Boss mom

Sharing a story how my mom, my parents, inspired me was something if I could start words cannot explain what she has done for me .

In 1960, when Nigeria gained independence from Britain, I was happy thinking that my country will live as one , and my mom was not going to feed me poorly , I had hope for something better even though I had no idea what it was .

Then something painful struck Nigeria six years later, the Muslim, hausa in northern Nigeria began massacring the Christian igbos. In the region we reside in the northern part, when my mom heard of this, fearful of what will happen, she woke me at midnight to advice me " Once you can see the dawn, there's hope , you have to have a positive mindset to survive, Hope for the better and that the next day will surely be better than the previous day. She packed our bags and flee to the east where our people were the dominant ethnic group.

I was so young, confused and bittered but something deep at my chest, urging me to move . I strongly believed that was the words my mom told me, I had held unto.

The battle started, the air rumbled with bombs shelling bazookas, people running for shelter, it was led by Ojukwu, the son of a wealthy business man, who was a military general, after he had declared independence for Biafra in 1966 following a spate of violence that occurred and in the north of Nigeria against the Igbos. At some point the Nigeria army invaded the area , we were prevented from relief materials as it was difficult to feed as lot of families starved and many died of starvation. My mom fought to feed me she had strongly believed in me and always say she knew I will be great. She dug a hole and hid me , as early as possible, she made the treacherous two-day journey for food to either sell to solider took the risks to steal from our enemy camp just to push live.

I wanted to protect the family I loved, I hated the wars, I wanted unity, the urge to join the army increased, I never wanted to see her go through this over and over . I told her my plans, with tears in her eyes she gave me this encouragement" Don't be afraid of the trying what you do next after trying is what defines you. Lives was lost, people with sunken eyes and blistered skin, disabled bodies. Some who survived couldn't make it to see their loved ones, for there was means of transportation except trekking imagine someone hasn't had a proper meal for years. Somehow i had survived the war. I lived and thirst to live a day after the next and after the next, something called surviving I knew, my mom was doing her best to live and I promised to come back alive.

Days passed, I journey back to my home town, I felt my heart bursting out, I couldn't wait to see the one reason I struggled to live, those moment was something I can't forget in a hurry, my heart kept pounding, wondering, having this esctatic feelings. Finally we met, we couldn't talk much, I couldn't stop the tears ,the rest of our conversation was said in tears as we embrace each other tightly m

When I told my story, they would look at me, their mouth open in disbelief. My mom died last year battling with health problems in a country where she could not access quality health care but her life and memories which I had shared has left behind glimpses of a history I must never forget.