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01/10/2019

This interesting story (FRIED ICE CREAM Written By Ema-Erhe Emagbetere) is now available on Amazon Bookshelf. To view or buy, click on the book cover below:

It was Children’s Day. Ten-year old Obanor who was an orphan was urged by his poor grandmother to join other children in the stadium. There, the legendary Mother of Africa told the story of Jite, the miracle baby: The boy was crippled at birth. But thanks to his mother’s dogged fait...

13/02/2017

TRUE LIFE STORY: 'THE STORY OF MY LIFE'. Written By Ema Erhe Emagbetere. Chapter One: In The Beginning. I almost died before I was born. My mother who was the daughter of an Anglican man of God, took in for her fiancee -- my father, before the planned wedding. At the time, pre-marital s*x was the stuff of which colossal scandals and monumental disgrace were made. To avert this, they both decided to do an abortion in Benin City. My father confided in his elder cousin (Andrew Iteku) who insisted that the pregnancy should not be terminated. "I do not support that," he said. "It is not the best option. The best path of wisdom is to speed up the planned marriage. If money is the challenge, I will contribute part of the money to fund the marriage." That was how I escaped death before I was born. There have been several other near-misses. But first, let me start from the beginning. My father James Ejaromedoghene Aderha Emagbetere was the son of Emagbetere, who was the son of Erha, who was the son of Efeyan. Efeyan was the son of Usen, who was the son of Aghwero, who was the son of Etobomedo of Ughwrughelli village of Agbarho. Although his father (Emagbetere) was a full blooded Urhobo man, his father gave him an Itsekiri name (meaning 'Take your own/portion) as a mark of his friendship with the Itsekiris who had come through the river at Okpara Waterside, to dwell among the Urhobos briefly in the early twentieth century. Aderha's mother was Edevo, from the Edaire family of Ovu in Ethiope East local Government area. His grandparents migrated to Ethiope East, and the late Aderha was born in Onika village of Okpara Inland in 1937, and brought up there. For this reason, and for convenience, they (the Emagbetere Family) all claim Okpara Inland in Ethiope East as their hometown. James Aderha Emagbetere had his elementary education in CMS School Okpara Waterside from 1945 to 1955. Thereafter, he went to Sapele to attend Abott Commercial College (now known as Okpe Grammar School) from 1955 to 1960. The family into which James was born was a pagan family in the strict sense of the word. Although the father and mother of James were dark in complexion, his maternal grandmother was tall and light in complexion and said to be a river goddess. Even after her death, she still appeared to James in his dreams. His genotype was AS, and he was a very sickly child. In particular, he had a persistent abdominal pain which defied all known treatment. One night, he saw his late grandmother in his dream. She brought a conconction and rubbed it on the spot. When he woke up, the pain was gone and never returned. For one reason or the other, James' mother left the marriage. James continued to live with his father. It was an unpleasant experience: he was subjected to inhuman treatment by his father's wives whenever his father was not around. The cheapest punishment being served food without meat or fish. Although his mother was no more with him, James's father loved him so much. And one day, before James came home, he had asked one of his young wives to leave permanently. When the young James returned home, his father sat him down and explained to him, saying: "I sent one of my wives away in your best interest." His father did not explain further, and James who did not like to dwell on the negative did not ask for details. He had implicit trust in his father's intelligence, and believed that the old man would not take such a rash decision if it were not justified. Going to school made James come in direct contact with Christians. He observed that pagan worship houses deteriorated with time, whereas church buildings developed from being under trees to the use of a classroom, and then the church acquiring its own land and building. He understood it to mean that Christianity symbolised progress. So he opted for the Christian faith. He wanted his family to move forward. He thought (in error as he later realised), that African names were not so progressive. So he came from school one day with a list of Biblical and English names and renamed his younger ones. He renamed Onogharigho as Edward. Other people he renamed in the family were Philip, Gideon, Joseph, Abraham. Those names stuck like glue. As a Christian, it was necessary to attend church service on Sundays. But his father was an unbeliever, and would not understand why his son would choose going to church above helping out in the farm. To avoid any collision and being labelled as lazy, he would wake up very early and go to his father's farm to work. Then at dawn, he would come to his father and ask: "Papa, I have done my farm work; can I go to church today?" He would then be allowed to go. He was a radical Christian. At that time, pagan practice forbade the eating of certain animals. James defied this and began to eat some of such animals. His father told him: "My son, what you are exhibiting is not Christianity, but gluttony." James thought about what his father said, and stopped the indiscriminate eating of every meat. On leaving college (Abbot), he was employed to teach at the Model School in Okpara Waterside in 1961. In January 1962, he was transferred to Orhoakpor Model School. There he met a fellow teacher by name Rebecca Efedjama, who had been his co-pupil way-back at CMS School, Okpara Waterside. Rebecca was the second daughter of an Anglican Catechist, and the first Urhobo woman to become a qualified teacher, having been sent to the West to attend a Teachers' Training School. At that time, the position of a Cathechist was equivalent to the rank of an Arch - Bishop today. Efedjama was a committed evangelist