Good morning our fans..
In 1991, Francis and his fellow military men were to
go to Liberia for peace keeping. Before then, he didn’t seen or experienced the
real battle. Though they engaged in training sessions, but
certainly, that was
not like the real thing. So he always wished to be let loose so he could put
into practice all the training he had acquired.
When
the news got to him that their unit would be going to Liberia he took
permission and headed for his home town in Anambra state where his parents and siblings
lived. He wanted them to know he was going to Liberia. By this time, Liberia
was brewing very hot with war. The rebel factions were making it tough for the
government army and they heard that people were dying every day in their
hundreds. Then he needed no body to tell him that their peace keeping mission
was going to be more of a peace enforcement.
In
a place like Liberia where the two warring factions involved were not ready to
listening to anything like peace. He knew it was going to be hazardous task. In
such cases, if things were not properly done, a lot of them will fall.
He
headed for his home twon; a small habitations about ten kilometers away from
the state capital to intimate his parents with this development, and at the
same time take a rest for a week or two before he finally returned to the
Barracks. In all his three years of staying in Jos, he had only gone home once.
So he guessed his home coming would be something of a celebration.
His
family was made up of his aged parents and eight children: seven boys and a
girl. Francis was the fifth. The two eldest boys Nzubechukwu and Ikechukwu were
working at lagos. The next two Chukwujekwu and Tansi were at home, surviving as
a Agro-Industrialist. They had their own farm on the Outskirts of the town
where they live with their own families because they were already married.
The
other two behind him, Ebuka and chidi had finished their secondary education,
hoping to go to Lagos and stay with their elder brothers. They wanted to enroll
for JAMB and further their education. The last born Prisca was still in school.
Their father was in his early seventies. In his early days, he was conscripted
into the army and fought beside the colonial masters in the second world war. He
later returned with nothing else to do. He retired to village and took control
of the farm land left for him by his parents.
Francis’s
father took for a wife, a Childhood lover and they both settled down to raising
a family. Francis’s mother was a pleasant jolly woman with a cheerful disposition.
She loved them like a good woman would lover children. With her there was no moment
of sorrow or regrets, she always full of life and tales of sweet memories.
Before
Francis arrived home that evening, his arrival had been heralded by greetings
from, neigbours and friends. It took him almost an hour to walk from village
square to his home as everybody wanted
to talk with him, holds his arms and at same time hear tales of what was
happening in the north patiently he took his time to speak with as many as he
could before he finally entered his father’s compound.
He
got home to meet the entire members of the house waiting patiently outside the
house for his arrival. Each one had a
smile on his or her face and they taken a shower then heard their brother was
coming home. After all, it was not all time that one finds villagers looking
that clean. So he was impressed.
Like
Francis predicted his home coming was a celebrated one. It was something of a
carnival. Visitors, young and old, came in large number to see the solider boy.
A hand shake here, a tap on the back there, he was like a celebrity. His
ordered for kegs of palm-wine while Francis talked about the army, the war in Liberia
religious violence in the north and everything he could remember. They all sat
quietly with cups of palm-wine in their hands, listening with rapt attention
and once in a while nodding their heads in acknowledgement. By the time he
finished, the kegs of palm wine had been exhausted and they soon began to
leave. After the last man had gone, only then was Francis able to settled down
to talk with his own family.
“Brother,
what did you buy for me?” Prisca the last born asked excitedly, she had grown
too big and talkative for an eleven year old girl.
Brother
Francis, why didn’t you wear your uniform. Another person asked. It must have
been Ikenna. He was fond seeing him in uniform. The last time Francis came
home, Ikenna told him he used to tell
his friends that he was an important man in the army. Francis laughed. Before
he could think of an appropriate answer to his question, another question came
from the far corner of the room. He couldn’t see the person’s face clearly in
the semi-darkness. All the children that clustered around him were asking him
one question after the other. They asked him so many questions that Francis
started folklore. He told them the story of how the spirit with two heads
threatened a naughty child. The children were so much absorbed by the story
that they even forgot that they did not take dinner before coming to see
Francis, the soldier boy.
Francis
coated his tongue with sugar and spoke most tenderly.
When
he was through with the folklore, he stared giving them advice. He advised the
children on everything he could remember. Don’t care so much how they get to
the goal as long as they get to it. “Francis said. “Again, he continued, I have
always heard people talk about good luck and bad luck. In truth, Goodluck is that
happens when opportunity meets preparation. Luck is the residue of design. Therefore
work yourself to success. There is no speed limit in pursuit of excellence, he
said.
Francis
later became tired but did not know how to dismiss the children, He didn’t want
to hurt their feelings. But Francis was glad when his mother later came to his
rescue.
“That
is okay children. Now everybody go to bed. It ia late. Your brother Francis is
tired and needs to rest. Tomorrow he will tell you some more stories and answer
all your question” she declared. Obediently, they all left for their rooms
while Francis prepared to take a bath he before finally went to bed.
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Nice piece of write up.
ReplyDeleteWell Done!