A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and allows you to grow”-William Shakespeare.
Perhaps, the above captures very succinctly the relationship between my childhood friend and brother, Dr Christian Ngozi Umeh (Gallant Pieces) and I. Umeh was snatched away in his prime, by the cold hands of death three weeks ago.
I don’t really know how and where to begin. I lack words. Yet, I should be in position to write a book on the life and times of my childhood friend, Ngozi Gallant Christian, Pieces Umeh (NGCPU) as he fondly abbreviated his initials.
My predicament stems from inability to come to terms with the sad reality that Gallant can disappear from my sight just like that. That the company and affection we shared through the years have been truncated by the wicked hands of death. And a relationship that has been the admiration of many, crashed when its fruits were beginning to fully mature.
All those who knew Gallant well either from childhood or later in life can attest that we are two of a rare pair. Not many know the genesis of our relationship or how long it has lasted. Two of us may not even fully account for how it all started given our age at that time.
This is because the friendship is as old as our ages minus our age the day we enrolled at St Jude’s primary School Ikpa-Eluama Osina in the present Imo State. That was the period you were required to place your right hand across your head to touch your left ear as a criterion for admission into the first class in the primary school.
If your right hand touched your left ear, then you are qualified for admission and vice versa. So we found ourselves in that preparatory class together with other mates. I cannot recall how we started as friends so early in life or the incident that brought us close. But my guess is that our performances in that rural primary school class could have been the bond. He was very eager to learn and highly elated each time he performed excellently well. I still recall the exclamation he made the day our teacher announced he scored 80 per cent in one of the subjects. The whole class burst into deep laughter when he exclaimed: uwa a a a…( the world….) as the teacher called his name and announced his score. He was enthusiastic to learn; very hungry for knowledge, always trying to show his peers that he has something more to offer.
Even at that tender age, he had learnt some French language from one of his cousins COC Umeh who was then in a secondary school. It was from him that for the first time, I learnt bonjour monsieur was a French equivalent for good morning sir. He pronounced monsieur badly as I came to realize when I started French years after in my secondary school. So he was above his peers in such innovative issues and somehow, we got attracted to each other due to competition to excel.
St Jude then prepared pupils for admission into St Mary’s primary school which was the senior arm of the Catholic primary school. I had thought two of us completed two years at St Jude before proceeding to St Mary’s until his cousin Jasper Umeh who was also with us( but in a different class) told me a fortnight ago he left briefly to Alaogidi primary school Uhualla due to some political pressure.
However, we rejoined in primary four at St Mary’s after the transition from standard to primary in the school calendar system and were together until we took the First School Leaving Certificate. My younger sister, Chinwe used to remind me of how he usually escorted me to my Aunty’s house- the Ebosie’s in Uzii after school each time my father sent me on errand there. The distance is not less than 10 kilometres to and fro. Chinwe lived with my Aunty after our mother’s death very early in our lives. She reminds me of how we usually sneaked to the backyard to pluck some pear as we left.
While in primary six, we took common entrance examinations. He was later to attend Earnest Gems Grammar school Akokwa while I attended Holy Ghost Juniorate, Ihiala. Our friendship continued throughout our secondary school period especially during holidays. On completion of his secondary career, he enrolled at the famous Christ the King College, Onitsha (CKC) for his Higher School. We met again at the University of Ibadan when he was admitted to read Geography in the same faculty of Social Sciences. There, the comradeship continued. At Ibadan, we had other friends like Dr Chika Ohia and late Dr Linus Dim. We worked together and shared common vision regarding the progress of our town, Osina.
In liaison with other friends in other universities: Bernard Nnagha and JO Eze both at the University of Ife then, Christian Maduekwe and Lambert Eze, UNN, we built a formidable relationship that changed the course of history in the community for the better. Issues relating to this are for another occasion.
Suffice it to say we all enjoyed our relationship. We trusted each other and enjoyed the confidence of each other. Between two of us, the confidence was much stronger because of our childhood experiences. We were with each other after our national service and when we secured our initial appointments. We spent our initial salaries savouring and oiling our relationship. Such was the story until responsibility set in after we started marrying one after the other.
For some reason, two of us were among the last in the group that married. And when it came to choosing his marriage sponsors, my wife and I were his choice. He was also the Godfather of my first son at baptism. We understand the chemistry of each other and have never had cause for serious disagreement even with our personality differences. He was quiet, non controversial and largely apolitical. Yet, we found common grounds to cohere.
He taught for some years at Abbot Girls’ Secondary School Ihiala, in Anambra State before securing appointment as a teaching assistant at the Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri. While at Alvan and in very quick succession, he enrolled for his post graduate diploma certificate in education and Masters Degree at Imo State University, Owerri. On successful completion of the two programmes, he went for his doctorate degree which he successfully obtained within record time.
He rose fast to the rank of Reader/Chief lecturer at Alvan. Dr. Umeh also held so many positions in the college: Head of Department of Geography and Environmental Science, chairman School of Social Sciences Teaching Practice Committee and departmental project coordinator among others. He has many publications.
Umeh exudes a lot of wits and very famous for inventing interesting and sharp remarks, many of which his circle of friends cannot forget in a hurry. Those witty sayings still dominate our discussion till date. The frontiers of his knowledge are wide covering the sciences, medicine, engineering and architecture.
A versatile and humorous person, Gallant will be highly missed by his numerous friends. He showed considerable determination to live even in the face of the odds. He displayed an uncommon resilience and doggedness as he battled health challenges in the last couple of months. It is sad he eventually succumbed to the wicked hands of death. Gallant will be missed by his family, his friends and all those who came into contact with him.
May the God almighty grant his soul eternal rest in His bosom and the family, the fortitude to bear the sad loss! May I end this tribute by quoting from Lisa Whelchel: “There’s something about childhood friends you just can’t replace”. Gallant, I miss you and will continue to miss you until we meet to part no more. It was indeed a sweet friendship that refreshed the soul-proverbs 27:9.