and the leader of the Anglican Church in Urhobo land. He traversed villages of Urhobo land planting Anglican churches, and all Anglican churches in Urhobo land (Warri, Effurun, Ughelli, Sapele, etc) reported to him. Almost sixty years after, his records and Christian exploits are still in the archives and being celebrated by the leadership of the church all over Urhobo land. His second daughter Rebecca was some years older than James. By virtue of her education and family background, James was in a lower rung of the social ladder. She had many viable options of who to marry. But surprisingly, when James proposed to her, she ignored other bright options and opted for him. Her family was opposed to it. And an Efedjama family member told her in anger: "People will watch the live-show of you and James." Rebecca took this as a challenge and swore that she would use all her life to encourage and help James climb up the ladder of life. In the course of their unapproved relationship, Rebecca became pregnant for James. In those days, s*x and pregnancy before marriage was a taboo. For it to happen with the daughter of the leader of the Anglican church made it worse. So both of them planned to abort the baby. There were no hospitals around at the time. So Rebecca was to go to Benin City for the abortion. James confided in his older cousin James Iteku. Iteku was vehemently opposed to an abortion. He offered to contribute to finance the marriage. So James wedded Rebecca in the Anglican church in April 1963. The male baby was born in August 1963. He was named Ivuavwerhe, meaning: A Happy mind. It would appear that even some people in the Emagbetere household were not happy about the marriage of James to Rebecca. It was interpreted to mean that it would make James prosper. An attempt was made on the life of Rebecca. One day in James's village, one of his father's wives (name with-held) offered Rebecca Cabin biscuit which she ate in innocence. After eating the biscuit, she began to act funny: she began to grovel on the ground and eat sand. Again, James' late grandmother appeared to him in a dream and instructed him that a packet of Cabin biscuit be bought and put at a T-Junction (known in Urhobo language as 'Aderha') to neutralise the poison. By virtue of having schooled in Western Nigeria before Nigerian independence, Rebecca knew the advantage of travelling overseas. She agreed with his plan, and encouraged James to travel overseas. On June 8 1964 (while she was still pregnant for her second child, he left for England. The child (a baby girl), was born on November 20, 1964, and named Ovwiroro. Meaning 'One with wisdom'. When James got to the UK, he had no money to start his higher education immediately. Meanwhile, he knew that he had younger ones in Nigeria who needed to be in school. So he opted to work for some years so he could have money to fund their education. After some time, he bought two Morris-Minor cars for his immediate younger brother (Gideon) to use for transport and meet the needs of the other children. Unfortunately, the cars were not properly managed, to say the least. The money earned was diverted, and used for the things inexperienced young men who are not born-again use money for. The cars were soon history. After Iroro was weaned, it became necessary for Rebecca to join her husband in England. James asked that his children should not be left in Okpara. Avwerhe and Iroro were therefore left in the care of Rebecca's mother in Ekrerhavwe. James also left specific instruction that nobody from his family (the Emagbetere family) should visit his children. The only people who had permission to go and see them were his father and his uncle (Akpoyovware Erha), who was the immediate younger brother of his father. When she arrived in UK, Rebecca worked, while her husband enrolled in Catford University College. But rent was expensive, and consuming their savings. So they decided to buy their own home. They saw a property of their choice on 56 Worlingham Road, SE 22, London. They needed to pay some part of the mortgage to qualify to take possession. Although James had saved, the money was not enough. So Rebecca wrote to her family in Nigeria, requesting for a loan to help pay the initial deposit. The money was sent, and the dream became a reality, while the loan was paid back with time. Later, James bought another property on 103 Grove Vale, London. James and Rebecca had four children in the UK, namely Okeredevona, Owena, Mimuro and Tetebe. Avwerhe and Iroro who were the two eldest children of James left in the custody of their maternal grandmother in Ekrerhavwe had other children (cousins) for company. James usually sent money for their upkeep. Once in a while, pictures of the children were snapped and posted to their parents in UK. On one occasion, he asked Samuel Ogegere (who was his closest friend and also his best man during his wedding to Rebecca) to get a photographer to snap the children so he could have an update. Samuel replied to his letter, saying the children looked too lean and sickly to be photographed. James insisted, but this writer was not shown the 'sickly' pictures. While the Nigerian Civil was on, Rebecca was anxious to see her siblings and children back in Nigeria. When the nagging became unbearable, James gave her permission to go and return to the UK in 1969.. At that time, she had given birth to only Devona, and was pregnant with Wena. So she came with Devona, and left him in Ekrerhavwe when she was returning to the United Kingdom. In 1973, she returned to Nigeria with Wena, Mimo and Tebe. and they settled in Sapele. She was also pregnant, and the baby (Awiantodere) who was conceived in the UK, was born in Nigeria on August 7, 1974. By that time, James had completed his education and become an endorsed Chartered Secretary and Accountant. That year, he returned to his family in Nigeria. He called his children together and asked them where they all wanted him to settle with them as a family between Benin, Sapele and Warri. All the children opted for Warri. So he decided to establish his business in Warri. .. (To be continued).

