I was posted to Nnewi in Anambra State
where I got acquainted with a young
man named Onyedikachi. I called him Onye for short. We were lodge mates and pretty much became good friends. He was the
most optimistic being I had ever seen. In
the face of whatever difficulty, he saw
nothing but blessings and glory. He wasn’t
much of a singer, but I guess that ‘show me
your friend and I’ll tell you who you are’
thing came into play. We both had
everything in common. We shared ideas,
pursued happiness, and hoped for better
days to come. Until that very moment,
FOREX was my only source of income, and
that weighed me down a whole lot because I
had thought that I would make it in life
before graduating from school. The only
thing that had power enough to lift the
burden of such thoughts from my shoulders
was Ogechi’s call, which didn’t come in
often. And if I called, some guy would pick
up and say he’s her manager and that she
wasn’t available.
Hmmm. So I moved the good old days to
the present and revitalized my Christian
living. I and Onye went to church and
prayed a lot. We became church boys. We
even joined a drama unit in church where I
got to discover more about myself. More
gifts and talents of mine emerged from my
inmost being. This was really good for me
because I got to know what I needed to do
and how to do them. I did a lot of creative
writings, some of which I documented in my
blog, and others far away from a second
party. However, I made myself known by
people as one who does such writings. After
youth service, I worked as a broadcaster in
a radio station and was a bit fulfilled.
Onye, who was more of a business man,
began communicating with a relative
abroad, urging her to keep her promise to
send him some cars to sale and start life
after graduation. He normally
communicated with her via Skype. One of
those days he introduced me to his relative
and we got talking. Our steady
communication built some sort of
relationship between I and Onye’s relative,
who was an unmarried lady in her early
thirties, and she fell in love with my
writings, music and poetry. She said I
couldn’t afford toend as an ordinary
university graduate working as a
broadcaster in a local radio station. She
asked if I would like further my studies
abroad. I was so excited to hear that. She
made necessary arrangements and made
the funds for me to get avisa and fly
abroad. I testified in church and everyone
was happy for me. Onye went well with the
idea of studying masters abroad and as
such, dropped the idea of business and
joined me.
We were set to leave, and a couple of folks
accompanied us to Enugu airport where we
boarded a flight to Abuja international
airport. Our flight was delayed for a little
bit. While we sat there talking and waiting
for the flight to be ready, shouts of
celebration right outside the airport caught
ours and everyone else’s attention. We
moved out to see what was happening and
found that there was a crowd around an
unknown personality, probably the governor
or something. We went back and took our
former positions on our sits. But the shout
just wouldn’t stop and as such, we couldn’t
enjoy our chat because of the noise. The
noise kept drawing nearer and nearer
unstoppably. I wondered what sort of person
could pull such crowd. So my curiosity led
me outside to see who it really was, and
guess who it was; OGECHI.
This girl is a bomb! Mehn, she was
becoming like Michael Jackson. I was
amazed at this coincidence, but that was
just the beginning of my amazement. Well, I
would have loved to say a thing or two to
her, but for the crowd I relented and let go.
I found myself a spot from which I could
view her clearly. She was signing
autographs, responding to the press and
doing all the superstar stuff. When I looked
at her enough, I returned to Onye. He asked
why I went to that extent just to get a clear
picture of her. I told him I was her fan, and
had wanted to see her for a long time now.
Our discussion continued, but I wasn’t a
part of it anymore.
I was thinking about so many things at the
same time. As a matter of fact, I mind
travelled. What brought me back was the
crowd, which seemed to be drawing close to
where I was sitting. I snapped out of it and
tried to understand what was happening. I
saw some people pointing their fingers at
me and saying things I couldn’t hear. Then
it dawned on me that Ogechi had seen me.
But why all the talk and finger pointing? I
couldn’t comprehend. Next thing that
happened was that Ogechi screamed on
seeing me, ran towards me, and jumped on
me. WHAT THE HELL? I m..i..s..s..e..d..
youuuu, was the first thing she said to me.
I was FLABBERGASTED! Ogechi! I called out
in utter amazement. Yes dear, she replied
all happy and smiling.
Suddenly the whole attention was on me.
The press started commenting and asking
questions immediately. I was live on AIT
answering questions I hadn’t planned to
answer anytime soon. Oh, what do we have
here, said the press woman who headed the
press team. ‘This is more like a happy
reunion’ do you mind letting us in on what’s
going on now? She asked Ogechi. And
Ogechi began talking;
‘Well, I’ve been in the in the United States
for the past fifteen months. I definitely
missed a couple of people at home, and
prince charming here happens to one of
those I’ve missed the most.
‘Wow! I’m sure he’s glad to see you too’
said the broadcaster
‘(Confused) Definitely! I replied.
‘(To Ogechi) I heard you say something like
‘Prince Charming’; can you please say more
about that?’ The broadcaster asked
‘W..e..l..ll.., I will, but definitely not today.
Some other time I guess’ Ogechi replied
smiling joyfully.
‘That seems to me like something private’
‘You bet.
‘Apparently, prince charming here and your
fans in Nigeria are glad to have you back in
the country, and probably wish you wouldn’t
leave again, which is not likely to happen.
So can you please tell us how long we
should expect to have you around?
‘On the contrary, I have come to stay. You
see, my contract with my recording label
abroad just expired and I refused to renew
it because there are some people I really
need to be with in Nigeria. If I had renewed
that contract, that wouldn’t have been
possible because I would still have to stay
abroad. (Turns to the camera) So to my
fans in Nigeria and Africa, it’s you me
together forever.
(Crowd hails)
‘You said there are some people you really
need to be with here. Can you please name
a few of these people and the roles they
will play in your life which is more
important than that which your recording
label would have played? I know for a fact
that they would have funded your account
with some cool dollars. So who on earth
would you forgo that for? The broadcaster
asked.
‘Sometimes, our determination to excel in
life can be outweighed by our willingness to
accept our destiny’ Ogechi replied
romantically.
‘So you’re saying destiny brought you back
to home? The broadcaster continued.
‘Exactly!’ Ogechi replied
‘Well, that explains a lot. We’ll stick around
and see how this turns out. (The
broadcaster turns to me) So prince
charming, would you say Oge’s sacrifice to
leave the United States for the sake of
some set of people, or should I say,
destiny, is worth it?’
‘(Stammering) Y..e..a..h.., I would say it is,
considering the fact that she left a lot of
people who love her behind when she left to
America, and some of those people have
really longed to see and be with her all
these years. Luckily for them, she’s back
here to stay’ I replied with an attitude of
less concern.
‘Do you in anyway happen to be one of such
people?’ The broadcaster inquired.
‘(Stammering) Y..e..a..h.., I am. I’m one of
her greatest fan. I’ve followed her right
from the start’
‘Wow! That’s obvious enough. But isn’t
there a little bit more to it than just a
celebrity and fan thing? Judging from the
look of things, I mean, her excitement on
seeing you, the hug, you being here to pick
her up, it seems there is. I bet she would
have kissed you if not for the camera.
(Crowd roars)
‘You know she’s been in America for a
while. Judging from the Hollywood movies
I’ve watched, kisses and hugs are like
handshakes over there’ I replied.
‘That was a smart one prince charming. Can
we know your name?
‘Jesusboy’
‘What?’
‘Jesusboy’
‘What is that, a name?’
‘Yes oo, a name. My name’
‘Why do you call yourself Jesusboy?’
‘Because Jesus is the One I claim’
‘Interesting. I guess you’ll have to pray for
us then. (Turns to Ogechi) Well, we are set
leave you to your fans now. It’s been a
wonderful time out with you, and once
again, welcome home. Any lasts words for
our viewers?’
‘Yeah. (Ogechi turns to the camera) Thank
you everyone, I love you all, I’m proud of
you, believe in yourself and trust in God.
‘Well viewers that was one of Nigeria’s
most talented singers landing all the way
from the United States not to visit, but to
stay. You can see her fans showing her the
love she needs to keep going higher. I
believe you all out there watching have in
one way or the other joined to welcome her
home. We’ll keep you posted on more
celebrity talk as you stay with us. My name is Shola Ade, AIT.
Ogechi signed a lot of autographs
afterwards. All the while, she didn’t let go
off me. Anyone who saw the way she clung
to me would not be mistaken to think we
had something going. Indeed we had. But
was it still alive?
To be continued.
