Her Father's Wife

Chapter 30

Akukalia's first daughter was getting married. Enyidiya was the happiest woman in Ngodo. Her husband was Ngodo's first medical doctor. Dr. Philip
Ofor. He was Mazi Ofor's second son. Mazi Ofor was from Ngodo but lived at Okpoko, a village in Anambra State. Ona and Uzoka used to sleep over in his house on their journey to Ochanja. His son Philip was among the few boys that started school when the missionaries landed at Anambra State and started the Niger Diocese, the Anglican community. They also established a school. Some of their earlier converts later became catechists in their churches or teachers in their schools. Philip's case was different. He was very intelligent, so brilliant that they considered it a waste for him to stop half way. Moreover, they needed a resident doctor for their newly established hospital at Onitsha. Philip was sent to England to be trained as a medical doctor. He did not disappoint. He graduated in flying colours. He was immediately posted to St. John's  Hospital Onitsha on his return from England. He was given a house, placed on a salary so big that it will make any man in Ngodo  swoon. To cap it all, he had something no man in Ngodo dreamt of obtaining, a car. At this time, the richest men in Ngodo were those that owned a bicycle and you can count them on the fingers of one hand. Stories of Dr. Ofor's virtue, comeliness and wealth were making waves in Ngodo. His father Mazi Ofor was very proud of him. Only one thing is remaining, a wife. He therefore mounted  pressure on Philip to get married. Preferably  to get a wife from Ngodo. Since Dr. Philip knows nobody at Ngodo, he left the herculean task to his father. His only condition was, the girl must be educated, at least up to primary six. Nwakaku, Akukalia's  first daughter was the obvious choice. She was beautiful, well behaved, from a good family and to crown it all, she was the most educated of all the girls in Ngodo. She read up to TC II. She was also a teacher in the newly established school at Ngodo. Akukalia had handed Nwakaku over to the catechist to please him and to solidify their friendship. The Venerable, Reverend Webber Horsefall was from Calabar. A costal town in Nigeria. They were the  first to receive the missionaries. It was in this ancient town that Mary Slessor lived and carried out her missionary work. He was posted to Ngodo after his training to start a church there. It was a difficult task to convince any Ngodo man to send his child to school. This is because Ngodo believed that schooling makes the children lazy. It also reduces the number of children that will help out in the farm. Seeing the obstacle, ahead of him, Rev. Wibber befriended the elders and some of the prominent men in Ngodo. He visits with them and sits down to chat with them on a wide range of topics. They did not really believe some of the outlandish tales he told, still, they make for a good entertainment. When he exerted pressure on them to send their children to school, they bulked. They later relented.  After all, they were not being asked to pay money. They decided to give him a child each.  This was out of pity and in respect to him. Almost all of them sent their daughters. And among the daughters, the lazier ones. Those that their absence in the farm will not be felt. When a levy of two pence was introduced, most of them withdrew their  children. Akukalias did not. Mostly because he considered it belittling to take back a gift he had already given away. Everybody pitied Enyidiye then, sympathizers came in droves to commiserate with her. Today, the reverse is the case. Enyidiye was the most blessed among all the women in Ngodo. Nwakaku's marriage started a new trend in Ngodo. Just the way Ngodo men were in a haste to remove their children from school, they were now in a hurry to send them back, especially the girls. From all indication they reasoned, schooling enhances a girl's chances of getting a rich husband. They withdrew their female children from the farm and send them to school. While this development brought joy to many, there were also those that were unhappy. One of them was a near relative. Akukalia's new found love for Enyidiye did not go down well with his second wife Ezinne. She hates being pushed aside. She was running shoulder to shoulder with Obiageli before, while that does not make her happy, at least she was still in the race. Now, she is no where. The race now seemed to be between Enyidiye and Obiageli with Enyidiye leading, Obiageli trailing second while she had become a mere spectator. To think that Akukalias sent the daughter of his beloved Enyidiye to be honoured, while her four boys languished in the farms for him she thought. She conveniently forgot that she would have pulled down the house if anybody had touched any of her children. All she can think of is how she had been wronged in Akukalias house. She was hurting, somebody must hurt with her.