Nonny is my friend, and two days ago, during a conversation, I talked about the call to duty as a higher calling than love, something women never aspire to.
Someone once told me that his aspiration in his relationship is to reach a level where most can’t, a call to duty.
Prince Charles is a perfect example of this
His former wife went to Paris to romance her Egyptian Lover and, unfortunately, met her demise
He still flew into Paris, collected her body and walked with his sons behind her casket in a last honour that still magnifies the world till tomorrow
Immediately, I talked about a call to Duty. Nonny said, “Have you listened to my tribute at my late former husband’s funeral?”
I had gone to the tribute in Lekki to support her. Till this day, she still doesn’t believe I came
I swear I did, even my friend Uche, the event organiser, saw me, but Nonny still doesn’t believe
Anyways, she said, Let me send you the Link and you watch, and then you see the true meaning of a sense of duty
Honestly, I didn’t watch, and when she asked, I lied – Nonny, I want to take my time to watch.
Then she fired, you never watch or read what I send
That was a scathing blow cos Nonny is my friend. We had built a beautiful relationship since she was the very brilliant Executive Secretary at MTN Foundation, and she has given me all the support she could give me, including moderating at my Economic Summit in London
The least I could do was watch her tribute
So this morning, I woke up to watch
I never had the privilege of meeting Barrister Nduka Eze, but I have heard some very glowing things about him from mutual friends like Chike Ogeah
I also met one of his boys in London who was gracious enough to bring one of MKO Abiola’s grandchikdren to see my Play Kashimawo, and one of the last messages from Nduka Eze to a non-member of his family was to me
He had requested to meet during the run-up to my play, Asaba, and I was willing to meet, but God had other plans
So this morning, I woke up and went straight to the tribute
Ohhhhh my God!!!!! Ohhhh my God!!!!!!!
You all should ask for the link. Cos Nonny delivered what would be regarded as one of the strongest homilies by a former wife to a former husband
It was best we had two happy homes than one unhappy home, she said. This killed me
That was deep and courageous. Ohh, my God, it was a classic case of – we still love each other, but we can’t be with each other
And it’s true cos in all of my discussions with Nonny over the years, she truly had nothing bad to say abt him
She would tell me, Edgar, I am not like those women who will bitch about their ex, mine was a lovely man and a danm good father
Nonny showed this on that tribute as she railed – Ozememam, Ozememam or was it Oyememam in tears as her body shook and her big giant sons cuddled her as she hid behind those very dark glasses
She told us of their lives all over the world, the brilliance of the union and even much more the brilliance post union, leading to the last WhatsApp messages from him thanking her for her support ‘during this time’, all pushed me to an emotional level this morning, bringing tears to my eyes
Nonny, by that eulogy, showed a sense of duty which is a bond far stronger than the much hyped love
A sense of duty throws in an uncompromising sense of loyalty that is not affected by the vagaries of life or the relationship
It keeps you standing by that person, no matter what
It makes you leverage that person more than even yourself
We all have that for our children and sometimes parents, but we mostly don’t have this in relationships
But instead, we aspire to love, which is a fickle emotion that fades, and more often does
A sense of duty is stronger, more compassionate and binding, but sadly, with all the romance films, songs and old women’s tales, we have coloured the eyes of our women to only aspire to a lesser feeling
Men do better in aspiring to that height of duty, as we still meet our obligations no matter what, even though the love has long faded
Women, being the emotional beings that they are, find it difficult to aspire to duty, especially when the love fades cos to them the feelings are the fuel they need to push through
But for a very few, like Nonny, they push through regardless
They show a high sense of duty and stay by their person, irrespective
They show a military-type disposition and follow through irrespective of the situation
Nonny is a woman of duty and I know not only by her words during that tribute, but also by the way she had proudly built a beautiful relationship with Nduka till his passing
I recommend every woman to go watch that Tribute and see how a true Nigerian amazon reads her lines
When I finished, fear come dey catch me cos i come dey Wonder how dem go read their own tribute for my turn ooo
Kai
No beating today this Na serious matter.
How will they read your own tribute to?
Duke of Shomolu
Last modified: February 7, 2026
