The patriarch of Nung Ekpo family, Dr Sennen Efiong, was laid to rest on June 21 at the at the age of 102 years in his compound at Ikot Eto Ibesikpo.
He was interred after a Funeral and Thanksgiving mass at St. Martin’s Catholic Church, Ikot Eto
The Chief Celebrant, Very Rev. Fr. Patrick Umoesen, quoting from the book of John 21:21-26, urged people to stop regarding death as sinful but rather, as the end of every man on earth.
According to him, it is important that people also regard death as the will of God mankind rather than the greatest sin on earth for those who die.
“It is God’s will that all must die but death is not the greatest sin. All our lives are in God’s hands, therefore, we must realise that one day He will call us.
“We neither know the hour nor the time, therefore, we have stick to His commandments, knowing that one day we will surely die,” he said.
He said that whenever everyone was committed to carry out the will of God there was no reason to fear death or regard it as sin
“What He wants from us is the commitment to do His will. We were created without our knowledge and therefore, can be taken away without our knowledge.
“In that case we have to do His will so that in the end we will be with Him in everlasting happiness.
“No man that can’t create himself lives forever. Man was created by God in his image, therefore, if we love God we must live for God. He who lives for himself does not love God.
“Death will come – there is nothing we can do about it. But death is not the greatest punishment. Man will fall, rise up, he will struggle, that is life,” the Priest said.
He also prayed to God to forgive the late Dr Efiong of his sins, in order for the deceased’s soul to dwell with the righteous.
The Parish Priest, Very Rev. Fr. Malachy Akpan, assisted by Very Rev. Fr. Charles Bassey and Very Rev. Fr. Patrick Umoesen, conducted the funeral and Thanksgiving mass.
Thereafter, the deceased was laud to rest in his compound.
One of the children, Mrs Dorothy Udo, said: “My father clocked more than 20 years in schools management, administration and teaching at the primary, secondary and college levels.
“He died on December 13, after a brief illness, at the age of 102 years. He was the oldest man in our village, Ikot Eto, Ibesikpo.
He left us all, perhaps, with these words from Abraham Lincoln: “Charity for all, malice towards none.”
Also one of the deceased nephews, Mr Dianabasi Effiong, said: “My uncle was a pace setter with demonstrable strong leadership. He was highly proficient, dependable and self-directed.
“He was a pioneer, the first man with a Ph.D in our community. He was, no doubt, my mentor. At a good age of 102 years, we lost a patriarch, a centenarian of our time.”
