserved and quiet background. My dad was an exceptional introvert and a man of very few words. My dad could stay a whole day in the house and you would not hear anything from him. My childhood home was usually very quiet, to the extent that a visitor could come to our home and go back assuming we were not in the house. It was that quiet! So, from childhood, I desired a more active life and home. And so, my attraction to EMMAN OBINYAN was instant.
In 1983 when we met, he was in his final year- faculty of Agricul¬ture, and I a ‘JAMBITE!’ I became a friend to the trio of Joe, Em¬man, and Zicky throughout their final year. Em-man pro¬ceeded to carry out his Na¬tiona l Youth S e r ¬v i c e (NYSC) assignment in Sokoto State. There he displayed his excep¬tional qualities and was adjudged the best Youth Corps member in the state for his hard work, creativity and community services and won the state National Youth Service Award. At the national level he was also awarded a merit award for exceptional service at his National Youth Service Assignment. The award was personally handed over to him by Gen. Muhamadu Buhari.
After his national assignment in Sokoto, he got numerous job offers which he turned down in order to pursue a Masters degree programme in Agricultural Economics in University of Ife, and to be closer to me as he did not want to lose me. Together, we graduated in 1986. He got a job with Rhone-TOTAL, the then subsidiary of TOTAL Nigeria Plc, while I went for my NYSC. By this time, marriage was naturally in the works already. At the completion of my NYSC, and Post-Graduate Diploma (PGD), we got married.
EMMAN my husband adored our children and I. He worked tire¬lessly to provide for us. He ensured that we lacked nothing, despite the challenges and difficulties of the economy. He often told me that he could do menial jobs just to ensure the comfort of his family. He did not have to as his hard work and commitment saw him soaring in his career from being a young Divisional Managing Director in UAC Plc to his huge strategic assignment with his mentor, Henry Okolo in UTC Plc and up to becoming the Managing Director/CEO of Thomas Wyatt Plc. He saw to it that Thomas Wyatt Apex Mill was removed from receivership and was able to negotiate and eventually obtain a facility from the Bank of Industry to rebuild the erstwhile giant in the paper industry. He was highly career-oriented and had big plans for the future.
He was a selfless giver. He often told me how he worked every long vacation with Union Bank in Uromi to sustain his siblings and cater for his upkeep in school. He also told me how Uncle Edaghese nicknamed him “…EMMAN ‘the emancipator…’” by reason of his care for his family during his growing up stage. EMMAN could deprive himself for the betterment of his fellow human beings.
I have shared 30 years of my life with Emman. October 18, 2013 put an end to my beautiful life with my dear husband and friend. On that fateful day, I dropped him off at the airport in the morning for a flight to Benin City. He sent me a text when he arrived Benin to say that he had arrived safely. In response, I gave glory to God for safe arrival especially with what is going on in our aviation industry. Em¬man would usually call me every now and then to update me on his activities. After our exchange of text messages on his arrival in Benin, every attempt to reach him was aborted as his number became unob¬tainable and there were no calls from him, which was very unusual. I continued to try throughout that day suspecting that there was poor network at Igueben where he was supposed to attend the Association of Esan Professionals’ summit. I called all I knew to call throughout the day and could not sleep at night as no one had any information about his whereabouts.
On Saturday, I was informed that armed men had gunned down my better half on his way from Benin City airport to Igueben in Edo State. Knowing EMMAN for his passion and love for his family, he must have begged the gunmen not to kill him, if only for the sake of Adesua, Ehinomen, Ofure, Samuel, Gamaliel, and numerous beneficiaries he loved ever so dearly. Oh! They turned deaf ears to his plea….. These armed men brought an abrupt end to a blissful and exemplary family life… They killed my EMMAN.
His other name was Aimioshio meaning ‘there is no friend’, which I extended to mean there is no friend like Jesus. And any time I called him ‘no friend like Jesus’, he smiled so passionately. He was a friend of Jesus. He strived to please our Lord Jesus all his days, right from his mass servant days to being a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God. He was passionate about winning souls, building churches and planting parishes for God. He died in Christ and in active service in the vineyard. Emman worked too hard and was hard on himself. He never had a rest. Now I know that the Lord has called him to rest. His memories and good deeds live on…
EMMANUEL OBINYAN. Aimioshio nor gia bi Jesu, rest well until we meet to part no more.