I write this tribute with a sense of trepidation and a deep sense of loss, which feelings flow from the fact that for too long, some of us struggled with the illusion that good people would remain with us forever.
But we have come to understand that it is not the will of God. His will must prevail!
Perhaps unwittingly, the public service in Nigeria has become a veritable ground for matchmaking. Many successful marriages have emerged from there. A case in point is the perfect union between Senator Roland Stephen (RS) Owie and the late Mrs. Helen Owie (née Pemu), from Ilobi in Uhunmwode Local Government Area of Edo State and Japa Town in Warri Local Area of Delta State respectively. Their relationship started in the early 1970s in the public service of the defunct Bendel State where they were engaged.
I first met Mrs. Owie in October 1979 at the National Assembly, where RS represented the Greater Orhionmwon Federal Constituency. Since that time, our two families have become inextricably intertwined. During this period, I found her to be a person of enviable character.
She brought the greatest happiness to the greatest number. There was never a dull moment in her life.
She believed that nothing good could be achieved on an empty stomach. That philosophy was evident in the way she generously provided food to all who visited their Medical Stores Road residence in Benin City. Even without knowing it, Helen provided a soup kitchen of sorts. For over half a century, she was in the business of cooking for Roland and his friends and relations.
There is an open invitation to all who call. No matter how early you get to the house, you are welcomed by the aroma from those drums and big pots which are constantly steaming on those burning fires fueled by forest wood from the Isi clan. You are promptly ushered into any available space, and in no distant time, the food begins to report—and is promptly followed by our choice of drinks. The kitchen and the bar never close. This is more so during the electioneering campaign, where Lady Owie insists that we must be properly loaded before we embark on the campaigns.
On our return to Benin, we were always brought back to the Owies’ residence, where hot meals awaited us. She believed we needed solid nourishment to balance the ogogoro we had consumed throughout the day. Only then were we certified fit to return to our individual homes. Madam was, indeed, a jolly good fellow.
The Greatest Evangelism of Our Time
As happened with the dells, we thought it couldn’t be done—but Helen did it!
Before she came into Roland’s life, Roland was perhaps the undisputed heavyweight champion of the occult world and the world of “Otumokpor.” Helen took a blind gamble on him, and like the biblical Esther, Helen probably maintained, “If I perish, I perish.” Her gallant gamble paid off—she brought Roland out of utter darkness into the limelight!
She was a winner all the way. RS had long been a clear leader of the campaign trail. Before Helen came into Owie’s life, his opening hymns at our campaigns were chants l Evbare-evbare-o wa ghegia gbe mwen evbare OR otuhia bun vbo rere… sokpan okpo ron mwon niya maya du gie oghomwan. But once Helen came into his life, his life changed and his tune also changed to Erhan ghi dien ikhimwin … Orisa oro odoin, signifying the supremacy of Almighty God.
Those who view this as a minor achievement miss the point. To us, this transformation represents the greatest evangelism of our time. Since RS began burning for Christ, there is no telling the number of people—especially women—who have joined the army of Christ.
Particularly in the elite class of our society, the word out there is, “If RS can do this, we, too, can.”
The silent revolution going on here is that people are quietly dumping their old ways and embracing the new.
Even without knowing it, the Owies are fast depopulating the kingdom of darkness to the credit of the Kingdom of Light!
Helen was a rare combination of beauty and brain. Her smiles were simply radiant. She was an exponent of human kindness; a total embodiment of humility; and a philanthropist extraordinaire. She rendered service to humanity without counting the cost.
From very early in life, Lady Owie was at grips with the fact that everyone’s life is a gift from God, and our service to humanity is the rent we pay for being on earth.
These beliefs informed her principle that in every situation you find yourself, you should use it to make friends, not enemies.
When she was the Executive Director of the Royal Links Transport Company, the company soon became a link to a new world in which all the people—managers, messengers, drivers, transporters, passengers, etc.—were treated as if they were the most important people on earth
In justice, she was simply just. She administered justice with universal equality to all people, regardless of the background.
We will miss her dearly.
Helen was certainly a most detribalized Nigerian. She lived a good life; she ran a good race; she fought a good fight—a fight of faith; and she finished her course.
As with the great Apostle Paul, there is no doubt in our minds that a crown of righteousness already awaits her in the bosom of the Lord.
It only remains for us to fervently pray to Almighty God to give those of us she left behind the fortitude to bear the temporary separation from her.
Accordingly, we so pray… AMEN.
Adieu, Helen. Adieu!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Hon. Josef Omorotionmwan lives in Canada
