By Moses Akaigwe
Funeral rites for the vice-president of the Coscahris Group, Mrs. Charity Nchedo Maduka (nee Ikedife), who died recently, began in Lagos on Monday with a Night of Tributes, where relations, friends and Christian leaders took turns to extol her virtues.
At the well attended event in Queens Park, Victoria Island, the late wife of billionaire businessman and president of the Coscahris Group, Dr. Cosmas Maduka, was variously described as very humble, generous, amiable, honest, hardworking and a truly godly woman who “was a quintessential Christian.”
Leading the tributes was the deceased’s friend of 35 years and fellow faithful, Mrs. Ayo Akintade, who described her as very courageous, a rare gem and a true Christian that never backed out in the service of God, even when she had health challenges.
“She is an example of what a true Christian should be,” Mrs. Akintunde remarked.
To another friend of the family, Dr. Charles Mgbe, the departed was a stabilising factor: “She was the glue that held the Cosmas Maduka family together and the woman behind the throne.”
In his tribute, the late Mrs. Maduka’s brother, Kenneth Ikedife, recalled that his 63 years old sister surrendered her life very early to God, accordingly to him, at a time when it was almost a taboo to be born-again; unlike today that it is fashionable for people to just go to church and be identified so.
Ikedife got an ovation when he informed the guests that his sister’s devotion to God met a match in another “firebrand Christian,” Dr. Cosmas Maduka, adding that, at a point, their pace as husband and wife was “too much for me to follow.”
He disclosed that many beneficiaries of the late Mrs. Maduka’s generosity, including those whose rent and children’s’ school fees she was paying, have been calling him on phone with some of them crying profusely: “And I end up being the one consoling them, rather than them consoling me.”
Fred Amobi, who, apart from being the executive director, operations, Coscharis Group, has been close to the Madukas, said the departed was a virtuous and capable wife who was more precious than rubies.
There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, he stated, “but you, Charity Maduka, surpass them all.”
Amobi waxed poetic and biblical in his tribute: “Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. She brings him good and not harm all the days of her life. She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
“She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night.”
Eulogies also came from Dr. Nneka Omotoyinbo, who urged all to emulate her simplicity as a Christian who would rather be identified as a God-fearing woman than as an affluent person.
Most of the speakers found it difficult to talk about Mrs. Maduka in the past tense, including Adegoke Osunniyi, a lawyer, who described her as a quintessential Christian lady, who belonged to a family, which, “despite their wealth, are still very humble.”
The eldest child of the Maduka offspring, Cosmas Maduka Jnr, spoke glowingly of his late mother, saying she was a woman known for her integrity and hard work.
“Mum was a remarkable woman; a God-fearing woman. She was a virtuous woman that personified integrity, hard work, and a charitable heart. Her dedication to her family is something I strive to emulate and provide for my family every single day.”
Relevant biblical passages were read by the daughter and daughters-in-law of the deceased, including Romans 38, verses 35-39, by Charity Maduka, her daughter.
Present at the Night of Tributes were very important guests, including former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, APC chieftain, Joe Igbokwe, and Chisco Group chairman, Dr. Chidi Anyaegbu, among many others.