Centenarian Widow Madam Caroline Ekwedo Bows Out At Nnokwa Idemili South Council Area

changed. The establishment of a detention facility for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay visibly bent legal standards. Hidden from public view, the government authorised "enhanced interrogation techniques", using bizarre legal definitions to authorise practices that have been considered torture. Anger also hampered the country's ability to stick to clear, strategic goals abroad. September 11 spurred a disjointed approach to the conflict in Afghanistan, which justifiably sought to capture Osama bin Laden, only for the wider mission to be confused by the invasion of Iraq. This made what was known as the war on terror a convoluted endeavour with overly grand ambitions in both Afghanistan and Iraq. President Joe Biden now criticises this as an era of "nation building". The US military proved very effective at defeating enemies, but far less so at engaging with new governments to keep change on track and create stability for people in the region. With a sudden spike in the public's interest about Washington's policy in the Middle East, decisions were too often based off what administrations believed would win over domestic opinion. Mr Biden's rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan is an example. One of the only crossparty issues left in the US, the decision to leave the country still polls well, although there is widespread feeling that it was carried out poorly. It might be popular, but there is no evidence it will make American's safer, the government's main responsibility. It was scheduled to be over in time for tomorrow's anniversary. A better policy would have been centred on America's moralresponsibilitytowardsAfghans, not a symbolic date. Between the beginning of 2020, when former US president Trump signed a deal with the Taliban, and July 2021, almost 4,700 Afghan civilians were killed, more than 9/11's death toll. Some of the Americans killed in the attack on Kabul Airport last month were born after the September 11 attacks. After two difficult decades, a more resigned America does not mean the end of engagement in the region. Its relations with the many Arab states that remain committed to helping the global effort to combat terrorism run far too deep to be shaken anytime soon. And in a decade, emotions might be less raw and more reflective; many Americans will be too young to remember 9/11 by then. But maybe not. The horror of the day is still hard to ignore; twenty years on, 40 per cent of the remains of victims of the attack remain unidentified. However the world deals with the trauma of 9/11 going forward, the lesson it taught America will not change: the emotions that motivate us can, if not moderated, also cloud our judgement. After the Twin Towers fell, clear-headedness was nearimpossible, and that is why it was needed more than ever.

Family, relations and friends recently gathered at Ubili village Nnokwa, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, to perform the rites of passage of a childless centenarian widow, Madam Caroline Agumma Ekwedo. Late Madam Ekwedo, who lost her husband in her prime, over seventy years ago, also lost her only girl child later in life. However, Ma Ekwedo was able to wade through life by the grace of God, till three months ago when she died at the age of one hundred and one. Her burial was actually a celebration of longevity, as parishioners of St Mary’s Catholic

Church, Nnokwa, Umuada Ahamnonu Nnokwa, her fellow aged men and women, joined her family, relations, friends and those positively touched by her life story in participated in the befitting ceremony. In a homily during requiem mass organised in her honour at St Mary’s Pro Cathedral Church, Nnokwa, Reverend Father Collins Ogbannu extolled the persevering attitude of the late centenarian, pointing out that her strong faith in God saw her outlive most of her contemporaries, even when she had no offspring of her own to fend for her at old age.

Father Ogbannu recalled how the old woman used to exhibit cheerfulness and treat other people as her own children, adding that such attracted her favours from God and love from relations, even distant towns men and women. He prayed God to give her soul eternal repose, while tasking the living on faith and positive lifestyles, which will transform them into happy and Godly people. In an interview during the funeral, the Traditional Prime Minister of Nnokwa, Chief Richard Okelu, now in his eighties, nostalgically recalled when Ma Caro Ekwedo was married into the family, adding that she remained friendly, jovial and a uniting force. For her youngest surviving brother, Mr John Obijekwu, late Ma Caro Ekwedo was more of a mother to him than a sister, as she was a very industrious woman, kind and generous, thanking all who contributed to her well being and her funeral. Various groups and societies paid their last respect to the deceased, as well as condolences, while cultural dances and an age-long dance by elderly Church women, known as ‘egwu agadi ndi-uka’, featured at the funeral.