Mr Noel Ify Alomona is the CEO of Hope For Africa Children Initiative (HACI) an NGO that send children to school on scholarship.

wrote a touching tribute to the 7 seminarians who died in a fatal accident two years ago in Enugu state.

Read his touching tribute below.


Two Years in Mind – Brief and Painless!

I have been writing, but I couldn’t write anything on this subject since February 1st. So, the whole of today was not so wonderful for me. I tried to nibble some words on the paper but couldn’t. I thought it was my usual block; I went to bed, got up and tried again. But yet, the right words were not forthcoming. I just sat on my reading table at the study, my left hand supporting my jaw, with my eyes fixed steadily on the paper. At a point, I lost touch with the environment. I was lost in deep thought and before I knew what was up, I had soaked myself in tears.

Everything came alive at this point. I practically could visualize the moments preceding the accident of that black Monday. I remembered Michael’s and Emeka’s positions in the pew during Vespers, the night before. They were very unusual. I remember asking Michael if all was alright that night. I remembered how Agbo practically carried me upstairs on his back, after supper (same Sunday night). Joachim and Adah were so cool that night. And Dozie kept calling me “Ify B” while he went about doing his functions in the morning. Those were my personal experiences with these Heroes on the 21st February.

Though still fresh in my memory, but I don’t wish to recount the accident that claimed the lives of my Six Heroes. We come to terms with losses, but some of them we never get over. Their absence is one of those.

And then, in the midst of my grief today, I was faced with the daunting task of crafting a farewell note for these extraordinary friends of mine, who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. They were the best of talents, great scholars and promising stars. As if they were handpicked, Emeka, Dozie, Mike, Adah, Agbo and Joachim were irreplaceable friends, and were all intellectual tour de force, whose loss leaves an enormous hole in the house and in the community.

Mike was a gentle soul – someone with all the time in the world for you, no matter who you are. He belonged to everyone and was very generous to a fault! Emeka, an all-rounder, was a jovial and multi-talented fellow. He was good at all the games you could think of. Dozie, the cool and very intelligent one (he taught me Latin and I had a Summa), compassionate and a good singer. Agbo Emmanuel, a brother, a close friend, a confidant, one of the best people I have ever known in life. Agbo’s generosity marveled me sometimes. Joachim, calm and collected – will always be remembered for his balance and poise, and his great curiosity – an intelligent leader. A finer fellow a person could not stop wanting to meet. Adah Emmanuel was a true definition of humanity. There was never a dull moment when Adah was around. I remember how he made the house lively with his thrilling jokes. In my life I am yet to meet a person greater than Adah – a selfless gentleman who cherished all people around him. It was easy to look up to Adah, he was a perfect human being.

I have been in deep thought through out today, and now I know that our life is an unavoidable journey towards death. Death is an inescapable reality, and for we who profess Christ, it is a necessity. It is a blow which visits every man once in a lifetime; an experience which all living beings must taste equally – rich and poor, great and small alike. No wonder it is called the great leveler. And on its universality, the psalmist probes “What man shall live and not see death?”

It’s Two Years already! Your demise shook the whole world. Your deaths were brutish but painless! Rest on brothers! I know you’re all in heaven. We may have parted now, but we will all meet to part no more. You will forever live in Our Hearts.

Hasta la Vista
Tchau
Adieu Mon Frere
Arrivederci

source
https://www.reportnaija.ng/2018/02/23/noel-ify-alumona-remembers-7-seminarians-died-auto-crash-2yrs-ago/

cc lalasticlala