With TONY OKOROJI
Two days ago, I was not sure whether this year, I would be alive to say “Merry Christmas” to my friends and family. If you follow Saturday Breakfast, you would have read that about three weeks ago, I wrote Saturday Breakfast at an airport lounge on my way out of Lagos.
My friends had insisted that I badly needed a vacation because of my crazy workload during the year. My colleagues at COSON were worried that if I did not do something, I would soon collapse because of my recent never-ending visits to the doctors.
Of course, within my nuclear family, this is a special period of the year for celebrations. December 4 is the birthday of my youngest daughter, Stephanie, whom I love more than words can say. December 12 is the birthday of my brother, Iyke, who in many ways has done my family very proud. This coming Monday, December 22 will be my birthday and December 24, Madam’s birthday. What of Christmas? What of New Year? All rolled into four weeks.
Like many Nigerian families these days, much of my family lives outside the country. Despite the many challenges of Nigeria, I live in Nigeria and I am determined to continue to live in Nigeria whatever milk and honey is outside, because I believe that at the end, the hard work of rebuilding our country belongs to us.
It is a lot cheaper for me to travel to celebrate with the family than for the family to travel to celebrate with me. Even at that, it is not cheap. It is not ‘beans”.
I am not a rich man by any standard. I am not a governor, minister of the Federal Republic nor Director-General of any of the sundry government institutions that litter Nigeria. I am not a top member of any political party; in fact, since birth, I have never belonged to any political party. I do not have a mansion in Banana Island in Lagos or Maitama in Abuja. The truth is that I do not own a mansion anywhere. I do not award contracts to supply or remove anything. I actually think that many would consider my life boring as I am not connected to any government money supplying pipe.
I was received at Maryland’s BWI Airport by my brother, Iyke and his wife, Queen Elizabeth. I got a good reception in Maryland, the next-door neighbor to Washington DC, where most of the family lives.
After about a week, I thought it would amount to professional misconduct if I did not travel to Dallas Texas to see Tony Jnr, my only son, his wife, the beautiful Andrea and my two years old grandson, AJ. I was picked-up in the middle of a cold night at Dallas Fort Worth Airport by TJ who is a die-hard Chelsea fan. On the about 45 minutes-drive to his home, we had a heated debate on the fortunes of Chelsea and Arsenal football clubs at the ongoing Premier League and Champions League. It was hot! I am sure you know my position: “Gunners for life!”
The reception was first class. I thought I would be able to see my guy, Koffi Da Guru who now lives in Dallas. I called Koffi on the phone only to find out that Koffi was in Lagos rehearsing for a show with Ashny. For about 36 hours, everything was good. Suddenly, my blood pressure which I had been nursing for a while, went totally insane and I was overwhelmed by pains. TJ was alarmed, and in an instant, he called an ambulance. Right in the ambulance, the medics began a battle with my health.
For about five days, my son practically left his job, did nothing else but watch over me on a hospital bed. He followed up on each of the many procedures as the doctors fought to get my health to stabilize. He interviewed every doctor and every nurse and made sure I got the best attention possible. He personally went to organize every meal I got and filtered my telephone conversations.
I just got out of hospital. I am still wobbly and not sure footed. I was told that I should not bother with Saturday Breakfast today. I refused. In sixteen years, come rain, come sunshine, I have published Saturday Breakfast every Saturday.
There are many whose calls I have missed recently, I apologise.
Merry Christmas to all my friends and family. Merry Christmas to all in the Nigerian creative family. Merry Christmas to my COSON colleagues and my family at TOPS Digital.
Thank you, TJ. You are a son in a million!
See you next week.
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