In Loving Memory of My First Boss, Mentor, and Super Mom

By Tonye Jonathan Alagba

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**Mama Panou Josephine Alagba (1939 – 2023)**

Sweet mother,

It is still very surreal that you have left this world – never again to be seen on this side of eternity. My heart is irreparably broken as you can imagine, and even though five whole months have come and gone since your untimely passing, I have yet to find any consolation for my sorely broken heart. I miss you every single day, mother. I miss our never-ending conversations, I miss our fights too, and I most definitely miss my old buddy.

Apart from being the best mom in the world, you were my first boss. As a teenager, you made me work for you as a paralegal officer in your company- drafting and reviewing your lease agreements for which you never paid me. Providing you such quasi-legal services and witnessing the dexterity with which you handled your business, helped to turn me into an entrepreneur very early in life.

You were also my mentor. By your own example, you showed me what it takes to be successful in life and how to stay the course in any endeavor – through determination, grit, patience and perseverance. You instilled in me the virtues of hard work, temperance, forthrightness, moderation, and fear of God – qualities which have continued to serve as my guiding light and north star.

Finally, you were a super mom to all of us, you4 children; and I’m so blessed to have you as my mother. Your deep tender love for me, your constant reminder of the story of my difficult birth, your assurances of the hand of God, and the prophecy of my destiny- which you so clearly communicated, have all helped to steady me – even in the worst of times. When at age seven I had contacted that strange stomachache for which there was neither diagnosis nor cure for several months, you laboured daily in prayer for me and travelled the world in search of help – to save me. You never gave up on me even when the condition looked helpless. In your characteristic doggedness, you persisted, you fought, and continued to push the odds until my health was restored and peace returned to our home.

Thank you for everything you did for me, sweet mother. Thank you also for modelling decorum and good behaviour for my children – Sparkle and Devon. I will forever remain grateful for the gift that was you. As you said to me in a recent dream, “you have left this world to go rest in God’s house”. Even though my heart is still broken, and I can’t seem to find a way to let go, I pray that you would continue to rest in God’s house – where you have gone, until I see you again.