Emilia, it's really difficult to believe that you're gone. You were a bright light, a beacon of hope, a solution provider and much more...I wish you were still here but in all things we give thanks to God. I pray God continually strengthens your Mum and Brothers. Your memory is greatly blessed.

Guilder Emilia......

As a group, we miss you as each day passes by..

We keep our hopes anchored on God for the strength to keep pressing onward.

You were a strong core of the Association when you were here.. You had the Zeal, the Words, the Tenacity for the things of God.

Collectively, we are short of words but our consolation is that you are resting in the bosom of the Lord.

We Love you. Rest on Guilder Emilia, Till we meet at Jesus Feet....

On behalf of WESLEY GUILD ( MCTT Chapter)

Sis Emilia,

I still refer to you in the present, A year without you feels like you travelled out and will soon be back..... I keep looking around the church expecting you to miraculously show up, Alas.... You have gone to rest with the Lord.....

Our Loss is heaven’s gain..... I can’t quantify how much I miss you.... You were an Shining beacon for the generation of youths behind you to emulate.....

Your absence has got me questioning the principles of Life, Business and Human Interactions however it has strengthened my faith in God....

Your smile, gait and presence made a bigger project within and outside the church seem like a plain and we marched on gallantly to conquer territories....


I Miss you Effi..... You are Forever In My Heart....

Your Legacy Lives on

My Sis. Emilia...My Rev Alaran...such were our way of greeting each other.

Till date I still felt those actions, responses, zeal, intelligence, honesty, prudent and godly ways of Sis. Emilia especially when it comes to the issue of Youths. Whenever she raise topics of young people with her wonderful big Sis. Ayo, I just have to get my words ready with facts because they will never let go till they get a convincing answer from me.

Today, I celebrate a young lady with a strong and intelligent heart of a woman.
Today, I celebrate a young lady with a loving soul of a mother.
Today, I celebrate a young lady with a strong and inspiring spirit of a godly mother.

Sis. Emilia, my wife will always remember you for your words of courage even when we felt it was over, yet through Aldersgate prayer of fellowship, we never let go the hope.

We love you but God loves you most.
We will meet to part no more!

Rev. Yemi & Sis. Yemi' Alaran

Rest On Emilia....

Someone called me last year and told me Emilia had recommended me to edit a finance related book they had written. We had not seen or spoken for almost 5 years but she still had me in mind..

Emilia,
I shall always remember our first meeting in April 2008. You had sought out my office at Borno Way, Ebute Metta, Lagos. We had never previously met. But you were very keen on meeting me in person when you learned that I hailed from Cross River State, same as yourself. Our first meeting was so animated that under 30 minutes, it seemed like we had known each other forever. We began the conversation about CSR and sustainability…we talked about the inspiration behind The SERAS. You told me how even though you didn’t quite theoretically understand the concept, it had been playing around your mind, and how you were very certain it held the keys to the future of equal opportunity and social development. You requested an opportunity to volunteer on the project, and also contributed an article in the 2009 edition of The Nigeria Social Enterprise Report. A few days ago, I read two of your articles again. It never sounded as though it was a field that was new to you. It seemed something you were born for.

You were a by-word for consummate professionalism, unending zeal, unbridled dedication, an incurable optimist, and a never-say-die attitude to life. Little wonder you served as a source of inspiration to young people in Nigeria and around Africa for all the garlands you had earned at such a young age, achievements that made your elders in the 50s and 60s hold you in awe.

You were not just a source of light…you became light itself, one that shown so bright that those of us who mourn you now are just getting to appreciate the intensity of the meaning of the life you lived and your purpose.

You have left us at 33 years of age. Interestingly, at the same age, our Lord Jesus Christ left this world, reminding us all that we must all make use of the days because a time comes when night prevails. You were the embodiment of the saying- “It is not how long, but how well.”

Your passing has taught us your final lesson as friends, colleagues, family, and community, of an impactful life well lived. You fought many battles with no recourse to the thoughts of failure. You depart having shown us all who you leave behind a noteworthy example of how to work our various corners, and leave this world better than we met it, and yet depart in a blaze of glory.

May God bless your memory forever.

She was a good communicator have ever known. I will forever miss you my role model.

I'm still shocked by your demise. However, I know you are resting in the bossom of your Creator. Your passion for sustainability and ability to simplify complex issues made you stand out. It was a privilege to work with you on a couple of initiatives including AR-CSR. You will be missed but memories of your contributions will be evergreen. Rest in perfect peace, Emilia.

I met Emilia sometime in 2009. She reached out to me, out of the blues, on LinkedIn or so, and spoke about an Africa-wide CSR conference she was co-organising. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, given that CSR was still embryonic and rudimentary at that time. I initially doubted the conference idea, but kept an open mind. Then I was at Cranfield School of Management. Emilia didn’t give up. She convinced me. I gave a keynote address at the conference. That was how I came to learn of ThistlePraxis; the consulting firm she worked for a long time. The rest is now history.

Emilia started very early and made significant contributions to the development of sustainability practice in Nigeria. In some instances, she worked silently behind the scene. She was very much a doer. She had very high standards and did her best to walk the talk. She spoke truth to power and was never short of meaningful and constructive criticisms. In my experience, it seemed it was difficult for her to pretend. She always said her mind.

It was a rude shock to me to learn of her exit. It’s actually very difficult to accept that she is no longer with us. I have no doubts she would be sorely missed.

As we celebrate her life and the friendship we shared, we pray God to console her family and loved ones with His grace and firm understanding that she didn’t just live; she was a golden gift to us all and to humanity. It’s our duty now to continue from where she stopped and sustain her legacy.

It’s hard to say rest in profound peace, our dear Emilia, until we meet to part no more!

