By Sam Otuonye
Friday, November 6, 2026 was a day of glory and indeed, a celebration of life well-lived, in a vintage community of Ogbor Uvuru in Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State, as an evangelical maestra and gospel icon bade farewell to the world she left better than she met it, at 105 years.
A woman of unshakable faith in God and His power thereof, who unveiled an apostolic movement with the unquenchable fire of the Holy Ghost in her bossom, being among the earliest converts to Christianity in the ancient Mbaise clan and the first woman to accept the Assemblies of God Church in the area in 1938.
Driven by her innate passion for the things of God, she attended the Assemblies of God Divinity School in old Umuahia, where she received ministerial training and graduated in 1943, as a lay pastor.
Ezinne Nwanyi-Okwukwe Monica Nwafor Akagburuonye Amuchie, alias Mama Success, was the beloved mother of billionaire businessman, lawyer, engineer, philanthropist, kingdom investor, and politician, Chief Success Obioma Akagburuonye (Akaraugo Ndi Igbo), who is also a frontline gubernatorial aspirant in Imo State in 2027, under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Akagburuonye, an unusual politician, who the Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, described as “a passionate politician, during his 60th birthday in February, 2026, is an icon of philanthropy and kingdom investment. He has lifted Imo communities and residents in skills acquisition, healthcare, scholarships, start-up capital, solar power projects, security, and evangelical mind setting, through his foundation – Hope Rising for Imolites.
He described his late mother as a woman of unwavering faith, emphasising that God’s grace upon his life was as a result of the lessons he learnt from his mother, particularly, the principles of kingdom investment.
”My mother served God, honoured God, and today, God has honoured her. Today, I stand here because God gave me the privilege to stand here. My mother impacted all her children and taught me forgiveness and hard work, and above all, planted in me the fear of God.
”Despite the circumstances she found herself, my mother, Ezinne Monica Nwafo Amuchie-Akagburuonye, was the first woman in truth and spirit to accept Assemblies of God Church in 1938 in the entire Mbaise ancient clan, and the place where she proudly accepted Christ as her Lord and personal Saviour is today, the Mbaise District Headquarters of the church,” Success reflected.
Former Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo, who graced the occasion in the company of former President of Sierra Leone, H.E. Ernest Bai koroma, among other dignitaries, described Mama Success as a woman who had longevity with the grace of God to go with it. He also extolled the virtues of her son, Success, embellishing him as a special sort of human being whose attributes must not be far from the mother that nurtured him.
”First, I want to appreciate God for keeping Mama for a century and five years – 105. Not only that, some people have longevity, but they don’t have the grace of God to go with it. Mama had longevity and had the grace of God to go with it. Before I came to Mama, I (knew) the fruit or the product of Mama in Obioma Success. I found him a special sort of human being in his attributes; his character, his value, his generosity.
And I wondered, what sort of man is this? Where did he get this from? And as I said last night, of course an apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree,” Obasanjo said.
The week long burial activity was dotted with crusades, distribution of palliatives, medical outreaches, with the commissioning of Nwafor Amuchie Memorial Hospital, built in honour and memory of Ezinne Nwanyi-Okwukwe Monica Nwafor Akagburuonye Amuchie by her son, Success.
Cutting the tape, Obasanjo declared: “This facility is for the welfare, well-being, and good health of all the people that will step into this hospital.”
In his homily, the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Rev Amadi A.U., noted that the unwavering faith of Mama Success in God was the secret of her prosperity on earth and unto eternity.
”God has blessed her while she was alive. And today, God has been glorified at her funeral. And something orchestrated it. And that was her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said.
Reading from the Holy Book of 1 Corinthians 15:19 and 2 Corinthians 5:1, the Man of God admonished against living in sin and its attractions, noting that eternity is real – either in heaven or hellfire. He said that Mama Success understood eternity hence, she lived a life devoid of sin, trained her children, and embarked on evangelism teaching the essence of spending eternity in Heaven.
”Our mother was widely and strongly known for her commitment to her belief in eternity and in eternal life. She was widely known all the time that she kept telling people about Jesus and eternity, and her belief in eternal life. This guided her life all through her stay on earth. And she knew the way she lived because she believed in eternity and eternal life thereon. Mama believed that there would be a day when her earthly life would come to an end – just as we are observing today, and eternity would set in,” he stated.
Born in 1921, Mama Success was blessed with eight children, 52 grand children, and 22 great-grandchildren. She lived a God-filled life, leaving behind an enduring legacy of faith, courage, family, and godliness.
The event, painted in glamorous colours of pomp, spiritual and cultural displays with massive global attendance, witnessed the presence of former Governor of Imo State, H.E. Emeka Ihedioha, Senator Samuel Anyanwu (Sam Daddy), Major General (rtd) Lincoln Jack Ogunewe, Rt Rev Chamberlain Ogunedo, Anglican Bishop of Mbaise Diocese, and Ernest Bai Koroma, former President of Sierra Leone, among others.