A Lifetime Encounter

I have searched endlessly to find the most appropriate words to convey the profundity of today's encounter. All I do is grope in an attempt to find same.

So far, today's encounter is one of the most memorable encounters of my life.
A lot of us fervently wish to meet our legends, those from whom we draw inspiration; who mentor and teach us through their immortal works or deeds.

Sometimes we are not fortunate as wishes are hardly horses. This was my case with Prof. Chinua Achebe and Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, whom I met lying in state.

But today, providence was kind to me. Today I met a legend in whose musical, folklorical and didactic enchantment I had grown. I grew up with the hums of his songs by my mother and grandmother.

I have since grown an undying love for his tracks that I have played nearly all his albums. For me, he is not just a musician or another storyteller, he is a teacher whom generations of storytellers would have to understudy especially for the craft and lessons of his art.

The man is the Igbo storyteller and folklorical maestro, Gentleman Mike Ejeagha.

It was quite an emotional two-hour visitation in his residence at Abakpa Nike, Enugu, by 'Oja', a group of young people intent on the promotion of Igbo culture and tradition, headed by Amarachi C Attamah .

Meeting this musical legend culls to mind how carelessly we treat those who have in one way or another ensured the permanent existence of our identity, at least till the end of the world.

It brings to mind the nonchalance we exhibit towards the old in our midst, most of whom are custodians of a culture and tradition struggling for survival. The neglect of these crop of persons account for our directionlessness as a people. It is an evidence of why we are a people who lost touch with our forebears.

This attitude merely portrays us as the cricket who gloated that it was producing oil while it was being fried. We seem to have forgotten that he who draws closer to the aged and the knowledge they imbibe will never lose touch with generations past.

At the ripe age of 86, Gentleman Mike Ejeagha has been forgotten- even thought dead- until we met him today and made a presentation of a portrait of him and a depiction of 'Odogwu na-ali enu' carved on wood to him. On sighting our presents, the sage broken down and shed tears of overwhelming joy.

He looked at his aged wife who was also in tears and said, "these young ones by this gesture have elongated my life span." He could not contain his joy.
In appreciation, he encouraged us and offered prayers to God for blessings upon us.

One of us blew the Oja as we sang his songs. He stood up to dance but his legs could barely carry him- what old age does! He sang his songs but the virility of the voice that once called 'Obiako Obinwa m' and 'Omekagu' has faded into croakiness with age, a voice he referred to as 'onu okenye'- an aged voice- but we enjoyed it all the same.