Friendship

"Anebi” for some reason I couldn’t take that name off my mind all evening and so I found myself on a journey down my childhood memory lane. You see “Anebi” was a child I grew up with and haven’t seen or been in contact for over 20 years, yet, there I was standing in my bathroom with that name ringing in my head. I found myself wondering where he was, who he'd become and if he still had his stubborn nature and then..... enter “Ekubiella”.

My thoughts had moved to this girl who was Anebi’s sister/cousin and my perpetual tormentor. She was much bigger than I was and ever the warrior whose only match was my sister (equally a warrior at the time). I remember her “ten ten” moves which was quite unbeatable. Its funny how I remember them with the same clothes, same facial expression and It’s like their memories just froze in time.

There’s an invisible bond that connects us with people we’ve met or shared some part of our lives and is the reason why the physical presence may not be there, but they leave a piece of them with us. It almost like death comes when you’ve finally shared the last piece of yourself. (Hehehehe….Pardon me, I go off like that).

Back to my reminiscing….

I moved on and went right back to my childhood home. We were the kids that couldn’t go out of the gate of our house, so our neighbors were kind to bring the play to our home, and boy!!!! Even the virtual world would take some pointers at our imagination. We played hard…. and I began to remember the people I enjoyed this moments with. I remember the ever caring Onuche who was the considerate older brother; Akogu who I’m certain of his love till death; The elastic Alikeju who could probably have been a better gymnast than Simone Biles and was a real daddy’s girl; Loksu who always looked at us like “silly little Children” but occasionally joined in the play; Fureya (of blessed memory), the life of the party and had the killer cripping steps to "booyaka booyaka call me Shaba Rankin"; Emi and Ene who woke us up every Saturday to their loud cry as their mum combed their full, long, luxurious African hair; David who was just too clean to play rough; Jibade the bully who taught many of us how to stand up for ourselves; Tony Montana that bounced in a way that you would swear he was crippled; Adanmadi who taught my sister a lesson or two on how to take over a party(LoL…available in Home Video); Obinna one of my many crushes away from those on TV; Lyop the most composed young lady I knew; Jide a gentle and beautiful soul and a brother in-law that never was; Dele that hype man that Crip-walked from the start to the end of a party, Bala who may have turned out a great footballer.

As if the play group wasn't enough, I had my aunties (3 of them, same age group though...don't ask) who lived two streets away from me and were the real ride or die hommies.

I’m grown now, and made new friends along the way, but these were the kids that raised me, taught me some fair and hard lessons and truly share in the essence of who I am. Truth is I miss my childhood and I love these frozen moments that make everything feel alright even if its just for a moment. It’s sad to say that I’m not in touch with some of them (but a piece of them will always be with me), and that’s just the reality of life sometimes, we make friendships atdifferent stages and we move on. I don’t believe in lost friendships and that’s why my heart still goes out to each of them.

So wherever my friends are and whatever they are doing, this is my Hey!!! to Anebi, Onuche Ocheja, Akogu Ocheja, David Moyi, Richard Moyi, Alikeju Ocheja, Ada, Obinna, Emi Idakole, Ene Idakole, Ekubiella, Jide Saloko, Dele, Fureya Sodan,Dan Iliya, Danbaba Iliya, Usheril Matta,Ulau Matta, Idi Iliya, Ulan Matta, Uhannan Matta, Gyena Iliya, Yilman Naanman, Mundi Naanman, Jennifer Balzar, Richard Balzar, Nandi Chetden, Dirmwa Dimka.

You may not know my Anebi, Ekubiella or Richy, but I bet this reminds you of some old friends, so why don't you reach out and see what you may grab.

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