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By Ibeh Aso
At 12:31 am August 4, 2019, my phone rang from an unexpected caller at that hour. I picked up my phone to see who was calling and was surprised and worried my friend and brother Wilcox Akadakpo was the caller. The sight of his name on my phone triggered many thoughts on my mind. Rightly so, because our communication is limited to WhatsApp messages and phone calls are usually within working hours. What could have happened I asked myself? Something terrible must have happened I concluded but I remained optimistic, courageous, and positive. Sadly, it turned out our wife, sister and friend Jennifer Akadakpo had slept peacefully in death two hours ago in faraway Indian Land, South Carolina, USA.
My first meeting with Jennifer was in 2010 when for the first time I visited the USA at the instance of her husband Wilcox Akadakpo. Wilcox and I have come a long way, growing up together in one of the most popular and populous city in Lagos, Ajegunle. Our relationship has continued with mutual respect even after Wilcox relocated to the States. I remember with nostalgia receiving his first letter soon after he relocated to Daytona Beach, Florida with a postcard in it. Proudly, I am certain I was one of the very few he wrote at that time. Now, many years have passed I was travelling to the States to be with my friend and wife Jennifer Akadakpo. I was worried about my friend’s wife. What’s her personality and character? What will be the reception, meeting her for the first time?
I arrived Waynesboro, Pennsylvania October 2010 in their warm embrace and well-prepared dish by Jennifer. Jennifer’s smile, hospitality and love were unhypocritical. She was an epitome of kindness and this endeared her to all who came in contact with her. During the week, she masterminded what will prove to be the high point of my vacation, the visit to the three Branch offices of Jehovah’s witnesses in the United States of America at that time (Brooklyn, Patterson and wakhill). Jennifer was so proud of her husband Nigerian heritage and will ask me so many questions about our growing up in Ajegunle, Nigeria. No one will believe we were just meeting for the first time because of our interactions.
Following that memorable visit, my relationship with my friend and his wife Jennifer grew even stronger. Jennifer, my wife Olabisi and my children bonded so well with many visits to their home in the States. Her mother inlaw Lina Akadakpo was very fond of her, their cordial relationship can’t be described. Wilcox sometimes felt Jealous watching them discussing, most times it’s a plan against Wilcox. Jennifer was a bridge builder. Although Wilcox mum and father were separated, Jennifer will not take side. Remarkably, she will ensure her father-in-law who couldn’t visit the State gets gifts from her through me. I can’t tell you the feelings those gifts evoke in the father-in-law when I deliver them.
Jennifer’s love for Nigerian food will cause you to salivate. At the slightest opportunity of our visiting, she is so happy that her freezers will be replenished with Nigerian soups and stews, especially for her husband. During my last visit to their South Carolina home in March 2019 at the critical point of her sickness, Jennifer will not resist the taste of my soup. Perhaps, she knew that would be her last taste of Nigerian soup. That night before my departure to Georgia, Atlanta she thanked me so much for visiting and especially for bringing along food ingredients and cooking for Wilcox. She told me how she wished her health had allowed her visit Nigeria again. Unknown to me that would be the last time we would share good times together until paradise. I was glad I made it.
Jennifer was born on November 8, 1977, in Daytona Beach, Florida to Judy and Leron Howard. On June 3, 1995, same day she graduated from High School, she got baptised as one of Jehovah’s witnesses. After her baptism and as her love for Jehovah grew, she set spiritual goals for herself. She reached one of those goals on June 1, 1999, when she became a full-time minister and spent many hours helping her neighbours to learn of the Bible’s promises of a future paradise in a world without pain, sickness, or death(Revelation 21:3,4).
She met Wilcox Akadakpo from Ededebiri Village, Sagbama Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, Nigeria who also shared same goals she had. They got married on January 20, 2001, and she continued her full-time service until November 2017 when her circumstances changed, and her health was declining. Sadly, on August 3, 2019, Jennifer Lynn Akadakpo peacefully slept in death after years of battle with Cancer. Jennifer lived a life of self-sacrifice, spending time in Daytona Beach, Florida, Germantown Maryland, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, Severn Maryland, India Land, South Carolina helping some to develop and rekindle their love for Jehovah.
Jennifer Lynn Akadakpo was a true Witness and a Nigerian.
Ibeh Aso
Lagos, Nigeria