I spent a long time thinking of how best to start this. This is not my memoir. I don’t even know what it is, but it’s not my memoir. Today is my birthday so I guessed I could just say a few things about what this journey has been about. I’m an African, and my name is Edidiong, I also grew up to hear some people call me Nyaknno. The former means “Blessing” while the latter means “Given to God”. I believe that explains my life. I have no choice, they sacrificed me at birth.
I was quite young when I met Etim, I was just a boy, about five at the time. He unlocked the door to the love of books when he stabbed football (an act which was quite uncommon at the time) to tell me the full story of “Eze Goes To School” I remember sitting with him under a tree near the playground while he told me how the elders of the village called a car “a house on wheels”. He brought me his dad’s copy of the book (without his dad’s permission of course), which I spent the whole evening reading with the help of the only kerosene lamp that was in the house. Needless to say, my mother did not find this funny as she constantly needed the lamp in the kitchen while dinner was being made. So there I was, squatting with a book in the kitchen and getting into my mom’s way…you don’t want to hear the rest! So I started reading much, and reading wide (with a bias for African writers). Eze’s story still plagued my mind, so when I won the prize money for Best in English Language in JS1 given by my then English master, Mr. Eric, I used part of it to buy “Eze Goes To College” and “Things Fall Apart”. Lest I forget, I won the same award the previous year in my final year of primary school. The prize was the book “Honey in the Ivory Tower” I spent all this time talking about my reading because it has become an integral part of me (except reading my law textbooks).
I got into Federal Government Prisons College, Okigwe on Sept 30th 2002. Same day with Ozuo Izunna, Tochukwu Arugbonye (Azu), Tochukwu Ngharamike (China), Ogba Sinclair and others I can’t remember. The place was hell at first, but as with all humans, I adapted. I shall not say much about Okigwe, but then by the time I left, I had learnt a great deal, made a lot of mistakes, and made great friends, too bad I can’t call names, I have learnt never to start what I can’t finish. I was the president of Press club, co-founded The Readers club with Randy (he prefers to be called Randolph FYI), and later led my House as House Captain. You don’t go about asking for more.
I got admitted into University of Calabar in 2008 to read law. I didn’t really want to come to Calabar, Ife was it for me, but the counsel of my mom prevailed and I filled in Calabar. Sometimes I feel coming here was a divine plot; at other times I feel I was a victim of a cruel fate. I’m finishing my LL B in a month’s time or so, depending on when ASUU and their employers decide to obey the heavenly directive of “beating their swords into plowshares” I can’t say all that I’ve been part of in Unical. I wasn’t a model student, I was what the more serious people called a “jack of all trades”. But I passed all my law courses and electives without sorting/greeting the lecturers (this had to be God, because I didn’t really love reading my textbooks) I met Tony in my first day in school; we’ve been friends ever since…he too, like me isn’t a model student, I’ll leave him to weave his own tale. I remember one Vals day we strayed into Mr Biggs to buy stuff(s) (Grace says its wrong to say stuffs) + ice cream, the next day, I heard I was gay, and that Tony was my partner! It was then I knew the gravity of walking with a hommie into a fast food joint on lovers’ day. I’ve never attempted that ever since!
I’m not a saint. I fear when anyone expects a high level of Puritanism from me. Not that I’m given to vain ways, but I’ve come to see that perfection was not a gift given to mortals. We can only live a just live by God. I plagiarized Saro Wiwa once in secondary school; I quoted large chunks of Prince Emeka Obasi still in secondary school without referencing him. I don’t know why I just spilled that, maybe because I’ve suddenly taken an interest in Intellectual Property Laws, and I’ve always felt bad whenever my mind strayed to those incidents.
Faith has played a very important role in my journey. I happened to be born into a house manned by godly parents. But then, like everyone, time came, and at that critical point in my life, I had to make my own decisions, and ask my own questions, faith shaking questions, questions every cleric would have denied me communion were he to peep into my young mind to see them. I know not how the answers came, but here am I, I believe Christ came to save the world, and establish the kingdom of heaven. This is my faith. I belong to a great family of believers on campus, The Unical Chapel of Redemption, and at home the Assemblies of God. Believe you me, God is real. My own life is a testimony, come up hither, and you’ll see.
Many events mock at human wisdom. To me, one of such has been death. Death is never something we wake up each day thinking of, but its always there; in that lorry that comes at you at top speed, hoping that you’ll lose concentration and remain on the road, so he can have a soul for harvest; in that policeman’s rifle; it lives everywhere, hopes to take us by our mistakes, and by our fates. I have lost friends to death; Darlington, Malik, Etim, Daniel, Chima Agba, Blessing, and all those good people. They were young, and death took advantage of their wrong turns and fates. The most painful was Etim’s. We grew up like brothers. He didn’t even give a hint. A blast of thunder and he was gone. I still have his “Banana Peels” by Ekwensi. May their souls and those of my lovely aunts ever rest in their Savior’s breast.
I am not a writer, I heard writers have the magic of making every silly thing sound interesting. I have no such gift. I’m just a guy communicating his thoughts; we all find a way to ventilate. Yours might be through a bottle of beer, mine is through doing what you’ve just caught me doing.
You know they say family is the best. I have no reason to doubt this; I’ve had the best life so far because of my family. If I had to be reborn, I wouldn’t risk experimenting with another home. I’d return an Emah. Here, no one leaves anyone behind. Whoever knows us personally would know this is no gainsaying.
I’ve met people in my life. Much more than you can ever imagine, and I’ve shared life with many of them. Lovely people, classmates, other course mates, hostel inmates, social network connections (this is the weakest of them all, except when they metamorphose to other categories), church brethren, and aliens. The last category I can’t explain. I would have mentioned those who have caused some positive ripples in my life, but I wanted this to be a short note. I love them all.
My phone didn’t stop ringing today *breaks off to take a call from Niro* you see what I mean! You all made me see how bad I’ve been in keeping tabs on my friends. It takes an original to expose an imitation. I didn’t expect all the love; it’s hard to expect much from people seeing the state of the world today. God bless you all.
This is an excerpt from a poem I love so much, “The Golden Road To Samarkand” I see myself as a pilgrim, always looking for more from life. Let me share this with you…
THE PILGRIMS :
We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall go
Always a little further: it may be
Beyond the last blue mountain barred with snow,
Across that angry or that glimmering sea,
White on a throne or guarded in a cave
There lives a prophet who can understand
Why men were born: but surely we are brave,
Who make the Golden Journey to Samarkand.
I need to go to church for my youth meeting, thanks for reading my boring piece. May the Lord of peace, Himself give you peace.
N/B: I’m still expecting this for my birthday.
