It was a roll call of personalities as mammoth crowd gathered from all walks of life to pay their last respect to a legend,Late Pa Gabriel Elom Ogbodo at the age of 77 years who left unimaginable legacies before He departed.
In his funeral mass,the priest from St.Philomena's parish,Amechi Izhia Rev.Fr.Oliver Onwe charged Christians to live an examplary life and serve God in spirit and in truth because the souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God and will not be tormented since the lived a rightous life while alive and God will put them to test and found them worthy to be with Him.
"The souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God,no torment shall ever tourch them.In the eyes of the unwise,they did appear to die, their going looks like a disaster,they are leaving us, like annihilation;but the are in peace.
"If the experience punishment as men see it, their hope was rich with immotality; light was their affliction, great will their blessings be.God has put them to test and found them worthy to be with Him.
"He has tested them like gold in a furnace,and accepted them as a Holocaust.When the time comes for his visitation,they will shine out;as sparks run through the stubble,so will they."
The parish priest further noted that it is important for everyone to use every opportunity around him to prepare for eternity and ensure that their ways are pleasant before God to avoid regret after ones journey in life because whatever a man sow,He shall reap and shall live after Him."
He therefore, charged the family of Elom Ogbodo to consolidate on the good legacies and footprint of their father while alive in order to build a dignified and prosperous home where peace,love and they Glory of God shall reign supreme.
According to his biography, Pa Gabriel Elom Ogbodo who was fondly called Mallam Gab was born in 1944 to the family of late Ogbodo Chukwu of Umu--Chukwu Kindred,Amanamta Ishia in Ohaukwu local government area of Ebonyi state.Pa Ogbodo had a humble beginning full of ups and downs but he was determined to succeed in life.
As a result of this challenges,greater part of His early life was spent at Utonkon in Benue state where he had followed his parents in search of greaner pasture.
Shortly after the civil war broke out,his parents and siblings hurriedly left Benue state.The effects of the war were severe that the lost everything that the laboured over the years to acquire and eventually came back to start life all over again.Late pa Gabriel Ogbodo's parents were so protective of him that the wanted him around them which made him not to fully acquire Western education.
Even though the civil war between 1967--1970 altered his plan,he still attended three schools which includes:St.Philomena,Amechi in Utonkon Benue state and St.Joseph, Amaike in Ohaukwu local government area of Ebonyi state.
In 1977,Late Pa Ogbodo married Nneoma Josephine Ekunyi and had many years of delay bearing children but later gave birth to five children to the Glory of God.
Late Pa Ogbodo against all odds insisted after his marriage that all his children must be educated and as a man of uncommon faith,he was able to train all his children in various levels of education including Dr.Jude Ogbodo of Department of Masscommunication, Ebonyi state University, Abakaliki.
Pa Ogbodo passed away on 19th day of April,2021 after facing so many Health challenges.
Post a Comment