TRIBUTE: Ogechikamma, it’s God’s time that is best
BY TETSEKELA ANYIAM-OSIGWE
During this difficult time in our lives, we are
involuntarily called, once again, to examine life in all its complexity.
This moment implores us to remember that we are not all-knowing. It
reminds us of the deep uncertainty that God tells us that we must
confront on our early sojourns while having an unshakable faith in Him
and the mystery of our existence: the uncertainty of who we are and what
we are, of what we know and what we do not know, of why we are here and
what we are here for; the uncertainty of what we leave behind and why
we leave those things behind.
Two things were deemed the most important to Peace Marie Ogechi
Anyiam-Osigwe (PMO) and she would tell anyone this freely: family and
being the undiluted creative pushing for Africa to be fully recognised
in the global film industry. Both saw her give more than herself, even
and especially at the expense of herself. She leaves both behind,
perhaps with the knowledge that only God and now she has, of God’s own
plan for the manifestation of His glory within those she loved and the
legacy she so earnestly and faithfully crafted.
For her, family was and remains her father’s greatest legacy to her.
In a predominantly patriarchal society, Papa made her believe it was not
about gender but about personality and carriage. Even in the midst of
seven older brothers, she found herself standing on an equal footing.
She never felt small or inferior. If anything, she was rightly
emboldened to cement her place as an irreplaceable member of the family,
becoming a mother, an aunt and a positive change agent cultivating a
deeper sense of togetherness.
The only thing that equalled her commitment to family was her passion
for the film industry. More than anyone else, she promoted the creative
industry not only in Nigeria but also in Africa. Last year, she
celebrated nearly four decades within this industry. She remained at the
forefront of the process of expanding the business of film in Africa
and making the industry a major contributor to the national economies of
African countries and a global player on the world stage. As one of the
African film industry’s leading lights, she cultivated the next
generation of African filmmakers while rewarding the current generation
of filmmakers across the country, the continent and the diaspora, who,
in many ways, had started this journey with her. Several national and
pan-continental programs and initiatives were created with her at the
helm; consciously, productively and constructively bridging the divide
between African filmmaking communities and the rest of the global
marketplace.
She did not just do one thing but did it all: CEO and founder of the
African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), founder and chair of the African
Film Academy (AFA), president of the Association of Movie Producers of
Nigeria, a Nigerian national honour recipient as a Member of the Order
of the Federal Republic (MFR), a former financial director of the
Filmmakers Cooperative of Nigeria (FCON), a past vice-president of the
Association of Movie Producers of Nigeria, a TED Fellow, a jury member
of international film festivals, a former creative director and
co-founder of the Africa International Film Festival, a published poet
with three books to her name, a former television talk show host, the
owner of a publishing company, the owner of a film studio, and a
producer and a director of multiple Nollywood films.
Despite everything she had going on personally that could and would
have stopped any other person, she relentlessly maintained her
unyielding commitment to the creative industry. In a given year, she
might have had to be in Berlin, then would go on to receive an award in
California, then make a speech in Washington D.C, fly to Kigali to make
yet another speech before finding herself on a flight back to Lagos to
meet with her home-based team. This was, in many ways, her breakdown
point, but she wanted to, and she did, continue. She often said she
could not stop; that the work was not complete. Indeed, she was the
personification of resilience. Perhaps most importantly, she simply
wanted to do it for African cinema. It was not about her individually.
It was not even about the money. It was about the passion to promote and
celebrate creative excellence in Africa. At every opportunity, she was
speaking to anyone who would listen about the potential for African
cinema to be a creative heavyweight in the world.
She never knew, until she began this journey, that her body could
generate a much-needed extra supply of energy as far as she was doing
exactly what she was passionate about. This is why we cannot even begin
the process of fully comprehending her immense contribution to her
community, the country, the continent, and the world at large, which
produced an unrivalled legacy of accomplishments globally and within the
creative industry for nearly four decades.
One might never know what she was going through internally because
her strength knew no possible bounds. In many ways, this is why her
transcendence is too difficult to understand, but perhaps this is also
why, as difficult as it may be, she would implore us to try to accept
the unthinkable. Perhaps there are some things, the knowledge of which
is reserved for those blessed and privileged enough to attain perfect
alignment with the Chi and ultimately reach a divine and conscious unity
with God.
Therefore, it is the case that we must be resolved, and never
resigned, armed with the belief that earthly life in all its perplexity
will always be a complex phenomenon in which the puzzle is never meant
to be solved by those left behind. Yet, to the degree that we are
assured in the divine knowledge that there is indeed a Supreme Being who
governs the universe, we should remain hopeful in the knowledge that
“Ogechikamma,” it is God’s time that is the best.
When I had to give her an answer about life over ten years ago at
such a naive age, I said this in part: Life is a string of moments.
Actions define moments. Decisions define actions. Character defines
decisions. Personality defines character. And death is outlived by
personality. It is not until now that I am realising why she told me
that she held onto that so deeply. She willingly surrendered to God’s
will in everything, letting Him drive her moments, mediate her actions,
guide her decisions, shape her character, and direct her personality.
When the time came for Him to decide to bring back his daughter into His
heavenly presence, she knew that those she was going to leave behind
will eventually understand that as far as God remained at the wheel of
earthly life, death was only transitory. It was another moment,
orchestrated by God, in the long string of moments that define life.
Indeed, Ogechikamma, it is God’s time that is the best.
She fiercely believed that there was a Chi in everyone – that God
manifests Himself within man, so that man was blessed with the presence
of God within himself. She believed that the Chi brings hope and that
the Chi controls human destiny. She said it was evident even in her
name, “Ogechi.” So, even if we might like to have things done on our own
time, even if we do not understand our present reality, even if we
struggle to comprehend the ‘why’ and we fail to make sense of the ‘how,’
we must be reminded that it is always subject to the will of each
individual’s Chi.
And, in our asking God of the why, in our need to understand this
ultimate test from the Chi of the universe, perhaps the answer is not
for us to know exactly. Even if it is hard, we cannot question anymore.
In her own words, the Chi never promised an easy ride. The Chi never
said to us that life is going to be easy; what the Chi did say to us was
that this is what we have at the moment. Deal with it, cope with it,
and in time, we will come to understand it, knowing full well that
Ogechikamma, it is God’s time that is the best.
May the Chi be with her as she begins her eternal journey, shining
always in the light of God’s everlasting presence. May God, in this
everlasting presence, hold her closely as she dwells forever in His
heavenly place. May God, in His infinite mercy and bountiful love, also
give us all – her children, her family, her friends, and her colleagues –
the strength we need during this very difficult period. Beyond it, may
He find us worthy enough to receive the blessing of the divine knowledge
and complete acceptance that truly Ogechikamma, it is God’s time that
is the best.
Tetsekela Michael Anyiam-Osigwe is a PhD student at Princeton University in United States