Emilia... hmmm. You were (am I really using past tense!) special, in every sense. You were a paragon of virtue. You radiated ...joy. And love. That you were exceptionally intelligent, was abundantly obvious. You were elegant. Calm. Driven. Humble. Authentic... authentically and unapologetically you.
I met you in 2009, I think. Or maybe 2010; through my then employer's partnership with TPC. I remember once when you came for a meeting at our office, and afterwards a young colleague said, Emilia was my coursemate in Lag. And I argued, that no way can this madam that acts like everyone's 'senior', have gotten into university years after I graduated... LOL. You had an amazing sense of self-assurance, confidence, and poise.
Over the years we broke the ice and slowly found our way to a place of friendship. I remember your whatsapp status post on Nigeria's independence celebration in October 2020; and how I took you to task on what I thought were 'negative' thoughts. We went back and forth for over an hour. I think we eventually agreed to disagree... We had that in common, our forthright approach to speaking our truth.
You were one of my go-to sources for anything Sustainability. In November, I think the last time we communicated - I needed some info on reporting... I contacted three people, and you were one of them.
I could go on and on. But I'd stop here. Thank you for gracing this earth with your authenticity, in a world in which that can be a rare trait to possess. I choose to believe that you left empty; for to think otherwise would be hard to swallow. God knows best. Keep smiling, Emilia. Rest in perfect peace.

Emilia you gave so much. You were such an amazing person. You made huge impact and left an indelible mark on all you met. Your exit still hurts. May God comfort us all and especially your family. Keep resting in the bosom of the Father.

We often wonder why God takes away the best amongst us. Emilia was really an example of one whose heart, life and work showed the essence of God.

I met her 5 years ago and the. We became very close over the last one year while working on three major projects at FATE Foundation led by her and the amazing AML team members.

She was full of love and laughter. Never saw her without a smile. She had amazing Grace beyond her age. She was an ardent professional, exceptional on the path of delivery quality and was the perfect collaborator to work with. She had great respect for all her team members and engaged them with care no matter how hard the task was. She was a great believer in people, innovative, full of ideas and always one to give I’d her network and contacts. Truly an exceptional person.

She was very much ardored and will be deeply missed. May God grant her family and loved ones grace and comfort.

I love you very very much Emilia and will miss you very much.

Emilia, I am still lost for words; your passing has been a shock and I am enveloped with sadness anytime I think or remember you.
May your beautiful soul rest in perfect peace in the bossom of our most high God... Adeiu!!

Adieu my dearest Emils,
Writing this hurts! That your transition shook many of us is an understatement. So, so painful, even to the point of physical pain, however the phenomenal impact God granted you in the short time you were with us is not lost on me, you lived a life of impact worthy of tribute.
We cannot but submit to the Sovereignty of the One who created you, so beautifully, with the most endearing smile and such a sincere, warm, committed and giving heart. 
I reflect back to a decade ago when you worked briefly with the AGDC team and remain in awe at the excellent quality of your work at such a tender age, your ability to rally key stakeholders shone through at one of many forums with the private sector. An ideas machine extraordinaire, you executed and delivered tasks and recorded success with such ease. There was just no faffing around with you, if it was to be done, Emilia delivered and well too.
I remember with nostalgia your squabbles with Charlie, O Emils, you carried so much power and knew how to stand your ground, your diminutive and courageous resolve after coming to the team office to ‘separate’ one of those heated now funny moments still inspires. I salute you unapologetic woman leader.
Emils, your transition into glory leaves many reflective lessons I pray to live better by. Despite prevailing realities, I am reminded to continuously value premium talent upfront and never discount those who break ground doing the hard, unattractive work required to foster lasting change in our dear nation. Emilia, you served, you gave of yourself. You were committed to others achievement. I daresay your loss is Nigeria’s loss, a colossal one at that.
A connector and ever so resourceful, last November, I received an email about a TV recording I was going to give a polite miss, a follow up introductory email from you and I promptly responded with “I cannot say NO to you Emils” such was your endearing effect. I remain deeply grateful to God for the privilege of knowing you and will always wish He granted us all many more decades of your presence, but now You rest in His glorious, peaceful presence.
Thank you for all you contributed, I have relived our last meeting barely weeks ago, as board members of Abira Foundation, wishing I had some foreboding, it was such an enjoyable meeting; time flew past because your communication expertise infused such efficiency into our deliberations. Emils, a woman with wisdom far above her years, we honor your memory and will always miss you. Your legendary work and impact lives on. May those you left behind reap the reward of all your labour.
May the most High comfort your Mum, Siblings, Entire family, Staff, friends and us all like only He can.
Go well Emils as I fondly called you, till we meet again on resurrection morning. Go well daughter of Zion.
An Amazon now rests!

You were a star and a shinning example for many. You contributed a lot to the society. May your soul rest in peace. Amen.

Extremely sad to be writing a tribute to you Emilia, this has by far been a very rude shock to me this year. You were such an amazon. You taught me so much about self awareness, in the short time I worked with you.

I wish we had more time, I wish we talked about our project in detail. I wish we had more time to witness the greatness that you are. I’m rest assured that you’re in a much better place. We miss you dearly Emilia, thank you for your service champion!

Em! Your passing came as a huge shock to me. You were such an inspiring person. You always reached out and was super resourceful. I know you’re resting well with the angels.

You are loved Emilia - The world will definitely miss you Rest in peace.

Our beloved Emilia.

To say that we will miss you is to put it for lack of more befitting words.... Your ever warm and friendly greetings, your cheerfulness, your contagious smile that brings smiles to our own faces, your passion for your job and invaluable contributions to the Sustainability space in Nigeria ... There are indeed zillion reasons why we will forever miss you and share warm memories of you.

Rest on sis, till me meet to part no more. We love you dearly.