Since the tragic demise of Oluchi Anekwe, a 300 level accounting student of the University of Lagos who was electrocuted on campus last Tuesday evening, the flow of sympathisers has swelled by the minute – men, women and even children – everybody has turned up to commiserate with the household. It is the most difficult period for the Anekwes, a catholic family from Aku in Enugu State.
A promising, God-loving and talented young lady, Oluchi had everything going for her...
At barely 22 (she could have attained that age on December 5); she was on top of her academic and social life. A high flying student of accounting with an envious grade in school – first class – her dream of becoming a renowned investment banker in the future was gradually taking shape. To further cement her future and enrich her resume, Oluchi was already preparing to sit for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria exams later this month in her bid to become chartered before graduating from the university.
Such was her love for excellence. But last Tuesday, all those lofty dreams went up in flames after tragedy struck. Oluchi would now be buried on the week she was supposed to sit for the ICAN test – an ambition she had pursued with unflinching passion and determination in recent months.
“It still feels like a dream that my daughter is gone,” Chief Basil Anekwe, her distraught father told our correspondent on Thursday at the family home. Days of shedding tears had taken toll on him. His eyes were a bit swollen while his skin had become unusually pale – a testament to how heartbroken his daughter’s tragic and sudden demise had left him.
“She was the star of the family,” he continued. “Always striving to become the best at her academics. Even as a first class student, she wasn’t satisfied, she wanted to break records and was already discussing where she would prefer to do her Master’s degree. That was who Oluchi was.
“I remember that last Sunday, she called and asked me to send her some money since her elder sister, Nkem, was staying with her at her apartment behind the school because of the distance from Okota to her office. I promised that she was going to get some money from me by Wednesday at most. So, on Wednesday morning that I had planned to go send her the money, I got a call from my eldest son that Oluchi was very ill and that she was in the hospital. Suddenly, I saw my driver show up at my apartment in Ogun State where I work; I was surprised to see him. Not quite long, my son called and told me that he had sent the driver to pick me to come to Lagos as a result of Oluchi’s sickness. At that point, I became restless. The driver didn’t utter a word to me.
“When I finally got to Lagos, I asked to be taken to the hospital to see her. I insisted on seeing her at the hospital because I assumed she was alive. But when we got to LUTH and the driver was going towards the mortuary, I began to think that the girl might have died after all. I insisted on seeing her and they wheeled her out of the morgue, she was almost laughing. One of my daughters brought out holy water and rubbed it on her mouth, telling her to stand up that we were here to take her home. Her neck was still lose, it wasn’t stiff yet. In fact most parts of her body were still not stiff after staying there throughout the night. My wife wasn’t even aware at that point. It was later that evening that the news was broken to her.
“Her death is a big loss to us,” he said before breaking down in tears.“It still feels like a dream that my daughter is gone,” Chief Basil Anekwe, her distraught father told our correspondent on Thursday at the family home. Days of shedding tears had taken toll on him. His eyes were a bit swollen while his skin had become unusually pale – a testament to how heartbroken his daughter’s tragic and sudden demise had left him.
“She was the star of the family,” he continued. “Always striving to become the best at her academics. Even as a first class student, she wasn’t satisfied, she wanted to break records and was already discussing where she would prefer to do her Master’s degree. That was who Oluchi was.
“I remember that last Sunday, she called and asked me to send her some money since her elder sister, Nkem, was staying with her at her apartment behind the school because of the distance from Okota to her office. I promised that she was going to get some money from me by Wednesday at most. So, on Wednesday morning that I had planned to go send her the money, I got a call from my eldest son that Oluchi was very ill and that she was in the hospital. Suddenly, I saw my driver show up at my apartment in Ogun State where I work; I was surprised to see him. Not quite long, my son called and told me that he had sent the driver to pick me to come to Lagos as a result of Oluchi’s sickness. At that point, I became restless. The driver didn’t utter a word to me.
“When I finally got to Lagos, I asked to be taken to the hospital to see her. I insisted on seeing her at the hospital because I assumed she was alive. But when we got to LUTH and the driver was going towards the mortuary, I began to think that the girl might have died after all. I insisted on seeing her and they wheeled her out of the morgue, she was almost laughing. One of my daughters brought out holy water and rubbed it on her mouth, telling her to stand up that we were here to take her home. Her neck was still lose, it wasn’t stiff yet. In fact most parts of her body were still not stiff after staying there throughout the night. My wife wasn’t even aware at that point. It was later that evening that the news was broken to her.
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| Late Oluchi's siblings |
Oluchi’s immediate elder sibling, Nkem – a practising lawyer – gave a vivid account of her last moments before the sad incident. The 26-year-old told PUNCH that she could have survived had staff of the UNILAG medical centre attended to her immediately she was rushed to the facility. She said they insisted on seeing her Identity card before checking her.
Nkem also revealed that her sibling had a premonition of something terrible happening a few days before the sad incident. She battled to contain her emotions while pouring out her heart.
“Last Sunday while at one of our prayer meetings in church, the man of God asked us to rebuke every monitoring spirit assigned to follow us about. Immediately, Oluchi got on her knees and started praying seriously, crying for God to rebuke evil away from her. I had never seen her pray like that before. It was as if she knew death was around the corner,” Nkem said.
In one of her last posts on Facebook, Oluchi had given an insight into perhaps what was to come.
Late Oluchi wrote: "Many are born great but die unknown...everything that makes us human is vain."
“Last Sunday while at one of our prayer meetings in church, the man of God asked us to rebuke every monitoring spirit assigned to follow us about. Immediately, Oluchi got on her knees and started praying seriously, crying for God to rebuke evil away from her. I had never seen her pray like that before. It was as if she knew death was around the corner,” Nkem said.
In one of her last posts on Facebook, Oluchi had given an insight into perhaps what was to come.
Late Oluchi wrote: "Many are born great but die unknown...everything that makes us human is vain."
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