Overcoming Obstacle is about surviving without having your parents around to provide and guide you as a young boy trying to make it in life. It is about living through a civil war and having to make adult decisions at thirteen years old as a result of unfortunate circumstance. It is also having the courage to weather through tough situations and still have hope to succeed. This is to encourage the readers that no matter what obstacles they may face in life, they should not give up hope. It is very important to always have a positive attitude in every situation. This is about letting the situation inspire you to work hard rather than giving up. Therefore the choice is yours to overcome any obstacle that comes your way just like I did.

Overcoming Obstacles

Living through the experience of warBy Emmanuel C. Nwamah

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2010 Emmanuel C. Nwamah
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4520-6290-7

Contents

Dedication...................................................................vAcknowledgments..............................................................viiIntroduction.................................................................xiChapter 1 Life Prior to the Civil War.......................................1Chapter 2 Left the Village for Port Harcourt................................8Chapter 3 Return to the Village Due to War..................................13Chapter 4 Refugee Camp in Abacha............................................15Chapter 5 Refugee Camp in Okigwe............................................19Chapter 6 Return to Port Harcourt during the War............................23Chapter 7 Refugee Camp in Okigwe (Second Time)..............................25Chapter 8 Refugee Camp in Orlu..............................................30Chapter 9 Refugee Camp in Achalla...........................................33Chapter 10 Refugee Camp in Igbariam..........................................36Chapter 11 Refugee Camp in Achalla (Second Time).............................39Chapter 12 Refugee Camp in Oba (Ofemiri).....................................42Chapter 13 Refugee Camp in Umuchu............................................45Chapter 14 Return Home after the War.........................................48Chapter 15 Left Home for Enugu...............................................51Chapter 16 Return Home to Continue High School...............................54Chapter 17 Left Home for Lagos after High School.............................64Chapter 18 Left Nigeria for USA for University Education.....................70Chapter 19 Life in America...................................................76Chapter 20...................................................................81Chapter 21...................................................................85Epilogue.....................................................................97

Chapter One

Life Prior to the Civil War

I was born in Nawfia in Anambra State, Nigeria, to the late Mr. Benedict Okoli Nwamah and Mrs. Paulina Ngbeke Nwamah. I was barely two years old when my father passed away and thirteen when my mother died. I am the last son of five surviving children of my parents, as two of my siblings died in their infancy. I was told this occurred because of early infant mortality arising from fever, childhood sickness, and disease due largely to lack of proper medical care. I was born in a culture where extended family structure is very profound and embraced. The names of my siblings in order of seniority are Bennett, Reuben, Gabriel, and Michael. The only girl (name unknown), who came after Bennett, and a boy named Samuel, who was born after Gabriel, were the two who did not survive.

As a young boy growing up, I often wondered who these two resembled among my brothers and also what their lives would have been like, especially the baby girl, who would have been the only sister among us. My father had two brothers, whose names were Johnson Okafor Nwamah and Simon Okeke Nwamah, and three sisters. First, there was Esther Ngbankwo Akwanya, who was married into Akwanya's family in the Ifite village in our town, and she had five children named Augustin, Abel, Edwin, Bessie, and Adeline. Next was Ngbeke Orji, who was married into Orji's family in Nibo town, which is a few miles away from our town. She had five children named Nwachukwu, Alex, Mike, Goddy, and Ifeatu. Finally, there was Ngboye Nwaogoduogolo, who married into the family from Enugu-Ukwu town, a neighboring town, and she had four children named Okonkwo, Issiac, P.C., and David.

My mother had two brothers, Emmanuel Nwoye and Patrick Okoye Nwoye, and a sister Nwaejiaga Ndu who married into Ndu's family from Ifite village. Emmanuel had eight children: Peter, Paul, Joseph, Emmanuel, Felomina, Beatrice, Ngozi, and Elizabeth. Patrick had five children: Tagbo, Joseph, Ekwetosi, Chiedu, and Amelie. Both uncles on my father's side married two wives. Uncle Johnson's first wife, known as Mama John or popularly referred to as Mama Enugu, had eight children: John, Ebenezer, Mercy, Ifeyinwa, Njide, Christian, Obiora, and Obiageli. The second wife, Grace, also known as Mama Christopher, had six children: Christopher, Zachius, Nonye, Ebele, Okechukwu, and Ngozi. Uncle Simon's first wife, Dinah, or Mama Chukwuwike, had six children: Chukwuwike, Ozoemena, Chuwukeluo, Comfort, Edith, and Blessing. His second wife, Christiana, has no children. My mother and Grace were from the village called Umuriamu in our town, and both belonged to the same clan. Dinah, on the other hand, came from Uruoji village, while Mama John came from Amaobia town, and Christiana from Enugu-Ukwu, a neighboring town to the south.

I was barely two years old when my father was killed in a car accident. I was told that he worked for the military as a driver. I did not know him and had not seen even a picture of him. Therefore, I grew up without his influence in my life, and as a child, I bombarded my mother with questions about my father. I wanted to know what kind of person he was. Which of his brothers did he resemble? What did he like to do? How did he and my mother meet? What caused his death? My mother responded by asking why I was asking all those questions and promised to tell me when the time was right, but she never answered my questions.

Even though I grew up without my father, our compound, called Nwamah's compound, had my Uncle Johnson living there with Grace and her children while his first wife and her children were living in Enugu town, which was quiet a distance away from the village. Also living in the compound was Dinah, the first wife of Uncle Simon, and her children. Uncle Simon was living in Kano, a city in the northern Nigeria, with Christiana. The compound is very big with two sets of buildings. There was enough accommodation for every family. It was my father's rightful inheritance as the first son of his parents, according to the culture and the custom of my people. Therefore, I did have many uncles, aunties, and cousins around when I was growing up.

From birth, I grew up in the village with my mother and two of my brothers, Gabriel and Michael. My two eldest brothers, Bennett and Reuben, lived away from home in the Midwestern part of the country. Bennett left school halfway through his secondary education and got a job in order to help the rest of us get a good education. He was advised by Uncle Patrick to ensure that for every penny he planned to spend to save half so that he could afford to give his brother's the chance of getting a good education. He heeded to the advice and began with Reuben, who was residing with Patrick Nwoye as a house boy. Reuben later left the residence of Uncle Patrick to live with Bennett. Gabriel left home to live with Patrick Nwoye. Michael and I were left at home in the village with our mother. My mother was a resourceful and skillful woman who knew how to sew and provide for her family. She cultivated a portion of our family land and had her own barn, which was one quarter the size of Uncle Johnson's barn. Uncle Johnson was a wealthy business man who owned three houses. Two of his houses are in Kano, in the north, and one is in Enugu, in the east, but he had no house built in the village. Although, he had this wealth, he did not offer to help us, but he...