New Telegraph

Genevieve Nnaji: My thoughts, love and prayers are with you

Almighty God, You are the only source of health and healing. In you there is calm, and the only true peace in the universe. Grant to your daughter Genny and to each and every one of us your children an awareness of your presence, and give us perfect confidence in you. In all pain and weariness and anxiety teach us to yield ourselves to your never-failing care, knowing your power and love surround us, trusting in your wisdom and providence to give us health and strength and peace when your time is best; through Jesus Christ our Lord – Amen’

Dear Genny, as I fondly will call you. I had written a short poem for you on the 3rd of May being your birthday titled ‘The lady with alluring personality and affectionate smile’ but skipped publishing it, as it remained among my beautiful prized collections of you. I nevertheless hope you had a beautiful celebration. Since good wishes do not expire, may I wish you many more years and countless of God blessings.

I don’t know exactly what you are going through with right now, but I do know for certain that life doesn’t get more easier or more forgiving as we grow older, sometimes we don’t realize our own strength, until we come face to face with our greatest weakness and we get stronger and more resilient sheltering in the shadows of God’s love.

Beautiful hearts like yours are rare and hard to meet. I decided to write this short message to compensate for my not publishing the birthday tribute and also to remind you of courage and grace under pressure. You have to be brave and strong knowing with the Lord being your strength you can find new strength and make a new start.

For the past few weeks, social media has been saturated with stories of your failing health without being specific. Ordinarily, in this age of social media where fake news trends fast, I would have ignored and dismissed all the speculations about your health but was persuaded to pay attention when I stumbled on the post of blogger Stella Dimoko-Korkus, who gave an indication that all might not be well with you at this period. She said this is a time to intercede for good health on your behalf in prayers. 

Being ill is normal for all us mortals because we are not stones. What is more important is our quick recovery and getting well again. It shall be well with you! Whatever the situation, I just want you to know, you are not alone and will not be walking alone through your current challenges. The you I know is a fierce and talented woman. Whatever is the struggle, I know you will come out of it stronger and better.

I am neither a pastor nor a prayer warrior, but as a Christian, I do know God is still in the business of answering prayers. He listens and answers our prayers if we can take out a few moments to speak with Him in prayers. All we need to do is to be steadfast in our commitment to Him.

If indeed you are not in good health, my prayer is that God will in His mercy heal you miraculously so that you can continue doing the good works you are doing for humanity, helping the needy and those in dire poverty. I am eager to see you well again. I enjoy reading your Facebook posts which I often share with my friends. I pray to God to grant you sound health so you can get back on your feet soon. I wish to continue to read your insightful and creative postings.  

I want you to know that you are a great person. None of your current challenges will deem the beautiful woman that you are and the beauty of the good you have done to humanity. As an individual you can look back at your accomplishments and congratulate yourself knowing you have done so well in a short time.

Very few people in the world have gained the awards and recognitions you have earned on merit. Very few individuals are recognisable as much as you are. Very few people are blessed with good looks and fortune as much as you. By every standard of life, you have measured high and unmistakably a resounding success.

Just remember how far you have come. How you became your own story, blazing through the world, turning history into history. I recall with nostalgia your debut in 1998 in the movie ‘Most Wanted’. I recall how your career moved so fast wherein within a space of a few years you won the City People Best Actress of the year Award in 2001 and the African Movie Academy Award in 2005. I never forgot how proud of you I was when you were profiled in the Oprah Winfrey show in 2009 on the episode about the most popular people in the world and in 2011 when you were honoured as a member of the order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the President of Nigeria for your contributions to the Nollywood Industry. You have the audacity to live a bold life and that’s why I am immensely proud of you.

I can relate with the scar of someone trying to make your private life a public issue. Ideally, you have a right to your privacy. No one other than yourself has the right to divulge your health records. No one has the right to judge you because no one is perfect.

We all have our different shortcomings and we are all burdened by the heavy cross that we carry. Whatever the trouble, my sister, I want you to know that I love the person that you are, and my heart is where you are at this period. I am praying for you and asking God to restore and lift you higher in His fullness and to the Glory of His name.

To your daughter Dora, I urge her to remain strong, steadfast and supportive. I also hope the people that made your private health issue a public affair will eventually see Christ and seek for His forgiveness. Soon, when all is well, you’re going to look back on this period of your life and be so glad that you never gave up. God bless you!   

Inno Obiora writes from New Jersey, USA and can be reached at: innoobiorah@gmail.com       

Read Previous

Insecurity: Buhari promises to support NAF

Read Next

Igbo-Etiti/Uzo-Uwani: Protesters rejects Okeh, demand recognition of Otti as PDP candidate

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *