THE LAST TIME I VISITED GRANDMA

Grandma and I had a very good relationship during her last days on earth. We never lived at the same place and I only had the opportunity to meet with her for the first time at Port-harcourt city where we spent just a little time. I wanted to ask grandma why she never visited us ever since the death of my father but something kept me quiet. Her words says it all why she never visited us. I was okay with her reasons and never bothered to ask her any question. We spent some few hours together and I left my uncle's house where she was staying.

The grandma I'm talking about here is my father's mom. My grandma is from Korokoeosei community while grandpa is from Lobia community. Grandma left for her village after the death of grandpa and my dad lived at Lobia before his death. That's why grandma and I never lived together. She lived in her home town Korokoeosei while I lived at Lobia. These two communities are under the same constituency but we had to cross rivers and roads before reaching each other. This made it impossible for my siblings and I to visit our grandma.

The last and second time I met with my grandma was December 2020. It was not just a visit this time but I had a quality time spent with my grandma because I knew she will be leaving us soon. She was well advanced in age and I decided to know one or two things from her before she departs to the great beyond. I had the plan to go stay with her but not actually this time but something prompt me at this time and it was just the perfect time.

WHAT PROMPT ME TO VISIT GRANDMA
I left town to the village due to the ASUU strike and the COVID-19 lockdown. I spent few months in the village and was actually spending the December at my paternal home Lobia. It was all going well until one faithful night. There was a way keeping and a traditional music band was playing live. My kind of person don't like going to such places so I only went there to see the musician that was playing and left. The rest is story.

Just few hours after I left the place, I started hearing loud sounds of gunshots when I was almost asleep. I woke up and stayed alert in my room. Few minutes later I heard running footsteps with people making noise and crying. A friend came knocking and I opened the door to let him in. I asked him what was the cause of the gunshots and he told me it was two Militants groups that had a misunderstanding which led to the shootout. They started shooting each other in the crowd which got some people killed and several others injured.

The gun sounds reduced and we went outside to see what happened. The first person I met injured was my secondary school classmate. She had a bullet on her leg and was crying seriously. On reaching the spot where the shooting took place, we saw several people dead. Unfortunately, one innocent boy died at the spot but the rest were among the Militants that had the gun battle. It was my first time to experience such a scene. While we were still there, we heard their speed boats approaching and left the place for safety. They came and started shooting all through the night.

They kept shooting even in the morning which made everyone to stay indoors. We later heard a rumor that one of the Militant groups threatened to come and shoot anyone they meet outside when they comes back. They were just all over the town and everyone was terrified. We only comes out when we hear the sound of their speed boat leaving. I was tired of the house arrest given to me by my fellow civilians since the military and the state government could not intervene at the moment. That's why I left to my grandma's hometown to stay with her.
This is a true story that happened at Lobia 2 on December 2020.

HOW I GOT TO MY GRANDMA'S HOMETOWN
Myself and some other guys walked some few meters away from the village and stayed in a place where we can see boat that is going to the next village. We got a boat not too long and left. It was already late so we reached the next village at night. Those guys stopped at that village while I took a bike and left for my grandma's village in the night. I reached there around 9pm. This was my first time of reaching there so I had to call my grandma's name to locate her. I met some young boys who took me there.

As it is the tradition of the Izons, I was entertained with fresh juice and delicious meals. I enjoyed myself really well. There I was asked what happened at Lobia and I narrated the whole story to them. Thy thanked God for my safety with jokes and we all laughed. I was given a very nice room to stay all alone. My first night there was wow! I totally forget that I'm a run away soldier 🤣🤣.

There at my grandma's hometown I stayed to celebrate the year 2021. I had all the time to take a walk around the town to know some of my relatives and make some new friends. That was how I got myself identified with the people and stayed there for over a month.

Long life is the desire of every human in his/her normal senses and that's why I am happy and grateful to God for the longevity of my grandma because she was well advanced in age. I spent most of the time with her listening to her while she speaks. She told me some important things that I never knew about my family. She gave me some nice advise with which I can live my life. She was always happy to have me around. It was a nice moment with grandma!

It was already February 2021 and I was ready to leave. Grandma prayed for me to be strong and healthy, fulfill and do the things my father could not do, live to bury her when she dies, and many more. That was how I left grandma with beautiful memories and happiness. This was the last time I visited grandma !!!

Grandma lived and died as the oldest person in her village on October 2021. This makes the last time I visited her as the last time we met. She was buried in a grandmaster style with live music bands during her burial. She was aged 95.

All images used were taken by me with my own phone.