07/06/2016

Short Story: The Lion And The Ram By Ema Erhe Emagbetere

Chapter One: LION MEETS WITH ANGEL DESTINY
Several animals were about to start their lives. But before they would be born, they had to meet with the angel called Destiny. They would now be told the life style expected of them while on earth.
A very powerful animal sat on a chair in front of Angel Destiny. The animal’s eyes were tied. The thick band of cloth which covered his eyes pressed into the thick long hair around his muscular neck and shoulders.
“Mr. Animal,” a commanding voice called out.
“Yes, my Lord,” the animal answered.
“You shall be called ‘Lion’.”
“Yes, my Lord,” the powerful animal, now called Lion, answered again.
Lion sat on a low stool with a band of cloth tied over his eyes
“Now, stretch out your hand,” the voice said again. “And whatever you touch shall be your destiny.”
Lion reached out into the space in front of him. His thick paws touched a marble slate. On it was written: Psalm 110 Verse 1.
“You shall be a king among animals,” the angel interpreted. “You shall sit on the throne, and other animals shall be your footstool. You shall feed on them, but you shall not kill for pleasure or kill them to reserve food. You shall only kill when you are hungry. Is it understood?”
“Yes, my Lord,” Lion answered.

Chapter Two: RAM MEETS WITH ANGEL DESTINY
Another animal sat on the same seat that Lion had occupied. The animal’s body was covered with soft, wooly hair. A band of white cloth was also tied across his face.
“You shall be called Ram,” the powerful voice said.
“Yes, my Lord,” Ram answered.
“Now reach out and touch,” the voice instructed. “And whatever you touch shall be your way of life on earth.”
The wooly animal, now called Ram, stretched forth his hand. His hoof touched a marble slate. On it was written: Ezekiel 3:17-19.
“You shall symbolize the good,” Angel Destiny interpreted. You shall be meek and humble. You shall be a watchman. If a person goes against his destiny, the Lord shall reveal it to you. If you warn the person and the person corrects himself, he shall be saved. But if you refuse to warn the person and such a person dies, he shall be tortured; and you shall be tortured as well. But if on the other hand you warn and the person refuses to change, you shall have saved your neck. But the person shall perish and be tortured alone… Do you understand?”
“Yes my Lord,” Ram answered.
One after the other, all the animals came to sit on the platform in front of Angel Destiny. One after the other, each of them was told the life style expected of him. Then they were all ushered into the animal kingdom.

