My Condolences to the Ekotoro and Okumbiri Families on the death of Mrs Margaret Ekotoro, By Enewaridideke Ekanpou

By: Enewaridideke Ekanpou

Mrs Margaret Ekotoro, a virtuous, peace-loving, kind-hearted, compassionate, caring, god-fearing, forgiving, positively charged woman with a golden heart that does not have an archive of enemies but an archive of loved ones, devoted member of Christ Divine and Gospel Mission church (CDGM) who does not miss any church convention held anywhere in Nigeria, a professional tailor without formal apprenticeship to anyone, who specialises in the sewing of bespoke church garments, is dead. She died at twelve midnight on the 14 of March 2025 in Warri without any complications.

Mrs Margaret Ekotoro simply told her children after drinking a glass of water that she was ready to journey back to the underworld. She began to lose consciousness after telling her children she was ready to sail home. Confronted with her creeping consciousness, they took her to a near hospital reachable within four minutes. By the time they reached the hospital she was already dead on the way as confirmed by the doctor at the hospital. She died at the age of 99 as a professional tailor yet to retire from her trade she loved with passion. She simply died without the complication of illness.

There are echoes of clairvoyance here. She was a great devotee of God who knew she was about to die and got prepared as she had a delicious meal that day, drank a bottle of coke, a glass of water, watched an interesting movie from the beginning to the end, sat on the bed and told her children it was time. Amazingly, she ate her meal to her fill that day. While she was watching the movie, there was a power blackout or outage that interrupted her last enjoyment but she insisted that she must watch the movie to the end. May be she knew it was her last movie. Her children obliged her and made it possible for her to watch the movie to the end. After the movie, she took a glass of water, sat on the bed and told her children it was time for her to go.

Mrs Margaret Ekotoro died a great woman, loved by her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren. Even at the age of 99 her loved ones wept as if she were still 25 in age because of her ageless impactfulness on everybody while on earth. She was very healthy with all her faculties functioning properly without debilitation before her golden roof caved in on 14 March 2025.

Mrs Lucky Ekotoro Ekanpou, my wife, wept beyond comfort like a baby when she broke to me the news of the death of her mother, Mrs Margaret Ekotoro, on the telephone. Her baby-like tears made me lose my footing on the staircase and almost fell. All these are echoes of her impactful mother who was fully alive to her responsibilities of mothering and motherhood on earth as she never elevated one child above the other in the expression of motherly love. She was non-discriminatory and selfless in the expression of motherly care and love to her children.

Mrs Margaret Ekotoro will be missed by the CDGM church at Adekagbene/ Kalafiogbene where she was a highly respected member who never missed a church gathering. She triumphantly attended her last church convention at Adekagbene/ Kalafiogbene in January 2025. Rather clairvoyantly, within her she knew it would be her last presence in the CDGM church gathering at Adekagbene/Kalafiogbene. Particularly, she will be missed by her grandchildren, Peremoboere Ekanpou and Gesi Pereazuwa Ekanpou.

A virtuous woman for whom prayerful wishes for prolongation of life were encored like a rhythmically and thematically striking piece of music played, even at her apparently ripe age of 99, I hereby offer my condolences to the families of Ekotoro Oruserikeme and Okumbiri of Adekagbene/Kalafiogbene in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State. May God give the Ekotoro Oruserikeme and Okumbiri Families the required strength to bear the pain of this impactful death. For Mrs Lucky Ekotoro Ekanpou, my wife, may she be mystically and psychologically empowered to bear this irreparable loss so that she can find the comfort to continue her life journey without weeping further comfortlessly.

Very finally, may the virtuous soul of Mrs Margaret Ekotoro find comfort in her new world where she is going to meet the likes of late Chief Ek Clark, Mrs Timiebi Maika Ekanpou and Maika Ekanpou of Ngbilebiri-Mein Kingdom.

Ekanpou writes from Akparemogbene, Delta State.