Biography of Our Mama - Felicia Abeke Abiona (Celebration of Life)

The day was Thursday, June the 14th, year 1934, Mama Felicia Abeke Abiona was born into the family of Omisanya, in Iperu Remo village of Ogun State, Nigeria. Her father’s name was Shittu Omisanya and her mother’s name was Adetoro Omisanya. At birth, she was given the name Selimo (Salimot), a name common to girls born into a Muslim family. As expected, she was practicing Islam with her parents. Her mother was one of the three wives that her father had. When mama was around age six, her mother died. But just before she died, she gave birth to another child who also died before her. It was a difficult moment for mama as a growing young child. She could hardly remember the image of her mother. Neither could she remember her words. She was only familiar with other people in her household including her father. Her father had a bookstore where he sold books to children going to school.

Mama couldn’t go to school because her grandmother came to take her. She wanted to protect her from any emotional trauma that she could incur while attending school. So, she eventually didn’t go to school. She stayed with her grandmother. She was there coping with life as a young girl.

Then, in one of those days, a woman, one of the family relatives, came to visit them in the village. She said she would like to take mama to Lagos. Hearing the story of what happened to her, it would only be expected to gain the sympathy and support of anyone who would want to help. So, her grandma allowed her to go with the woman.

On getting to Lagos, mama was exposed to a new environment. She adapted and started living with the woman. She learned hardwork and was able to build her strength while taking different responsibilities. She appreciated the fact that she found someone who could, at least be looked up to as a mother figure, while her own biological mother was no longer alive.

She was with this woman (who she called her mother) till she reached maturity and became a young adult. One day, a man came across her and wanted to introduce her to his brother. He contacted his brother and informed him of this newly found, beautiful, hardworking lady. So, mama was introduced to the man who would be her future husband, Olufemi. When he saw her, he was pleased with her and decided to take things further. He proposed to her and they agreed to marry.

Mama had a benevolent woman who had prepared a bride’s gift for her and helped her with the traditional marriage rite. In 1953, mama married her husband, David Olufemi Abiona, who she dearly loved till the time of his death. As her husband, she called him Olufe.

After their wedding, she became a Christian and changed her name from Selimo (Salimot) to Felicia. Abeke was her traditional name, and Abiona was her husband’s surname. So, her full name was Felicia Abeke Abiona.

After she became a Christian, she started going to church. At her first attendance in church, she had an encounter with the Lord. And ever since then, she had never looked back, even till the day she passed on to glory. It was just like that scripture that says – “No one who puts a hand on the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” that was exactly the case with her. She became resolute with God that she never looked back till the time of her death.

A year after her wedding, she was expecting to conceive a child but she could not. Not much worries. She moved on. Then second year came, she could not. And third and fourth, till it reached seventh year, nothing has happened. But in all of these, she was never discouraged. She was never worried or afraid of her situation. She was just focused on serving the Lord and taking care of other people’s children.

At the seventh year, something happened. There was a day she went to meet someone, then later came back home. When her husband saw her, he knew something had happened to her, especially concerning her lack of child. She told him of how the place she went was. Then, out of deep concern, her husband earnestly prayed – “God, could you please give this lady a child?” And instantly, she believed the word of her husband. And that was it! She didn’t escape that year. She conceived and gave birth to a bouncing baby boy that same year.

Not long enough, she gave birth to more children. Then later on, something happened. The fourth born died around the age of six after some sickness. Mama mourned her so much. You know as a nursing mother, who had suffered delay in having children and now had the death of one of her children, she was so heartbroken. The incident shook her, but she was never relenting in her trust in God.

She didn’t give up on her faith. She just knew that God knows everything and He did comfort her in all that she went through. And that was her attitude in all of the things that she went through. She had an undaunting trust in God that made her to be fearless in the face of challenges and troubles. Though she had many situations in life, she wouldn’t stop serving God or doing His will.

Mama was fully committed to God and his people. In the year 1978, she became the mother of the church (Iya Ijo) of Methodist church Bashua, located in Lagos, Nigeria. She loved people with the whole of her heart and was always committed to the things of God.

There were many people she helped and influenced their lives positively. There were cases of young children who had been written off by their parents because of their negative behaviors, but were trained by mama and they became people of dignity and influence in the world today. There were also cases of people who were accommodated and supported financially by mama. She helped a lot of people grow spiritually and transferred her passion for God to them. She was never discriminative, down to earth, just, humble and confident.

She believed in what she knew and was never afraid or intimidated by anyone. Cases of witchcraft or sorceries were never issue for her. She believed there is no one who is greater than God or one that God cannot change. So, she would preach the word of God to them and urge them to receive salvation.

She was quick to forgive and fond of expressing her mind. She had a common saying – “you cannot silent a bell.” Once you ring a bell, the sound must surely come out. That was her mindset. Always bold to confront issues and settle matters.

She had five of us as her children – My brother, Adeshina, Myself, Abiola, My sisters, Omolara, Olubukola, and Temitope. We were all trained in the way of the Lord. She taught us how to serve God and people. She was always concerned about our education and made sure we were all educated, which up to today, we are all grateful for. We were also not in lack of food or shelter. And mama was always taking care of us and other children. She would serve other children food when they were hungry and encouraged parents to take their children to school. She was so concerned about education. And she would scold any child when they did wrong and encouraged them when they did right. She was a disciplinarian, especially to us as her children.

She loved her husband and respected him, even till the time of his death. He died on 8th of October 1999. She was always supporting him and made a lot of financial contributions to the family. She did many businesses like selling food, children clothes, and other consumable materials. She would sometimes hawk these items in the neighborhood, just to make sure we feed and have money to go to school. She was so industrious. She hardly had time for unserious things. She was always focused and goal-oriented.

On the 6th of August 2005, mama came to the United States of America for the first time. She was so exhilarated. She saw her children and grandchildren, everyone happy and excited. There were celebrations and get-together moments. Mama toured many places around the states and stayed couple of years in-between her visits. She was so blessed to have her godly children and grandchildren and all her extended families. And she also had a unique grace of connecting with people, including relatives and friends.

When it comes to food, mama was selective and health conscious. She avoided fat and sugar, and loved to eat vegetables and fruits (bananas and oranges were her favorites). She loved to eat meat and fish, and she also loved healthy spices like garlic and ginger.

She loved to pray, especially in the night. And loved to read her bible during the day. The book of Psalms was one of her favorite scriptures. She loved to sing. She had songs for the New Year, Easter and every celebration. As children, we had learned most of her songs by repetition, because she sang them a lot. Every new year and Easter, in the morning, she would walk through the neighborhood and sing and share good news. She did that every year till the time of her passing to glory. She was such a consistent personality.

She served God till the time of her death and was an epitome of grace and humility to the people of God. She died on 19th of September, 2021 after a mild sickness. And she has become an icon of Grace never to be forgotten.

She was survived by children, grandchildren, in-laws, relatives, and all her extended families.

Adieu mama wa!