A Velvet of Fluffy Memories
by Nwuguru Chidiebere Sullivan
The Sunday evening with its gust ushered in Mr Wale's call. Mr Wale had called to remind me to be at the airport an hour before the time of my flight. I spent the night packing my stuff in readiness for my travel to Lagos the following day; piece by piece, I carefully selected the things I would need into my bag, as though I was not going to end up forgetting some important items like I always do. I woke up very early the following morning and immediately started getting ready to depart to Enugu for my flight.
On my way to Akanibiam's International Airport from Abakaliki, the road was almost bare with little or no activity, especially immediately after we entered Enugu. It was Monday morning and the purported sit-at-home which is still a thing in some major cities in the Southeastern part of the country, had impacted an unusual quietness across the morning. Beyond the boundary between Ebonyi and Enugu, the rest of the road was almost empty, I rode enjoying the wide road all alone; I could see through the length of the road without obstruction. The whole circumstance made the journey unusually short. Dropping off at the airport, I found out it wasn't as busy as usual, and checking in was effortless for me because there was no queue at all. The flight to Lagos was smooth and cozy, I loved it.
At Murtala Mohammed’s Airport, Lagos, Felix arrived shortly after I alighted from the plane to drive me to the ZODML, where my other colleagues were already waiting for us. However, we had to wait for a while at the airport to pick up Lenient whose flight landed later than mine. At the Library, I met all my colleagues and once again, it was a beautiful reunion. Mrs Aduke Gomez, our editor, and Mrs Esiri would later join us at the library that evening to brief us on the events ahead. Deep in the evening, we the boys rejoined Felix who took us to Chicken Republic where we had our lunch and takeaways for our dinner. Thereafter, we drove to Mummy Ego’s apartment where we would stay throughout our programs in Lagos. The girls too, followed Mrs Esiri to her apartment; they would stay with her throughout our days in Lagos.
On the night at Mummy Ego's place, we had a deep layered witty session with her, ranging from history classes that cut through W.B. Yeats who was the centre of the project we came to launch, to the history of civilization across the world, and the ancient Greek mythology and legends. To make it more colourful, she had to recount her youthful days as a way of driving home the parental advice she dished us; something I'm sure will be pivotal in shaping the rest of my life. It was indeed a glamorous night for all of us. The following morning, Mummy Ego made sure that her cook served us a homely breakfast; this even made it look more like we were right in our own homes, of course, it was our home. It was while I was dressing up in the morning to attend the book launch at Freedom Park, that it dawned on me that I had left my belt back in Abakaliki, a perpetual omen I thought I escaped this time. It was a crazy situation but thanks to Seyi who pulled through for me.
It was at Freedom Park that we finally met The Ambassador of Ireland to Nigeria, H.E Peter Ryan and his adorable wife. During the book launch, other Irish dignitaries, and many important Nigerian personalities including Joke Silva graced the event. Reading my poem before these high-placed people, and the many secondary school students who watched with lots of enthusiasm oozing from their faces was something so gracious for me; the feeling was palpable from the smiles that occasionally stole their way through my mouth, something I was so sure my family would be proud of. At the end of the book launch, we headed straight to the Kalakuta Museum with the Ambassador to witness the epic history of Fela Kuti. At the Kalakuta Museum, we toured round the whole place in company of Fela’s children. The moment was very eventful and I enjoyed it a lot, especially for the fact that Fela was a man we grew up to the stories of his legendary escapades. Later that day, we moved to the Yatch Club where we met Connie, an Irish Sailor who would later become a beautiful part of our stay in Lagos. Getting to taste new varieties of food, while listening to the Ambassador as he shared his history-rich travelogue as an Ambassador, had us feeling like we’ve lived through these multiple cultures and environments with him.
The following day, we had a masterclass with the multiple award winning writer, Jude Idada. The class tore through my core and made me realise that there was still a lot I need to learn before priding myself as a writer. The gravity of the wittiness oozing from the class stunned me into numbness. I couldn’t even jot down much because I had so much to process at a time and wanted to hear all of them first. From the class, we headed to Classic FM to have a session with Benji. Everything moved so fast at the FM but it was all pretty reading my poem on air. We left the radio station to get some break and snacks with the Ambassador; an opportunity to ease off and feel lighter from the engagements. In the night, we attended a dinner at the home of the Irish Consul General; an opportunity that had us become part of the ‘Friends of Ireland’ family. We equally got an opportunity to read our poems before the multitude of Irish people, signing autographs and feeling like we’ve become celebrities overnight. Connie had his family prepare Jellof rice for us as dinner, the yam chips that came with the meal was so sweet, I wouldn’t mind eating it all day.
On Thursday morning, we bade a nostalgic farewell to Lagos and headed to Abuja. The whole of Thursday was a day of rest for us, and I swear, we needed that so bad. At Barcelona Hotels where we were lodged, we had a lot of fun, made use of the gym house, and the swimming pool thereafter to keep ourselves fit. The following day, we attended the final book launch at the Irish Embassy, and had another amazing opportunity of reading our poems before important dignitaries and signing autographs for them. Meeting the wife of the immediate past vice president of Nigeria, H.E Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, the ambassadors of Belgium, Finland, Poland, and many more high-placed people, and even getting to connect personally with these people was epic for me. The night was so colourful with intercontinental dishes; so much that the sight alone gave me a huge satisfaction that I didn’t even have to eat much at all. Saturday was departure to our various destinations, and I left for home, feeling very accomplished, all to the glory of the opportunity given to me by ZODML and the Irish Embassy.
