On arrival at Okujagu-Ama, Tamie, Ahia-Ukwa, Nehemiah and Emmanuel had passed on to glory.
Amagboribie family was accommodated by a Honourable man called Stanley. This man, at this time, was also accommodating one of my uncles, Bedone and his family.
Recall that the Children of Tamie did not have any property of their own. They were squatting with people of good will.
On arrival, we were asked and advised to perform certain traditional ritual that will enable us adapt our digestive systems to the type of food eaten in the island and to prevent stomach and digestive discomfort. I do not have details of the ritual, but as a child, it seemed like some of the food were made to touch the ground (called Amakiri – that is, the soil of the land) before we were asked to eat.
After a while, Amagboribie and Bedone’s family started exhibiting squeamish attitudes towards one another. They were sharing same kitchen facility and when things get missing in soup, no one owns up. My mother did not find such things funny, my father had to source for another accommodation.
In other to prevent total breakdown of civility my family relocated to my father’s auntie’s home. Her name was Cheyeabaromi. We called her Nne alala. She was a widow with no children. This Grand Auntie was my Grand Mother’s sister.
From Nne Alala’s place, we relocated to Mr. Bright Ibisa’s house. His house is a storey building very close to St Annes’ Anglican Church Okujagu –Ama.
As a result of perceived discomfort, the family relocated to Ibiapu Compound to the house that Brother Emmanuel was staying previously. Brother Emmanuel is the Son of Emmanuel one my father’s brothers.
The family moved from Ibiapu Compound to Mr Quinton Atemoku’s place. Mr Quinton was a cousin to my father. This cousin was also accommodating one of my uncles, my father’s brother, Velvet and his family.
While at Mr. Quinton’s apartment, my mother influenced and encouraged my father to get his own property. She was no longer comfortable with the frequent confrontation with people because of accommodation.
According to the custom, my father could not go to the elders of the community directly for such matters. So, his brother Bedone who was the eldest surviving brother will have to stand in as his guide before the land will be given to my father. The land was eventually given after providing some bottles of local gin, some packets of biscuits and the likes.
My father eventually built a six-room apartment with a central sitting room after several years of endurance. Only one of the rooms was roofed before we moved in.
Though the walls of the house were not plastered, a jinx was broken with this achievement. The era of roaming within one’s community for accommodation seized.
The other rooms were roofed bits by bits as funds became available.
This achievement encouraged my Uncle Amakiri to source for funds to build his own.
My uncle Bedone had died some years prior to the completion of our building.
It was a thing of joy and gratefulness to God that a seed from Tamie will eventually break the jinx of accommodation.
My father, Amagboribie assigned rooms for his siblings on completion of the roofing of his house. Following is a sketch of the house my father built and how it was allocated.
However, Velvet did not move in with his family for personal reasons.
It was a thing of joy bringing the family under one roof.
Periodically the family had a get together in the sitting room.
In a setting with different people, there is bound to be exhibition of likes and dislikes. Offence must present itself in diverse forms.
It came to the hearing of my mother that the children of Bedone were of the opinion that the land my father built his house on belonged to them. They claimed that my father built it because he was the one having the financial ability to do so.
This saying did not go down well with my mother, so she ordered them to leave the house.
I cannot recall the misunderstanding with Dango, but she (Dango) invited her children to fight my mother. This led to them being ordered to leave the house.
The families of Bedone and Dango relocated to the house built by Amakiri on our maternal piece of land.