If encomiums could wake the dead, Late Hon. Promise Anaroke would have risen up with the kind words and numerous good deeds she was remembered for at the recent Night of Tributes and Service of Songs. The event was graced by eminent political personalities, maritime veterans, friends and a rich delegation of family members and relatives.
MMS Plus was there to fetch you the varying, yet interesting tributes!
Mrs. Mary Hamman
President, Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) Nigeria
Promise was my right hand person. She was our Public Relations Officer (PRO) in WISTA-Nigeria. It was because of her devout publicity that WISTA became very popular in the industry and beyond. She was also the wife of the publisher of MMS Plus newspaper. So MMS became ours; they will never charge us or ask us for a kobo for publicity. We always knew every of our event would be covered because of Promise. She served selflessly. She was a friend to everybody and was my confidant.
I could call Promise and we would talk for over two hours. Her husband can testify to that. She speaks Hausa and I’m also from the North. I will be speaking to her in Hausa and my husband will ask me who I am speaking to. He will say; “is she not Igbo”, I’ll say she is Hausa-Igbo. She feels at home with me and vice versa. I used to reserve all my gossips so that I can share it with Promise because I know she will give me the way to go. Whatever we discussed was for the progress of the association. I have never heard what I discussed with Promise outside. I have lost a sister. WISTA has lost a gem.
Mr. Jimi Agbaje
Ex- Governorship Candidate, PDP, Lagos State.
When things like this happen, there is tendency to say “ooh, she died young”. However, I am going to take solace that she died fulfilled. Some can be up to 60, 70 or 80 years and they will still be looking for fulfillment. Those who knew Promise saw that she had life. She was always positive. To the family and her husband, I will say that we should take consolation that she lived a life which she wanted to live. She lived a life of energy in line of service and a life of giving. We shared things in common. She had great plans. Her attitude is “you don’t make me, you are the loser”; because if she had won or had been given the ticket. She is meant to give, not to take.
What hasn’t she done? She was vibrant in church, journalism, social mobilization and many more. Please let’s take consolation. God takes when he wants and has taken Promise. My prayer is that her soul rests in peace. I pray that the family will have the fortitude to bear the loss because there is no way Promise can be in your life that you will not feel her. I pray that God will give her family the fortitude to bear the loss.
Dr. Boniface Aniebonam
Founder, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF)
Death is natural. Every one of us here has a job to do. If you really know the Lord, you will agree that we are here to serve him. As I am standing here, God has something for me to do on earth for him. Promise was here on earth to take care of Kingsley who is a problematic person. Promise has finished her assignment. She had to go. She finished her assignment because Kingsley is now better. He is no more making trouble. So, there was no need for Promise again.
In case you don’t know, Promise is already at the right side of God. She has finished her job and that’s why all of us are here to give testimony of the good life that she lived. Kingsley, you have to stop making trouble when there is no need. She tries to heal relationships.
Do we really know what God wants us to do here on the earth? For me, I know what God wants me to do. I know part of it is what I am doing which is trying to lift those that are down. Kingsley you have to stop trouble. Promise is no longer here, she is gone. Anything you do now, you are on your own!
Hajia Bola Muse
President, Women in Maritime (WIMA)- Nigeria
I want all of us to know that death is inevitable. My prayer to the family is for Almighty Allah to rest her soul. We pray that God will also console our brother, Mr. Kingsley Anaroke. Promise is a sister and a good person but Almighty Allah loves her more than we love her.
Rear Admiral Tony Amauche (Rtd)
Elder brother to Promise Anaroke
I will start by giving glory and honour to God almighty who has made it possible for us to be here this evening. I will also like to thank those who have come to this event to pay their respect to my dearest sister, Hon. Mrs. Promise Anaroke. I never knew I will have to speak about promise in past tense.
It is the will of God and I cannot question why, either can any other member of my family do the same. We were told that there is time to sow and there is time to reap. If it pleases the Almighty God to take Promise home, so be it. I have heard a lot of tribute concerning her but I will like to emphasize that all the tribute showered on her drew from the middle name her grandmother gave her. The name simply means a child who is a golden vessel. We all know how people are attracted to a golden vessel. Everybody wants to enter it and everybody wants to be carried on that boat. That is precisely what we have done today.
Promise was a man in woman’s clothing. She achieved much during her short span of life. If you take a look at the photograph shown on the screen, you would see her on elephant. As a man, I have not climbed don an elephant before. If you ask promise about the possibility of getting something done, she will say it is possible it gives me joy anytime I see her as my little sister. I have brothers before her but I confided a lot in her because I know she would be bold and truthful in whatever she wants to contribute in my decision making. Her spirit lingers on. May God give us the courage and the solace to bear her departure.
Mrs. Mfon Usoro
Secretary General, Abuja MOU
Kingsley is my son in the industry. Those of us who knew Kingsley in the 90s would remember that he had so much energy. He involved himself in so many fights. He was very aggressive, and then he met Promise. Promise brought calmness into Kingsley’s life. Promise made him direct that extra energy into priorities for himself, family and the industry. He found a true wife that was faithful, steadfast, strong and focused. Together, they became better and more impactful in the industry. Promise is a kind of woman that we all loved. She was truthful and with God’s help, she achieved her ambitions in Gods relatively short time. I am not one of those who believe that God takes a loved one. My concept of God is that he is loving and caring and he would not snatch our loved ones from us. However, he is omniscience, he is all powerful. He permits and allows the devil to do bad things and hurts us.
