110-Year-Old Ezinne Nnatu: ‘I Feel Bad When I Miss Sunday Mass’

The auditorium of St. Francis Catholic Church, Urunnebo, Enugwu Ukwu was filled to capacity as family, friends and well-wishers gathered to celebrate Mama Maryanne Ogomegbunam Nnatu — popularly called Ezinne — who turned 110 on 24 August 2025. Many attendees said they came hoping to share in the blessings of her remarkable longevity.

Born in 1915, Mama Maryanne remains alert and active despite age-related senility that requires her to walk with a stick. In interviews she spoke candidly about her life, family and faith. “I am the only child of my mother for my father. I hail from Avomimi village, Enugwu Ukwu,” she said, explaining the origins of her name.

A mother of seven (five boys and two girls), she said she has outlived four of her children and is left with three. Yet she expressed no bitterness: “But I am not complaining at all.”

A lifetime farmer, Mama Maryanne described how she learned to farm from her mother and used the proceeds to build homes in Emene and Agu Igbariam. She recalled negotiating to farm on unused land, later buying a plot on which she erected a bungalow. “Farming also gave me wealth and also provided for me to build a house in my father’s house,” she said, adding that she cared for her ageing mother until her death.

On diet and daily life, the centenarian said she eats broadly — yam porridge with vegetables, beans, fufu (akpu) and other staples — and even still cooks despite her family’s objections. “I don’t like eating garri. I never did even while I was younger,” she said, noting that her son Vincent buys her Quaker oats for fufu. She described her sleep as variable: sometimes she “won’t sleep at night” thinking over life’s problems, other times she “sleep[s] well like a baby.”

Faith is central to Mama Maryanne’s identity. Converted to Catholicism after years of traditional worship, she is locally nicknamed “Bible woman” because of her devotion and regular church attendance. “I feel bad any day I miss church,” she said, explaining that priests always come to greet and bless her at Mass. She stressed a life lived by truth and good conduct: “I do not steal nor bear false witnesses against anyone. I will readily condemn evil any time any day.”

Asked about the secret of her long life, she pointed to peace, truth and forgiveness. “I never quarrelled with anyone in my life … I usually let people take all including mine when there is a quarrel. God is the ultimate judge for everything,” she said. She warned that lies bring harm and that “whatever you sow you shall reap.”

Mama Maryanne also reflected on attitudes to old age and family. She rejected insults aimed at the elderly and urged understanding: “Most of the people who laugh at old people may not achieve all I achieved as a young woman.” She praised her children for their care, singling out her son Vincent for particular devotion. Her daughter lives with her, moving between Urunnebo and Amawbia.

On regrets and social pressures, she recalled people pressuring her to share property with a daughter-in-law. She offered the woman free access to her room, but the daughter-in-law did not take anything. Mama Maryanne said she bears no grudge toward those who once pressured her and remains grateful for life and family.

As celebrants continued to pay homage at St. Francis, Mama Maryanne’s testimony — a life of farming, faith, forgiveness and family — offered a living link to a century of local history and a model of resilience for younger generations.