Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Joy Ezinwa Thomas (1953-2015)

By EDITOR
06 March 2015   |   11:00 pm
THE late Sister Joy Ezinwa Thomas was truly a born again Christian and everyone around her knew her to be so until she passed on to glory. She was born in Zaria in 1953 into the family of Mr. Martins Opute, who worked with the Nigerian Railways, and Mrs. Helen Ayodele Aideyan (nee Osanife), who…

EZINWA--7-3-2015

THE late Sister Joy Ezinwa Thomas was truly a born again Christian and everyone around her knew her to be so until she passed on to glory. She was born in Zaria in 1953 into the family of Mr. Martins Opute, who worked with the Nigerian Railways, and Mrs. Helen Ayodele Aideyan (nee Osanife), who worked with the department of Nigerian Customs.

  However, her father died when she was a little girl of over two years. She and her younger sister were brought up by their wonderful mum with the support of relatives. 

  She lived in Ebute Meta, Lagos, and had a memorable childhood. Everyone remembers her for her wits and athletic attributes. She attended Anglican Primary School, Lagos, and Holy Child College, Ikoyi, Lagos. With a good grade in her West African School Certificate (WASC) exams, she was admitted to Yaba College of Technology in 1972, where she read Accountancy. She wrote her professional examination and earned the ACCA (part 1).

  Buoyed by her success, her uncle, a chartered accountant, encouraged her to go to England. Through her mum and uncle’s financial support she qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1980.

  The late Ezinwa’s walk with God started in 1974. While at Yaba College of Technology, she was invited to Flat 7, University of Lagos (UNILAG) for a Bible study, which she attended. After the Bible study, she was eager to know more about the way of the Lord. She met the late wife of the General Overseer of Deeper Life Bible Church, Sister Abiodun Kumuyi who personally led her to the Lord. 

 Even when she left for England in 1975, she carried on with her convictions. She readily spoke to everyone around her about her new life in Christ and was well known by her compatriots in the Overseas Fellowship of Nigerian Christians (OFNC).

 She returned to Nigeria and started fellowship with the Foursquare Gospel Church. When her husband was transferred to Kano in 1985 and there was no branch of Foursquare Gospel Church there then, they settled with the Deeper Life Bible Church. She was made a woman coordinator in Port Harcourt in 2008 and carried on her duty for the Lord to the end.

0 Comments