A Salute to UDSS Class of 95/96

For the past few months, I’ve been on a leave of absence, so to speak. I had so much going on. I needed to clear my head. Work became intense and then there’s this little thing called 'Master’s Degree' for which I pursue persistently. A collage of all these stresses were talking their toll on me so I had to depart your honorable presence for a while. By doing so, I turned of the reason to hang out with you all - my friends and cohorts. I had turned a deaf ear to your calls to join the daily congregation.

But don’t think I was never here. I still come in everyday to read your blogs and I must say that I appreciate each and everyone one of you for sharing your experiences. I do learn from you. I am eternally grateful. I am glad to be back on the block. Nothing is more entertaining and enticing than a lunch break with you fellas.

OKAY! Now that I’m through with the preamble, lets get down to business. Shall we? There’s a lot happening down under in a country known as ‘Nigeria’ a.k.a Naija (I often say, the gods of the Good and the Bad must reside in that country because amazing things happen there whilst such things don’t happen anywhere else in the world).

I’m on a two week leave back in Maryland. I needed to get away from the political stumping ground in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. So I’ve spent the past week to unwind, lounge around, and party here and there. If you ask me, I’m just hanging on to the twilight of the summer.

Today is Tuesday October 3, 2006. I am on a relapse from all the parties commemorating our 46th Independence(Hurray!). As the effects of the party withered off, I am in dire need for some jolt of entertainment. After all, I’m on vacation dammit!....and I’ve gat a whole week left.

…And then I checked my e-mail the moment I got up from bed around eeeerrrrrrr 11. In my inbox, there was a blast from the past- an e-mail from a high school classmate, Agbani Douglas now Mrs. Akhaze.

So I quickly dialed the phone number she left on the e-mail and called her up. We chatted for a very long time trying to recall our days in high school. Oh how time flies. Frankly it seems like yesterday. But the conversation made me realize one thing. That the strength of the stream lies in its source and what it carries along the way. Sometimes, you have to go back…way back in time in order for you to truly appreciate the strides you’ve made in life.

I also learned never to forget those who were there in the beginning for they are the source of your strength. They are the foundation to your future because they affect your outlook in life thus affecting your future.

So I am caught in the serenity of this moment. In this moment I reflect on ALL of those who I shared those memorable years of my youth with:

Agbani Douglas, Kelechi Dike, Otu Kadana, Ibrahim Jimoh (deceased), Chituru Wodi, Chimene Wali, Onimi Erekosima, Dagogo Erekosima, Uju Ezeamama, Benedicta Elechi, Tambari Kua, Chijoke Didia, Kenebi Okoko, Bio Mangete, Godswill Obomanu, and many others I just can’t recall your names but you are equally important to me.

I thank you all for being a part of my life. Your foot prints left in the sand of time guide my strides. I’ll always carry you with me. I’ll never forget you all!