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Hundreds of people turned out to Newry Town Hall last night for an emotionally charged vigil for Anu Okusanya who died in tragic circumstances in Newry late last month. Family members present including her son Olaitan (Ola) who had planned to come to Newry today in hope and expectation to start a new life with his mother but tragically her funeral is one of the first things he will be doing.
The proceedings were ably led by Jordan Poucher from Poucher's Funeral Directors who are in charge of funeral arrangements while Janice from Newry Christian Centre led the crowd in song.
Jordan explained the circumstances surrounding Anu's son Ola "who arrived today to join his mum in honourably serving all of us, our community, our elderly and our loved ones in Ashgrove Home. Never in a million years did he or any of us expect instead to be standing here tonight in memory of our sister Anu. Whilst it will be remiss of us all here tonight not to note the disgusting facts that surrounded Anu's tragic death, we remember most importantly why we are here this evening and that of course is to remember and to pay tribute to Anu."
Anu was born on April 29, 1978, the last of five children. She was a highly intelligent and dedicated teacher who later became a carer following her mother's dementia diagnosis. On August 24, 2022, she experienced a heart attack after witnessing an altercation, having previously faced life-threatening attacks and subsequently died days later. The community, including the union Unison turned out in force to offer support and have already raised over £9,000 for Anu's son, Ola, to start his career in the health sector. The meeting concluded with the Lords prayer and a reminder of Anu's funeral on Saturday at 1pm at Monkshill Chapel of Ease.
Anu's brother Gbenga spoke eloquently and passionately about his sister, showing the great love that the family had for her and the immense loss they have experienced.
Gbenga said "Just a few weeks ago Anu and I were looking forward to today. We were looking forward to today, because today was supposed to be the first time that she would have seen her son since the last 15 months.
"Today was a day that she was supposed to reunite with him. We planned to go to the airport this morning to pick him up and spend the whole day together. That cannot happen, but I think Anu is looking down here tonight and she's proud that her son is not alone. She can see each and every one of us, and I'm sure she's happy knowing that Ola has got a lot of uncles and aunties and parents and brothers and sisters, I want to say you are not alone Ola."
He continued "We're a very, very, very close family. Every single day we would chat, every single day we would be in touch with one another.
"My evenings will never be the same again, because when I go for walks in the evenings, for about an hour and a half, I'm on the phone talking to Anu almost every day. So Anu went to primary school in a place called Ikeja in Lagos, Nigeria, and she went to secondary school, and then she went to Ogun State University to study mathematics and education. She was highly, highly, highly intelligent, and she graduated and became a teacher. She taught so many young people. She was good at teaching younger children, and she did a fantastic job. I'm not going to call names, but one of the celebrities that we know out there today was a student of Anu's, she was a brilliant teacher.
"And there was a time our mum fell ill with dementia, and she needed care. Anu decided to change her career from a teacher to a carer. She went, studied all about care, and she became a carer to her mum. She did a fantastic job. She was excellent. She was really, really excellent.
"Our mum was so happy to help her. She cared for her mum until she passed some years ago, and since then, Anu has remained a carer to elderly people, and on the 15th of May just last year, Anu came into this country to work in Ashgrove Nursing Home as a carer. She done a fantastic job there, from what we've heard and everyone in the home isquite devastated and proud of what she achieved."
Speaking of the day that Anu took ill Gbenga said "I will start by saying on the 24th of August was the Day that things turned around. It was the day ... it was the day we got a phone call ...
"It was the day that she finished her shift as usual. She was walking home, she witnessed an altercation, and she called the police immediately, of course, but she feared for her life because of the experiences she had the preceding months where she had been attacked by youths on the streets on various occasions.
"I could only remember two other occasions, but in the last few days, we were going through her records, and we saw that there was much more, and we saw that she was scared for her life. And she wrote, she actually spoke it out. She said that she was scared for her life. The normal routes to the shop, she couldn't take those routes anymore. She said she had to go through a long route. She said even some evenings on the way back from work, these same youths will come at her and start throwing bottles at her, it was traumatic for her, and she said it that she was scared for her life. So on the 24th of August, we can imagine what she was going through and she ran. She thought she was running for her life, but she ran to her death.