Chapter Three: TOGETHER AS ONE
At first, all the animals lived on their own inside their kingdom. No animal was bothered about what the other was doing.
One day however, a man called Missionary left the peace, quiet and safety of his home to live in the forest. He said he was in search of adventure. He said he also wanted to open up the dark forest and improve the animals’ way of life. And this second reason was more important to him.
Every animal came to look at the strange creature who walked on two legs and spoke a strange language. Some animals wanted to tear him apart. But he fired his gun and two animals – Leopard and Hyena – dropped dead. The other animals became afraid of him.
“I want all the animals to live together as one people,” the man told them. “That way there shall be peace, progress and prosperity. Above all, you will have unity and strength as a people.”
“But we are okay the way we are, each according to his tribe and destiny.” It was the cat that said this.
“That is just the point,” the man’s wife pointed out. “Though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood you shall stand.”
“The man is correct,” Dog put in.
“Yes,” Horse also agreed. “If we all live together, we shall be able to serve our fatherland.”
With that, all the animals agreed to live together.
“But who shall now be the over-all leader?” Cow asked.
“That will be no problem,” Lion assured them. “I shall serve the people as leader and defend all of you against powerful enemies. I will also ensure the kingdom is well organized for the good of all.”
“That is a good idea.” Monkey noted. From that day, all the animals began to live together as people in the same kingdom. Although Lion was their king, he took instructions from the man.
And that particular forest came to be known as the Federal Republic of Biberia.

Chapter Four: FREEDOM FROM MAN
Not too long after lion became king, he held talks with a few powerful animals. They concluded that Missionary should stop giving instructions. When he was told, the man did not argue. He picked up his things and left quietly with his wife.
It did not take long for the animals to know that King Lion did not mean well for them. He was a bully and task master. He took away their food, even when it was of no use to him. Worst of all, he killed other animals for fun. He could kill one animal and eat him up. Then even when he was not hungry, he would kill another animal.
“Why did you kill Mr. Antelope’s brother when you did not want to eat him?” Elephant challenged Lion one day.
“Just in case Mrs. Lion is hungry,” Lion replied.
“But Mrs. Lion can kill her own food if she is hungry,” Gorilla reminded him.
“I know,” Lion said. “But my cobs can eat the carcass of Antelope’s brother when they grow up.”

Elephant challenged Lion one day. “If my memory serves me right – and I think it does,” Elephant pursued, “the Lion family only eats fresh meat. So how come you now store meat till your sucking cobs grow up?”
Lion knew they were speaking the truth. Yet he continued to be blood-thirsty, killing small animals even when he did not need to. Most times, he would drag the carcass into hiding in another forest, or in the empire of Missionary whom he had asked to leave.

Chapter Five: RAM AS A WATCHMAN
Ram was not pleased with Lion’s unnecessary killing of other animals. “That was not what Angel Destiny told you,” Ram pointed out. “I was there when you were told not to kill for fun. And much as he said other animals will be your footstool, he did not say you should break the stool at will.”
Again Lion knew Ram was right. He knew he had been carried away by his might. So he walked away quietly. Yet he did not stop killing other animals without just cause. His power had corrupted him. It was now a bad habit.
Ram did not keep quiet either. Everyone knew he was a watch-man. He was also well-loved and respected. He spoke the truth and his words always came to pass. There were times when he had performed miraculous healing on sick animals by merely asking them to “stand up and walk.”
For this reason, Lion dared not kill Ram. He knew that if he did, everyone in the Republic would rise against him.
Ram went about telling everyone the wrong things they did. “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!” He would bleat as he rang his big bell. “Change your evil ways, for the day of judgment cometh like a thief in the night! What shall it profit you if you gain the whole world and lose your own soul?”
Most times, he would stand near the cave of the Lion. Then he would ring his bell and bleat loudly: “Repent! Repent! Repent!...”

Chapter Six: LION BEFRIENDS RAM
One day, Lion went to Ram and said, “Please be my friend and teach me how to be a good king,” Lion said to Ram.
“I will be only too glad to teach you”, Ram replied.
“But you must stop reminding me I am bad,” Lion said. “And you do not need to go around telling other people everything I do wrong.”
Ram agreed. “I will do as you say, provided you show a willingness to change.”
“It is done,” Lion agreed.
From that day, Lion and Ram became close friends. Lion called all the members of his family and everyone in the Republic to join him celebrate in Ram’s place. They sang, danced, ate, drank and rejoiced in Ram’s home. They called the event a “Thanksgiving.”
The people were taken aback by the new-found love between Lion and Ram. They were especially surprised when Ram accepted all the food stuff, drinks and expensive gifts which Lion brought.
“Every animal has his price,” some of the animals said, “even Ram the preacher.”
“Ram cannot be bought,” some other animals argued. “Just wait until Lion does something bad. Then you will see the watch-man in Ram.”
“But who will watch the watch man?” a third group queried.

