We came from two nearby villages, she from ENUGWU::UKWU while am from ENUGWU ;;;AGIDI: She was like a kid sister to me. We all lived in the same apartment building in ENUGU owned by my grandfather. Her senior sister was my friend and was practical sharing my room with me, as our apartment was much bigger than theirs.
I grew up with my mother always ill and away in search of healing, often my sister and I are always hungry as biG brothers were always out playing football.My friend the senior sister would sneak into their apartment to eat food prepared by their mom, while Njide would sneak food out for me. After high school, I left for JOS to attend university education. My MOM later passed on, I left Enugu for good and then lost touch with the family.
Years later, she traced me to ABUJA where I had settled and started a family. She was posted to serve her NYSC in BAUCHI state and had finished from the orientation camp. She was certainly unhappy with the choice of Bauchi and wanted a different place for primary assignment, so came looking for me. I was more than happy to see her. I promised to help her serve in Abuja. She happily settled down in my house. We had a lot of time to chat about the old life and her life after I left Enugu. Her life was one of struggle after her father,s business went under. Attending University was no longer possible ;but help came her way.
The GENERAL OVERSEER of their church, who started dating her senior sister offered to send both of them to the university. While her two brothers dropped out of school after high school ,they had to go and learn trading. Things were still a struggle as they were mostly dependent on their mother,s petty trading to survive. Education wise, things were ok until the CHURCH FOUNDER with children her own age, started LUSTING after her too. When she refused to carve in and start dating him too, the man of GOD washed his hands off her education, Luckily she was half way through, things became real tough, but she was determined not to give up on her dreams of been a university graduate. [she read political science] The family really struggled to help her actualize her dreams. She told me about her shoe nicknamed ²ECHETEKA meaning tomorrow is too far by her school mates reason been that she wears the shoe day in day out, month in month out in school .
Been an attractive girl, she had her fair share of toasters in school, she took her time until in 300 level when she fell in love with a posh boy from ABBA another nearby village from her,s who was already in his final year in same school. Things were a little better for her when he graduated and started working as he helped out. She had never been comfortable about their two dialectical opposite background as he is the son of a well known rich transporter. The boy born into a VENERABLE and VENERATED family assured her, that he would certainly marry her. She then graduated from the university.
The way and manner she was introduced to his marriage to another girl, who came from the right similar background was mortifying. The boy,s mother had always been in the know about their relationship but had always been indifferent to her, which always cause a dampness to fall upon her spirit but the lover boy always irrevocably pledged his never ending love , assuring her that his family would never dictate to him who to marry, and would deal with his condescending mother with her spasmodic extravagance of a person used to large fortune when they are ready for their marriage after her NYSC: She visited the family house as usual, but saw that an important activity was planned for the house as there were canopies been set up, women running around cooking while the LADY OF THE MANOR the boy friend,s mother was fully in charge running the affair.She was just told that there would be a party the next day. She wondered as Chike never informed her of any party.When she asked of him as she didnt sight him at all, nobody was forth coming with an answer to his movement and his cell phone out of reach. She went home and was later informed about the next day traditional wedding between Chike and a girl from the right well connected family. who just returned from UK after university education by a friend of Chike over the cell phone. She never saw nor had any communication from him again.
After the sharing of this story, I was more than determined to help her. Am sure I would had bombed that traditional wedding; if I were in her shoes.Luckily I had a contact at NYSC office so her reposting to Abuja was just one hand for me, we went further to press buttons to post her to NNPC with the intention of further pushing them to retain her,after the service year.
She was full of joy and decided to travel down to Enugu to inform her parents, as she had two weeks off before starting work. As I intended traveling to Benin, so she joined myself and my son down to Benin, where we spent three wonderful nights in the poshest hotel in town. I thank GOD I gave her good, wonderful time before dropping her at her parent house still my grandfather,s house and traveled back to Abuja.
She was to come back to Abuja in a weeks time to party with us on my son,s forth coming birthday. She promised to come back two days before the party to help out. The day came and passed and she didnt show up.Then the dread call came from a friend of mine living at Enugu that NJIDE had passed on.She didnt have any information on what happened. I was filled with sudden exasperation of the elaborate futility of life. I traveled down to Enugu at once, I was shocked that she was already buried same day she passed on. The sorrow within the family was heart renting but I was really taken back at the suddenness of the intenment.
The story of what really took her life was related to me by the photographer who had a studio in from of their family home. According to him, Nijide had informed all of them about her intending trip back to Abuja the next day. She was up very early in the morning, washed her cloths for the trip next morning, cooked breakfast for the family and then left with her senior sister my old friend. Soon after, the sister rushed back alone without her and their mother joined her in rushing out again. By now people around knew that something was up. Soon after the mother rushed back and started screaming that NJIDE had passed on. People who saw her not quite an hour, leaving with her sister was bewildered beyond reasons.
Njide was pregnant and went with her sister to a nearby clinic for an abortion. The medical director of the clinic was not on seat. The NYSC doctor they meet convinced them he would do the abortion very well and at half the cost of what the hospital owner would had collected from them so they accepted. Soon after he started the evacuation, she started bleeding, became unconscious and then passed on. The father was called from the market where he runs a shop. He directed that she must be buried at once, so an ambulance was brought and a casket bought for her last journey to ENUGWU;;UKWU , that same day, without any funfair without any church service, without fair well from her friends, just thrown into the soil like an out caste. Like one who has committed an abormination . She was at the face of a steep precipice alone, the preposterousness of the matter without the second party, who have started his matrimonal life with ecstatic animation else where without a second thought to all his promises to her.
The fresh body, bleed all over the casket ,bleed all over the white shroud, bleed all over the ambulance.,The photographer and other people, that went with her on this last journey testified. SHE WAS COMMITTED TO MOTHER EARTH around 10 pm that night when they finished digging the grave, without prayers as if they family was furious with her for the shame and scandal brought upon the family. The rich boy from the correct background had planted his seed of destruction on the girl from the wrong background, before dumping her to marry the right girl, from another correct background.Her story was one of most poor girls who had been deceived by boys from so called upper crust families,these boys often turn their scrupulous eyes on these poor girls while in school, only to dump them later. These girls whose ROMANTICISM are always inconsistent with reality, are always left with burnt fingers and depressed for life. They need to let go of their INNOCENT ADROITNESS and face fact that inequality can never be wished away in the real world, unlike the movies.
No comments:
Post a Comment