However, I will leave Kingsley and Promise’s family with two scriptures. John 5 vs 28-29. It says “do not be amazed at this because the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice. “And come forth- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” We have testified that promise did good things.
The second scripture is Revelation 21 vs 3-4. It says, “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away”.
Kingsley will see her again and her family will also see her again.
Mrs. Carol Ufere
Former General Manger, Servicom, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)
Promise has one way or the other of making you feel that she was part of your life. One thing I could remember vividly is when my daughter got married in the village. I didn’t expect Promise to come to the event. She didn’t even tell me that she would come. She stayed all through and when she left, the pictures she took at the wedding where published in MMS Plus newspaper. I called her a week before she died and she said she was getting better. I called her mother too and she said she was okay as at the time we spoke. When I heard that news, I called Kingsley and he confirmed it. No amount of tears will bring her back. The number of people who have come here today to celebrate her, shows that she has affected lives. She was always jovial and full of life. I was telling Mrs. Mary Hamman that when I think of death, Promise was the last person I could associate with death.
There are some people that when you see them, you don’t think that they will ever die because she was such a wonderful person. There was no dull moment around her. We are all going to miss her. The family will feel her loss. When I visited the husband, he said “she was all I had”. He said he didn’t know how to carry on because every decision was taken by Promise.
Kingsley, God is with you, he will console and strengthen you. I know the family has also had the fair share of the loss. Just believe that none of us has come to stay here permanently. Today, it is Promise we are celebrating. Tomorrow, it could be anyone of us. May God grant her soul eternal rest!
Mrs. Mercy Chinenye
PRO, Women in Logistics and Transport (WiLAT) Nigeria
We are here to identify with one of our own, Mrs. Promise Anaroke. WiLAT is a female arm of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. We have a good number of us here to identify with one of us. Promise was one of the founding members of WILAT. Promise was known for thoroughness in whatever she does. She was hardworking and creative. She added value to whatever she did.
Promise was a board member of Kings Communications Limited, publishers of MMS Plus newspaper. MMS Plus stood by WiLAT especially when we wanted to do our magazines. Promise was always there. She would go out to ensure that whatever she was doing came out well.
It is not a time to cry. It is not how long she lived, but how well. Promise has impacted lives. She was a cheerful person. Wherever she was, you would know that she was there. She flows with virtually everybody. In fact when the news got to me that she was dead, I was shocked. We spoke not quite long before she died when I was to deliver something in Enugu. She made sure that thing got to the person. I am encouraging all of us today. I pray that God will encourage the family. He will give them the fortitude to stand and to bear this great loss.
Mr. Shola Fadeyi
Vice President, League of Maritime Editors and Publishers (LOMEP)
Sometime last month, we were to have a meeting of the group. Naturally Mr. Kingsley Anaroke as the president was supposed to be there. He was busy but we were planning. When he came eventually, he broke the news that he lost his wife. We couldn’t believe it.
As time went on, we put solace in the fact that God has given and he has taken. We know one thing for sure as members of the league that Promise Anaroke was somebody with a legion of attributes. Is it her selflessness, philanthropy, ability to organize, capability and reliability. I can go on and on. I know that everyone of us who is here today has a lot of good things to say about her.
We should take solace in the fact that she is resting in the bosom of the Lord. That is the most important thing. She has come, she has won the race. She has done her part. The rest should be for us. We can only say that God who has given her to us and has taken her knows best. We pray that her soul and the souls of the people departed will continue to rest in perfect peace. We pray that God will give those whom she has left behind the fortitude to bear the loss.
Mrs. Obiageli Obi
Director General, Nigerian Chamber of Shipping (NCS)
Whenever we got to a stumbling block, Promise would say “we can do it”. When she was in Enugu, she was on top of her game. This is the life she should have lived all her life. In Enugu, she was able to magnet people; she had so much influence on people. She had so much confidence, you couldn’t say no to her. She was so thoughtful, she knew what she wanted and she was a goal getter.
Mr. Bolaji Akinola
Chief Executive Officer, Ships and Ports Limited
Promise and I were family friends. Kingsley is my twin brother and as brothers we had differences. Promise was always the peace-maker anytime crisis arose. Anytime we had disagreement and I feel strongly that I needed someone to call, I called Promise. Anytime we had our struggles, he will say “don’t care promise, let me and you sort this”. I’ll say I’m fine with that but immediately I call her that is the end of the matter.
She was full of life and there is no doubt about that. I never saw her frown, she was always smiling. She had that natural smiling face. She gives her life. The meaning of her middle name means God has the final say and I think that is true. God has the final say in the affairs of her life and he has decided to call her home. We only pray that she will rest in peace and God will console Kingsley. No amount of human words can console him. He has lost his better half. It’s going to be a difficult time but we pray that God will give Kingsley the grace to navigate through. I just want to appeal to all of us in the industry to institutionalize the qualities that promise stood for. Kingsley is not one to ask for favors or to beg. I will appeal to us to support him. Promise was part and parcel of the industry. She was everywhere. She was in WISTA, WILAT and WIMA. She was involved in bonded terminal, media and in the maritime industry too. Certainly, we will miss her.
Otunba Kunle Folarin
Chairman, Nigerian Ports Consultative Council
We all know how it feels but we are thankful for a life that was well spent. She was full of life. She left with a Promise that she will be back, she will be with all of us and she will be with her husband in these times. I pray that God gives her perfect peace.
