Tag: #edimausoro

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With a Heavy Heart…

With a heavy heart and total submission to the will of God, we regret to announce the passing away of our husband, father, brother uncle and friend, Late Architect Edikan Uwem, who slept in the Lord…

‘Eya, he must have been a good man’, Ejiro interjected with a sorry look on his face. ‘How do you know he was a good man Ejiro? Have you met him before?’, I asked, rather irritated. ‘He’s dead Bisola! The least you can do is sympathise!’. ‘Sympathise with who Ejiro? With the wife I’ve never met or the children I don’t know?’. ‘Bisola, what did this poor man do to you? Isn’t it sad that he’s no more?’. ‘Ejiro, I’m just surprised that all of a sudden, he’s a good man. Why do we even wait for people to die to say good things about them? I bet if you’d walked past the man on the road, you wouldn’t realise that he’s ‘so good’ a man as you say’.

Ejiro went quiet and he pondered on my words. I rose to take a seat beside him, taking his hands in mine. ‘I’m sorry if I sounded harsh. I only wish we could all love more, smile at people more, care more, appreciate people more while we still can and not when they are no more. I am guilty of not doing all these too so it’s a big boat and all of us are sailing on it’. Ejiro sat in silence as we listened to an aeroplane fly over at a distance.

Finally, Ejiro broke the silence. ‘Get dressed let’s go out for dinner’. ‘Wow! He’s taking me out in like forever! Today must be my Remembrance Day!’. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll live to die another day’, Ejiro responded. We let out a hearty laugh as I stood to get ready.

Endnotes

  • Edikan is a name common among the Ibibio tribe of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Edikan means victory.
  • Uwem is a name common among the Ibibio tribe of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Uwem means life.
  • The name, Ejiro, is commonly found among the Urhobo people of Nigeria, particularly those in Delta State. It is a short form of Ejiroghene, which means ‘praise God’. – AI Overview
  • Bisola (spelt as Bísólá) is a Nigerian unisex given name of Yoruba origin which means “born into affluence – Wikipedia

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I DARE YOU

Last night was a rather restless one for me. I grabbed my car key and headed out the door; I needed fresh air so bad, perhaps that would clear my head.

I drove round the relatively quiet city avoiding streets with no streetlights. Sooner than I thought, I got bored. ‘Up for a little adventure?’, I asked myself, and before I could respond, my hand pushed my gear to reverse.

Close by, there’s an underbridge that many feared to pass at night thanks to the ‘night children’ who will stop at nothing to harm you and steal whatever they can.

My central lock was activated and I was ready to speed off in case of danger. As I approached the first speed breaker, I could feel my heart in my mouth beating faster and loud like music from a woofer. Slowly, I climbed the speed breaker. Something caught my attention…

A woman was sleeping under the bridge, right there, close to the pillars supporting the bridge. I was still trying to wrap my head around the reason she’s out here on such a cold starless night when I sighted more people. One I couldn’t tell what sex used a sack bag for covering from cold. I saw a man sitting up straight with his back against the pillar, fast asleep.

My heart broke and a tear escaped. I wish I had a blanket to give them, some money and food but I had none. For safety, I had left my wallet at home…

As I made my way through the last speed breaker, I could only pray for tomorrow night to come when I would have a chance to lend a helping hand to those under the dreaded bridge.

Now, I’m not afraid to dare and take calculated risks. You should do the same sometime soon.

  •  Night children: Origin – Nigeria > A name given to criminals or people who carry out unlawful acts at night such as stealing.

Image Credit: Image by Ben Hummitzsch from Pixabay