IKENNAYAMULU! IKEPAPAM! SO IT HAS COME TO END LIKE THIS. I HAVE BEEN CRYING SINCE THAT FRIDAY AFTERNOON WHEN CHIBU CALLED ME AT WORK. MY SON ASKED, "DADDY, HAVE YOU HEARD" HEARD WHAT, SON "UNCLE IKENNA HAD A HEART ATTACK AND HE IS IN COMA". QUIT JOKING, SON. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT "OBIAMAKA JUST TOLD ME". LET ME FIND OUT. SO I CALLED ODINAKA IN BODO. I WAS ALREADY CRYING. ODINAKA CONFIRMED IT. IKEPAPA, MY GOODNESS. LIFE IS SO CRUEL. MOST OF KNEW ABOUT YOUR ILLNESS NOW. WE WERE ALL PRAYING. IK, THEN ON TUESDAY I WAS AT WORK AND ODINAKA CALLED ME ON WHATSAPP. NO WAY. NOT ODINAKA. I WAS NOT GONNA PICK THE CALL. TOO SCARED. HALF AN HOUR LATER, OBY CALLED. I WAS EVEN MORE SCARED. I WAS RUSHING NOW TO SEND OUT SOME MATERIALS THAT NEEDED TO GO OUT. I DID NOT ANSWER OBY EITHER. I WAS TRYING HARD NOT TO HEAR THE NEWS SO I WONT START CRYING IN THE OFFICE. BUT THAT WAS NOT THE END OF IT. MINUTES LATER. IKENNA, WAIT FOR THIS. NNEKA CALLED ME. YET I DARED NOT PICK UP MY PHONE. TO CROWN IT ALL, SOMETHING CAME IN ON WHATSAPP FROM HANNAH. IK, I KNEW AT THAT POINT YOU HAD LEFT ME, LEFT US. ALL OF US. IKENNA, YOU HAD LEFT ALL OF YOUR CHILDREN AND YOUR SIBLINGS. I HAD TEARS IN MY EYES BUT I STILL HAD A TINY BIT OF HOPE THAT I WAS DAYDREAMING. IT WAS ABOUT 1:15 P.M EASTERN STANDARD TIME. I DROVE HOME.
AS I INSERTED THE HOUSE KEY, I WAS CALLING OUT ON CHIBU TO ASK IF HE HAD HEARD ANYTHING FROM ANYBODY. "LIKE WHAT" MY SON ASKED. I THINK MY BROTHER IS DEAD!!! "DONT SAY THAT, DADDY" THEN WHY HAS EVERYBODY BEEN CALLING ME I HAD LOST CONTROL, IKEPAPA. I WAS SCREAMING. BUT I HAD TO CONFIRM. I CALLED ODINAKA IN BODO. I WAS CRYING EVEN MORE. ODINAKA TOLD ME THAT YOU WERE NO MORE. I HUNG UP. I CALLED OBY. OBY CONFIRMED IT. I CALLED OGOM. THE SAME STORY.
IKENNAM, SO THAT IS HOW YOU LEFT US. ALL OF US. YOUR LOVING CHILDREN: EBUBE, UFOMA, AND ONYINYE. ALL OF YOUR CARING SIBLINGS: NDIDIAMAKA, UBAKA, ODINAKACHUKWU, OBIESIEMIKE, OGOMEGBUNAM, AND ME. YOU LEFT YOUR NEPHEWS AND NIECES: CHIDI, NONSO, DOZIE AND MUNA; NWADI, CHIUGO AND ORA; OBIAMAKA, AMALA AND ODINAKA, JR.; CHIBU; CHIMBUDIKE; AND THE LITTLE ONES ON THE WAY. OUR SPOUSES ARE MOURNING YOU. IKEPAPAM, WE CANT STOP CRYING. .
IKENNA, WHY NOW WHY SO UNTIMELY WHY NO WARNING WHY NO GOODBYES I HAVE ASKED MYSELF ALL TYPES OF QUESTIONS. I CANNOT FIND A SINGLE ANSWER. THE LAST TIME I GAVE YOU A HUG WHEN WE WERE IN NIGERIA 9 YEARS AGO TO BURY MAMA. THAT WAS ALSO THE LAST TIME I SAW YOU WEEP. I SAW YOU PERFORM! THAT ART OF DANCING THAT NOBODY DOES LIKE YOU. YOU DANCED LIKE ONLY YOU IN MAMA'S FUNERAL. YOU WERE TRULY HAPPY AND RELAX TO RETURN HOME. YES, YOU LAUGHED. IT WAS SAD. BUT IT WAS ALSO JOYOUS. A JOYOUS REUNION WITH YOUR PEOPLE.
I REMEMBER HOW WE WENT TO ASABA TO RENEW YOUR NIGERIAN PASSPORT. YOU WANTED TO RENEW IT BECAUSE YOU HAD COME HOME, YOU HAD RECONNECTED. YOUR PASSPORT HAD TO BE RENEWED SO THAT YOU COULD TRAVEL HOME WHENEVER YOU WANTED. SO WE WENT TO ASABA TO GET A NEW PASSPORT. WE FILLED OUT ALL THE PAPERWORK AND PAID THE FEES. WE COULD NOT PICK THE PASSPORT BECAUSE THE PERSON TO SIGN THE PASSPORT HAD TRAVELED TO ABUJA. AT THE EXACT MOMENT MAMA WAS BEING LAID TO REST THAT FRIDAY MORNING, THEY CALLED YOU TO COME PICK UP YOUR PASSPORT. YOU COULD NOT MAKE IT. THERE WAS JUST NOBODY AVAILABLE TO DRIVE YOU TO ASABA. YOU TRAVELED BACK TO ABUJA TO SUNDAY FOR THE ONWARD JOURNEY BACK TO NORWAY. IKEPAPA, I WAS ALMOST ARRESTED WHEN I WENT TO PICK UP YOUR PASSPORT A FEW DAYS LATER.
IK NWANNE M. I COULD GO ON AND ON. IKEPAPA, I TRULY DEEPLY DEARLY MISS YOU. AND I WILL MISS YOUR SMILE, YOUR LAUGH, YOUR WARMTH, YOUR ENTIRE YOU FOR AS LONG AS I LIVE. AND WE WILL STILL GIVE YOU A TRUE NKPOR FUNERAL IN DUE TIME LIKE THE TRUE NKPOR SON YOU ARE. THERE WILL BE ODOGWU ANYA MMEE AND THE REST OF THEM TO CELEBRATE YOUR LIFE.
IKENNAYAMULU. IKEPAPAM. IK. JEE IJE OMA. LARU OFUMA. KA NKPULU OBI GI ZULU IKE NA NDOKWA N'ENUIGWE!
ETERNAL REST GRANT ONTO YOUR SOUL, O LORD! AND LET THE PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON. YOU. MAY YOUR SOUL REST IN PERFECT PEACE. AMEN.