Fatima Blessing Ocholi, the beautiful wife of James Ocholi, the minister of state for labor died today, along with her husband and one of their sons, in a tragic accident on the Abuja-Kaduna expressway.
In an interview in November, Fatima from Ejinya, Okenyi District in Ankpa Local Government of Kogi state, said she had a pictorial imagination of the kind of marriage she wanted in what has turned to be a short life.
“I actually started planning my marriage ahead of time—I always knew what I wanted. I learnt a lot of things concerning marriage, and I kept the record in my mind and decided I will emulate the values that are right. I had respect for marriage. I came to the conclusion that it’s a good thing.
“The secret is that I had planned my marriage pictorially ahead. I understood the fact that in marriage two people come to live together from different backgrounds. I understood that, and made allowances for mistakes, and that was what guided me principally, every day I tailor my actions towards the best, to set my home in order”, she said.
She met her husband while both of them were in school and such was the bond of love that James after graduating from law school, moved to Ankpa, his wife’s town to practice.
Both had planned to get married after James completed his National Youth Service Program and start a family right away. In moving to Ankpa, a provincial town, James was fulfilling a promise he made.
Though legal practice in Ankpa was not materially rewarding to James, his brilliance, however, shone beyond the small Igala town, up to Kaduna, where he met a senior Lagos lawyer, Kehinde Onafowokan, who invited him to Lagos to set up shop there.
James Ocholi did not just jump out of Ankpa. He said in an interview that he did so, with the prayerful backing of his wife.
After close to a decade practice in Lagos, James Ocholi moved to Abuja, where he practiced until he joined partisan politics. He became a senior advocate of Nigeria in 2006, 20 years after leaving the law school.
“In Blessing Fatima Ocholi I have seen the benefits of being married to a woman who loves God. She not only came into my life when I had nothing but all through by her prayers and steadfast support she became one of the pillars of my success as she partook in the challenges of my professional pursuit”, he said.
May the souls of the two love birds rest in peace!