Sending All My Luck To A Brother on his Birthday: Life has taught me that big brothers are those who fight with you, push your buttons the wrong way, fiercely attack every decision you may take, and their temperament is such that they will really push you up the wall and over the edge. But, he is also the one who resuscitates you from every downfall, protects you from every possible harm, and looks after you no matter how old you get. A brother is one who despite all the arguments and fights, is your buddy for life. Older ones can be your mentors and your best supporters, while younger ones can be your best friends and proteges. No matter how you see your brother, they are still really special. So here is letting my little brother Sojo know how special he is to me on his birthday. Like I told you before, my brother, the one we call Sojo is a year older today. On this day I want to specially give thanks to the grand Architect of the universe on behalf of this young man for two reasons - he went to hell and came back stronger! How do I mean? Sometime early in 2010 Sojo resumed for his final year at the Nigerian Defence Academy where he was a Navy cadet. He had a boot of malaria but decided to travel from Makurdi to Kaduna so as to be at the Academy before the deadline for resumption. I picked him up from Barnawa and we were driving to the Academy when he suddenly started convulsing and slipped into coma in the car. His body temperature was above the threshold for Ebola. He obviously has progressed from severe malaria to cerebral malaria. I said a little prayer in my mind and tried not to panic. Luckily Brother Tom was with us. I got a bottle of water and an handkerchief with which Tom applied tepid sponge on his to bring down his body temperature while I drove with the speed of light to the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna from Barnawa. When we got to the hospital at about 8 pm he came out of coma and demanded to speak with his Mum on phone. I gave him the phone after dialing the number and the next thing he said was that, Mumsy they are fighting me, incase I dont make it...... Swiftly I snatched the phone from him and told Mumsy that we have a situation but everything is under control. We are in the hospital and Ill give her updates when we sort out issues on ground. To cut the long story short, Sojo went on to spend two weeks on admission and resumed at the Academy after he was discharged from the hospital. We give God the glory because we were all looking forward to his commissioning into the Nigerian Navy. The old man has arranged his babariga and mumsy too has designed her gele and Aso ebi for the D - Day. Yours truly have dry ckeaned hid coat and was patiently counting down to the D - Day. Thats all that matters so anything that will delay this day by a second was always visited with holy ghost fire and all the prayers that you could think of. Few weeks to his graduation from the Academy something mysterious happened. I got a call from Sister Mary. She was emotional. Onyi whats up, talk to me, I teased her. She it was who dropped the bombshell! Your brother has been withdrawn from the Academy, she told me amidst sob. Where is he at the moment, I asked her. She said somewhere in Kaduna. It was about 9 pm in the night and I was in Zaria. I couldnt reach him on phone so I hit the road tearing through the cold cloudy harmattan with the speed of light. As fate will have it I got through to Sojo on phone immediately I arrived Kaduna. He told me where he was and I drove straight to his location. When I saw him he was a complete wreck. He was 8 weeks away from becoming a Naval Officer after spending 6 years at the Nigerian Military School in Zaria and 5 years at the Defence Academy. What was his offense? A fire alarm went off in the middle of the night and all cadets assembled on the parade ground. He was there on the parade ground as well. A fellow Cadet was holding a mobile phone and he borrowed the phone to make a brisk call. An officer saw him making the call. The said officer charged him to Commandants Court for being in possession of a mobile phone in the Academy and making a phone call on the parade ground. That was his second offense in three weeks, the first one was coming out late for a fire alarm. For these heinous crimes he was withdrawn from the Academy and his dreams shattered. Alright you are the son of a soldier and you meant to be a soldiers soldier, I told him. Brace up for the next chapter of your life. Were gonna make an omellete with this egg life has thrown at you. Where are your stuffs, I asked him? Lets go and get them. Were going back to Zaria, I told him. It was an emotional journey back to Zaria after 12 midnight but we needed to be strong for each other. I watched this young man stay awake all through the night consecutively for three nights as he battled with depression and insomnia. At some point I was scared he was going to commit suicide. He doesnt eat food. All he does is pace around the room and soliloquise. At some point I had to sedate him with tranquilisers so that he can sleep at night. It was like a terrible nightmare but it is real. We give God the glory for that phase is over. Sojo was meant to conquer the sea as a sailor but that was not to be. I always tell my brothers and encourage them that whenever they are down, they should look up. Sojo looked up from the pit of despair where he was thrown into and guess what? Today he is a trainee Pilot, having moved up from the pit of despair. Once a soldier, always a soldier. I know he still feels the pains badly about losing his commission so carelessly. We as a family still do. Recently I came to the conclusion that perhaps it was not his destiny to become an officer in the Nigerian Navy. So let bygone be bygone. There is still live and once there Is life, hope abounds. That is the story of Trainee Pilot Inalegwu Joseph Akoji. Sojo remember what I always tell you - Never give up on yourself! For your birthday, I got you a box. Hooray! Its empty, so you can fill it with whatever you want. Happy birthday Sojo!
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 17:50:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015