Prof. Igwilo clocks 70, presents books

Distinguished Professor Cecilia Ihuoma Igwilo, OON, the first female to be appointed as a professor of pharmacy in Nigeria and West Africa, who clocked 70 on Monday, January 23, 2023 was celebrated by family, friends, associates and mentees.

The celebration, which also marked her retirement from active service, featured a public presentation of two books.

The occasion was held at the University of Lagos (UNILAG)

The book, Our Lives…..Sustained zests of love and diligence,-gracefully blended for service, tells the true success story of a loving couple, who met one another, and are walking and working through life, searching for hope of happiness, and God found them.

The book was reviewed by Prof. Lere Baale of Business School of Netherlands

According to him, the celebration is about the triumph of direction despite the disruptions; vision despite volatility; understanding despite uncertainty; clarity despite chaos; agility despite ambiguity; resilience despite risks;  strength despite diversity and  transformation despite the force to maintain the status quo.

He said the book is about  a story of a great Couple-Distinguished Professor (Mrs.) Ihuoma Igwilo, and her husband, Engr (Dr) Humphrey Osita Igwilo, demonstrating sustained zests of love and diligence, – gracefully blended for service.

He also said the story has great lessons: These include how every God-given dream brings challenges, opposition and storms, adding that “We must never forget that every storm is a school, every trial is a test, every difficulty brings development, and every experience is education, as failure teaches success”.

Other lessons, according to him are: “Storms increase our dependence on God and increase our muscles of faith; Challenges are opportunities for growth and personal development; they can help us learn new skills, gain resilience, and build character; it’s important to remember that challenges are a natural part of life and everyone faces them at some point”.

“Rather than viewing challenges as setbacks, seeing them as opportunities to learn and grow can be helpful.  Some people may also see challenges as a way for God or a higher power to set them apart or guide them towards their true purpose, and ultimately, how we approach challenges is up to us, and it can be helpful to find a positive perspective and approach them with determination and resilience”, he further stated.

The foreword to the book said:  “It is an inspiring story of lives that began like any other life on earth, going through mountains and valleys, failures and successes, illnesses, and civil war experiences, and yet were determined at each point never to give up.

“Surrendering their lives to Jesus Christ individually and as a family, brought them on a platform of deeper and closer friendship with the Lord Jesus Christ and one another.

“Our Lives…, therefore, recommends that you honour and reverence God continually in your own life, as a couple, as a family in all your endeavours and your local church, and God will continually honour you and your family in Jesus’ name, Amen”.

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