These two people were two peas in a pod. Death separated them, but the legacy they built lives on
Sammy was from a poor little village tucked into the rain forest of today’s Akwa Ibom
He came to Lagos in a bole ka ja and got his first job at the Post Office at Denton Ebute metta
Eno, however, had a better pedigree. Her father was a Pastor with the Qua Iboe Church, which was set up by Scottish missionaries
This exposed her to early education very quickly, giving her a stronger platform than Sammy
His village was serene, and until almost recently, his father’s house was still made of mud and thatch, and the village stream was the only source of drinking water and bathing
Eno lived on a beach. Ibeno is a beautiful place in Akwa Ibom, as it cascaded towards the Atlantic with sweet white sands and an estuary that hosted fishing boats from all over West Africa, including Cameroon and Ghana
Eno joined the army and went to war. Sammy continued at the post office, where he was dubbed “Double 2” due to his penchant for Van Huesen shirts, which he could afford only two.
Then his father took ill and was rushed to the hospital, where Eno took care of him
In gratitude, Sammy’s father introduced Eno to Sammy, and they fell in love, and she followed him back to Lagos
Two different souls. Sammy was a stamerer and a talker, Eno didn’t talk too much but had a weird sense of humour and was very ambitious and fearless
Sammy would say to his friends, ‘You cannot marry my wife for one day,’ and they would all agree.
Eno was boisterous and loved a good fight. She didn’t have tact, and she didn’t care. She would say her mind, no matter whose ox is gored, and would sit down after each encounter to laugh at the discomfort of her adversary
Nobody was spared her ‘mouth’. From the landlord whose only offence was to remind them of his rents to the NEPA man on the pole who dared cut the light for non-payment, to church members who dared to ask for tenor limit since Sir cannot be Pastor for life, they all suffered, and after it all, she would retire to her room to laugh.
Sammy, on the other hand, was reticent. He was a gentleman who would rather talk things through.
Despite his speaking disability, he would want to engage verbally in a struggle
He will call his family to a meeting, and before he says one word, they will all have bullied him into silence with volleys of words
This pair made an unlikely but perfect couple as they lived together, taking their baths together and indulging in late-night consumption of Afang
But here was another difference – Sammy loved Fufu, while Eno could not stand it.
Eno felt that Fufu smelled and gave you nasty farts, but Sammy loved it, and as such, you would get a big bowl of afang with big fish from Ibeno, but chopped with Fufu on Sammy’s side and Eba on Eno’s side
These two strange characters built an enduring relationship that took death to separate them
The boisterous, extroverted Eno and the stamerer, who was both introverted and extroverted and a mean talker, came together to, amongst others, forge a union that has remained indelible
Sammy went first. He fell ill, and it took him five years to ease out and was buried in his favourite homeland in quiet solitude.
Eno stayed for another five years and more before she left, and when she did, it was with fanfare that attracted over 1,000 people and was laid to rest in an enormous mausoleum in her own village
Bury me in my father’s land. I have bought the parcel of land. I don’t want to be buried in his village cos death has done us apart. Eno said one day.
Eno was my mother, and Sammy was my father, and between them, I found life
God bless them, wherever they are
Thanks
Duke of Shomolu