“You gave your last breath in my arms” – Late singer, Ifunanya’s best friend pens heartfelt tribute after her demise from snake bite; shares her last messages to him

Late singer, Ifunanya Nwagene’s best friend, Paschal Nworgu, has written a heartbreaking tribute after she passed away over the weekend from a snake bite.

Ifunanya was in her apartment in Abuja when a snake crawled in and bit her, leading to her de@th on Sunday, February 1.

In a post shared on his Facebook page, Paschal recounted how they met seven years ago and remained friends. He revealed that Ifunanya d!ed in his arms and also released a screenshot of the message he received from her after the snake bite.

He wrote

”I never knew I would loose you after 7 years Ifunanya Nwangene  and from last year I always spoke about our 7th year

We met and had a conversation for the first time on the 27th of January 2019 at Hymnodia season one, second day of audition in Ikeja Lagos and we bonded magically from day one, from the last quarter of 2025 I would always remind you that our 7 years anniversary as friends is fast approaching and we’d always reminisce the first day we met and how we joyfully sang to ourselves that day. I remember convincing you to come to Abuja for your NYSC in 2020 instead of going to PH, and then explore music here with me. I assured you that with your raw talent and a little push you’d be at the top, you’d be the most sought-after soprano and crossover singer… and it all came to pass. 

This was just the beginning of your career, and then death took you away from me. I remember when you told me in September 2024 that you want to draw closer to God and I encouraged you to make it reflect in your contents by posting more of sacred songs, from the very first post you made after that decision which I gave you the video to post, it was a paradigm shift in your music career, you drew souls to God with your singing, from that post up until now, especially during the 30 days lenten hymn challenge last year, to the champions league anthem, You never failed to send me every of your videos for me to decide on which one to post or sometimes to edit for you before posting. 

My phone was almost yours, you gained fans so rapidly and had so much attention to the extent of quitting your job where you worked as an architect, after asking for my opinion as usual. You had so many plans, too numerous to mention. We had duo plans too, there was no other perfect duet partner aside from you. You left without accomplishing your 2026 plans. I watched you, the closest person in my life struggle for breath, right before my eyes and my arms. I couldn’t believe that was your last breath, which made me to tell the doctor to check again even after they had carried out CPR. 

It was unbelievable, your skin was still fresh, even though your tongue and lips had changed in colour, but I had little hope, because I was praying, begging God to bring you back, I prayed hard, I prayed the “Hail Mary” many times. I begged you to come back, you always obeyed and listened to me, but this time, you didn’t even move an inch. In there, It was as if I was speaking and shouting to myself, no one could help, all what the doctors could do was to run away from me because they thought I was becoming too violent, even if I didn’t know what I was doing. You gave your last breath in my arms after 7 years and 4 days of knowing you. I had never been that helpless and devastated in my life

My consolation is knowing you’re in a better place, with the host of angels and saints. You lived a saintly life, impacting souls, and everyone spoke highly of you. You were a national treasure, I was proud of you. I prioritized your growth over mine with passion because I loved you beyond words. You were a loyal friend, fighting for me, sacrificing for me… The loyalty, love and respect you had for me was so unreal, and sometimes I feel I am not  worthy, because you were so immaculate for me. There will never be a replacement, there will never be another Ifunanya Lucy Nwangene

Goodbye, saint Ifunanya. I just can’t deal with this. ‘’