Chapter Seven: RAM IN FULL SUPPORT OF LION
It is often said that “the cat will eventually eat the rat it plays with.” It is also known that it is the same water that bears the ship that later turns round to engulf it.
For the Lion and the ram, it was no different. And so one day, the ram went into the Lion’s cave and never came out. I was not there. My father and mother were not there. And no animal was in the cave with them, for obvious reasons. All that can be said is that Ram went into Lion’s cave, and was not seen thereafter.
Some of the animals said it must have been a mistake on Lion’s part.” Others said “the all-powerful beast must have intended it from the very beginning.” Yet others said “it served the Ram right. After all, he betrayed his calling as a watch-man.” They said he had since changed into a false prophet for Lion’s sake.
Whatever, the fact remained that the chief Ram was no more. And with his death, even some of those who had deserted him now felt pity for him.
On the day that they gathered in his place for the funeral, the smaller Ram said: “Our joy is that he lived a good life. He never took what was not his own. He never killed anyone, and he never spoke evil against his neighbor. He is not dead; he has merely gone to sleep. We believe he is resting in the bossom of the Lord.”
To this, everyone nodded in approval. Crocodile even began to shed false tears. And soon, a few others joined him.

Chapter Eight: JUDGEMENT DAY
At the end of time, the big bell sounded. All the animals – small and big, young and old, lazy and powerful alike – were gathered in response to the big bell. One after the other, they stood before the angel who held a giant book.
All the animals were gathered in response to the big bell.
Any animal whose name was found in the big book would go in through a golden gate to live and enjoy in a city which had golden streets.
“Ram!” The angel called out.
Ram stepped out. Even as he did so, everyone knew his name would be in the book. After all, Ram never stole, never killed anyone, and always called on others to repent. More than that, he repeatedly worked miracles.
After a careful search however, it was pronounced that Ram’s name was not in the book.
“Check it properly,” Ram said with a confident smile. He knew one of the houses in the golden city must have been reserved for him. “I know my name is there.” He said with a confident smile. “I never stole, and I never killed. I never spoke evil either.”
“Yes,” the other animals agreed. “Check it properly. He always preached to us, he always prayed for us, and his prayers worked wonders.”
To this, a loud voice said: “There is blood on his head. He killed Lion.”
“You are mistaken,” Ram countered. “It was the Lion that took my life. All the animals knew that much.”
‘Yes,” the angel said. “The Lion took your life in the physical. But you killed him spiritually. You failed to warn him against evil. You failed in your calling.”
At this point, Ram recalled the words: “…If you refuse to warn the person and such a person dies, he shall be tortured and you shall be tortured as well…”
“You are hereby condemned according to Revelation 19 verse 20!”
“I don’t understand,” Ram said.
“That verse says ‘And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles with which he deceived the people.’”
Even as he said so, huge steel hands took hold of Ram and began to pull him together with Lion towards the place of torture.
“Oh Angel!” Ram appealed. “Remember I healed and worked miracles in His name. After preaching for Him…after healing for him…after singing for him…Angel; do not let me be cast aside…”
From nowhere, the commanding voice sounded again: “Depart from my sight, you worker of iniquity. I know you not!”
Ram’s words of plea were echoed over and over and over. Soon, it turned into a sorrowful song: After preaching for Him, After Healing for Him, After singing for Him, Angel, do not let me be cast aside. Oh Lord, do not let me be cast aside.
At this point, the other animals forgot about their own problems. They put their heads down in pity. And no less than hundreds of them shed tears for Ram. They were not too sure. But it seemed even Angel Destiny shook his head in sorrow over Ram’s plight. (Copyright, Ema Erhe Emagbetere. All rights reserved. Except for the purpose of fair dealing e.g review or criticism, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the copyright owner. For more details/bulk orders, call: +2348036676276 or e-mail [email protected]).

19/03/2015

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