"She had to run to a colleague's house, and that's when she suffered a cardiac arrest. Actually, she suffered four cardiac arrest within two hours, and she had to be put on the life support for some days and on the 28th of August she was declared dead."
With incredible fortitude Gbenga added his wish for the youths involved "It is very difficult to take, extremely difficult. I just want to say thank you so much for your support. Nevertheless, I want to pray for those youths. My prayer for them is that the Lord will have mercy upon them and show them His grace, that the Lord will bring them out of that darkness that they are in into his marvelous light, that the Lord will deliver them from that bondage and that life of chaos and lead them to true peace and take away the foolishness of this world and give them Godly wisdom. Thank you very much, God bless."
Jordan Poucher commented "How Gbenga had the strength, not only to go through this past few weeks, but to stand here this evening and to pray for Anu's attackers and for their forgiveness, I think that just shows the type of family that they are."
Introducing Hannah McIlveen from Unison Jordan said "I spoke briefly earlier about Anu's family in Unison, and upon hearing the tragic passing of Anu and the circumstances that surrounded it, Hannah immediately reached out to ourselves and offered not only very substantial support in the main ways, but was determined to support Ola in his journey over here to work in the health sector."
The Unison representative said "It's great to see you all here this evening as we come together in solidarity and rememberance to honour a remarkable woman Anu who arrived in Ireland just over 18 months ago with high hopes of a new life, a better prospect for her and her family.
"It says a lot about Anu's character when she bravely went to the aid of a person being attacked by a gang who had previously attacked her. Anu paid a high price for her bravery, and we stand together this evening with her family, her friends and the people of Newry to offer our sincere and heartfelt condolences to all those who loved Anu. We honour her memory and pledge that we will continue to fight against racism in our communities, and will send a clear message that all are welcome here. Rest in peace Anu."
Jordan Poucher ended the speeches with thanks on behalf of Anu's family. "Firstly, can I thank the medical staff of both Daisy Hill and Craigavon Area Hospital, who looked after Anu in her final days. Caring for others was in Anu's DNA, and the loving care she received from her health care colleagues will never be forgotten. Thanks to our trade union community, and in particular, Hannah from Unison, who I spoke of earlier, upon hearing of Anu's passing reached out to offer any support she and the Union could offer. And I'm under no doubt that Ola, as you begin your new career here in Newry that support will remain unwavering.
"Thank you to our local press, and in particular, Newry Reporter and their editor, Michael Scott, who even this evening is still behind the camera. Michael, first highlighted Anu's story, which led to not only national coverage, but commanded direct dialogue which had not existed before between the police and Anu's family. You may have seen also that Michael and the Newry Reporter started a Go Fund Me Campaign, which has now raised over £9000. This will give Ola the secure and safe footing that he can start his life here in Newry, one that he absolutely deserves. And just a brief word to say, given the Newry Reporter was under threat of closure not too long ago, it just shows the priceless contribution that our local press make to our community."
Jordan concluded "Finally, a word of thanks to you, the people of Newry and further further afield. Ever since the tragic news of Anu's passing, you've wrapped your arms around the family and shown nothing but love. You've spoken of Anu's story, supported, the family, shared, commented, donated, and shown, most importantly, that hate will never ever win. Love will always conquer fear.
"To the commmunity of Damolly in particular, who have been dealing with the scourge of antisocial behavior for several years now. You are to be commended in your response to Anu's passing, and to Ola, whether you choose to stay in Damolly or live elsewhere in our city or across our district, you are in safe hands my friend. What happened to your mum has never happened before, and we and every single person here tonight can guarantee you, it will never, ever happen again.
As you might have guessed by now, Anu was a devout Christian in faith, not only in her faith, but she was a Christian in her daily life and actions. Mark Chapter 10, verse 45 reads 'For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve' and that Anu did each and every day."
Anu's funeral celebration will take place this Saturday at one o'clock in Monkshill Chapel of ease and burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. All are welcome.
If you would like to contribute to the Go Fund Me fundraiser you can at this link www.gofundme.com
