But the full weight, of who I was, came when I needed land to build my own house in the village. I had invited the elders of the clan to tell them of my intentions over some cartons of beer and whisky.
“Ladi, you have spoken well. In fact, it is a thing of joy that you were thinking in this direction. There is nothing like, when you get money from the city, you take it to your home town to invest. Are you aware, we are only your mother’s relatives. The meaning is that you are not a true son of the village. The only place you can build a house is your father’s village. Your mother, Eneh who happens to be our sister is the only person who can make this explanation”, one of the elders called uncle Adakole said.
“I can’t understand what you people mean! You named me Ladi Ameh, meaning that I am one of your own, so why can’t I build a house like one of your own? I have lived with you people for as long as I can remember. Why would people forsake me now?”
“We did not say you are not one of us. We are saying that you should build in your father’s compound first. Go and locate him and build in his compound first before building in your mother’s place,” another elder, Owutebe replied.
After listening to all the things they were saying, I came to a conclusion, that they were just jealous of me. Of course, the immediate neighbourhood was filled with old mud houses, and I guess they were not comfortable with me becoming the first to own a standard house.
In arriving at a decision, I decided to consult one of the men I respect a lot in that clan. He is Adugah. He retired as a teacher and had always made me believe that life was a battle of wits. More often than not, before I left the community, he would call me to offer pieces of advice, the way a genuine elder would. I had grown up, seeing him as a role model, in spite of the fact, that he was distant in terms of relationship with my mother. I knew he, Adugah, would tell me the truth about the situation.
He was sitting under the mango tree in his compound when I arrived that evening. And like a concerned father, welcoming his prodigal son from a long and lost journey, he asked me to sit down. When I placed the bottle of brandy I brought before him, he cleared his throat and told me, he knew why I came.
