The popular
government field at Agbor, headquarters of Ika South local government area,
Delta State was filled with guests last week as the Agbor community joined the
Mahiagu family to bid a community leader, and illustrious son of Agbor kingdom,
Mr. Basil Ifeanyi Mahiagu, farewell.
The activities lined up for the
burial ceremony started with a service of songs held in his Gbenoba Street
residence in Agbor, on Thursday, last week. This was followed the next day with
a funeral mass at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Agbor. The funeral mass
was presided by the parish priest, Very Rev Fr. John Aduba.
In his homily, he reminded
Christians of the need to remain faithful to the Almighty God and avoid sin,
saying that the whole essence of Christianity
is to serve God faithfully and at the end make heaven. He prayed God to
grant the soul of the former Agbor Community president-general eternal rest.
In their tributes, children of
the deceased, described their father as a great, loving, caring and peaceful
man, who lived all his life for the good of his family, community and humanity
in general. They prayed God to grant the soul of their departed patriarch
eternal rest.
According to his biography, Mr.
Basil Ifeanyi Mahiagu was born in Orogodo to the family of Meonyeasua and
Gerald Ogala Mahiagu in Ohumere quarters, and the Otonagbon chieftaincy family
of Oruru-Idumu Agbamise in Ime-Obi, Agbor.
He attended Government School
and Local Authority Secondary Modern School, all in Agbor. He had a Diploma in
Public Administration from the University of Benin, and underwent several
courses which made him a certified public administrator.
His public service career which
spanned through 35 years, saw Mr. Maluagu progress steadily through the
clerical grades to the executive cadre. He retired in 1992.
He was descried as a great Agbor
patriot, a man of many parts, and wisdom, whose wealth of experience was
recognized early, leading to his appointment
to the advisory committee of His Royal Majesty, Ikenchuku 1, Obi of
Agbor kingdom in the 1970s. He was the chairman, Agbor Historical Records
Committee and as the president-general, Agbor community he confronted headlong
the myriads of issues confronting the community with honesty and devotion to
the common good of all. His immense knowledge of the colonial records and
intelligence reports is unparalleled.
On the political scene, Mr.
Mahiagu was a member of the defunct Grassroot Democratic Movement (GDM) and
lately, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where he served in various
leadership positions including the local government area executive. He was also
a member of the Otu-Nmu Nne, Ohumere community association (Ikekeze) and
patron, Iregwa Traders Union, among others. Until his transition to eternal
glory at the age of 73 years. He was a Justice of Peace (JP). He is survived by
his wife, Ezinne Elizabeth Mahiagu, JP, seven children and grand children.
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