Opinion:By Nwachukwu Ogbuagu
I first heard of Mary Mitchell Slessor, the compassionate and selfless Scottish missionary, in the social studies classes of my primary school. In 1876, Slessor left her home in Aberdeen, Scotland, and journeyed to West Africa, and to Calabar, south of Nigeria, where among other good works she did, fought so hard to stop the killing of twins. She adopted many abandoned children and raised them well. The legacies of the highly revered woman continue to live on years after her death in Use Ikot Okot, Calabar, on 13 January 1915, aged sixty-six.
Slessor was buried in Duke Town, Calabar. During her first state visit to Nigeria in 1956, Queen Elizabeth II visited her grave and laid a wreath on it.
Streets and avenues have been named after her in the south of Nigeria. Her statues adorn many areas of Calabar, Nigeria. Her image is on the ten pound note issued by the Clydesdale Bank of Scotland. Many books have been published on her life and times. Twins in Calabar, identical and dizygotic, gather every year to celebrate her exemplary life and to bless her memory for saving their lives.
One of the pictures here shows me at Mary Slessor’s grave at Duke Town, Calabar, Nigeria, in August 2012.
The great and famous Scottish missionary was born on the 3rd day of December in 1848.
Happy birthday, Sister Mary! Thanks so much for having been so good.God bless your soul forever. Amen. ~Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu