First it appeared like some ill-timed rumour, which nowadays have become symptomatic of our ordinary existence. But speaking with the erudite Dr. Herbert Oye and His Excellency, our dear Governor Dickson, reality dawned at daybreak of today, Thursday 9th August that the first mother of Bayelsa and Ijaw nation, Mrs. GOLDCOAST DICKSON has just joined the saints triumphant, peacefully and fulfilled at just 72 years.
Painful, sudden and shocking. But we give God praise and glory for a quiet but worthy and accomplished life.
Though very simple, humble and unassuming, she was the mother pearl, dependable pillar and an unshakeable rock for many. An archetypical African mother who saw and lived beyond her circumstances. Testimony upon testimonies, accounts from far and near, reveal her strength of character, good human nature and good conscience. With uncanny inner strength and courage, she steered through the undaunting and undulating vissititudes of life. Emerging self-made, deeply spiritual and effectively productive. Her forte being bended knees before the Throne of Grace. This not only produced a progeny of some of Nigeria’s great, great citizens but, infectiously, shaped for good, the lives and destinies of all who came her way. The stories and chronicles of her peculiar life shall be told for long, even by generations yet to come.
All around us, these are days of anomie and common foreboding. Expectedly, her gifts, especially strength of true Christian intercession and prescience of thought would have been needed not just in Creek Haven, Yenagoa but to our common good, even at national level.
But who can question Almighty God and His decisions? God sees the deep and the end from the beginning. The tides, the seasons, the times and the calendar of the nations are all in His hands. It is His purposes and the intentions of his heart that come to pass at the time appointed.
Tokoni and I and indeed the Igali family, therefore join to thank God for everything concerning her yielded life and calling her home at this time. At this same time, we convey deepest solace and commiserations to Governor Seriake Dickson and rest of family in the various communities in Sagbama Local Government Area, all of Bayelsa State and associates at national level and worldwide.
May Mama’s soul rest in peace.
Amb Dr Godknows Boladei Igali, OON
