Eighty one-year-old Madam Onugo Obiekwe retired as a nurse in one of the hospitals in the former eastern region. She hails from Amankwo town in Udi Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Born in the year 1936, the octogenarian matron of St. Peters General Hospital, Uwani, Enugu, says her growing up years were eventful and interesting. Going down memory lane, madam Obiekwe recalls her heyday as a spinster, drawing a comparison between the present day Nigeria and life back in the good old days.
She says, “In those days, there were moral and cultural values in the country, but these values are lacking in the county nowadays. For instance, then, parents were serious with their children’s upbringing and children were admonished at every point in time to do the right thing.
“I feel bad at the level of degeneration of morals, especially among the youth. Children no longer have respect for elders. At the national level, the issue of corruption is unimaginable. I listen to news and hear the way politicians steal our collective wealth. This is stealing, and that is where moral values come in. How can people be this wicked in a country where many are dying of starvation?”
Also ruing the worsening unemployment situation in the country, Madam Obiekwe says, “It causes frustration, dejection, desperation and dependency on family members and friends, who also have their own problems to contend with. Youth unemployment has made parents to become frustrated and traumatised at seeing their children turn to crime as a result. Nothing can be identified as the major cause of the unemployment among these vibrant youths than their lack of skills to complement what they learn at school.
“We were taught by the colonial masters in those days; getting a job after school was none issue. The only thing we owed the society was making good grades at school. As you were graduating, a job was already waiting for you. After my elementary school, I went to the School of Nursing at the Oji River town. We were taught by a white lady, Dr. Maria Fisher. She was among the colonial masters, who later settled with her husband in Nigeria. After school hours, I would also help my parents with farm work. Life was good and enjoyable; things were cheap. Our currency had value. It is also unfortunate that our currency has lost its value nowadays.”
On the social scene, Madam Obiekwe is also a lover of evergreen ‘old school’ tunes churned out by musicians, includ- ing Oliver D’Coque, Sir Osita Osadebe, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, King Sunny Ade and even foreign vibes, especially those released by Ghanaian music icons such as E.T Mensah, Joe Mensah, among others.
“Yes I like old school music. Dr. Fisher would call us every weekend and we would dance to these tunes, which she called ‘local flavor,” she says.
On her family life, she says marriage was a serious business during her younger days.
“I got married early enough. My husband was from a nearby village. My dear, marriage is not a bed of roses. Marriage is meant for patient people. The new generation think that marriage is garbage in, garbage out; they are looking for easy comfort. Marriage is endurance. It is something you work hard to be happy in. But the children of nowadays, If there is a little problem, they just quit without any effort to resolve the issue. No matter how highly placed a woman maybe, she is still under the control of her man. That was the perception about marriage in our days.
I feel bad at the level of degeneration of morals, especially among the youth. Children no longer have respect for elders. At the national level, the issue of corruption is un- imaginable. I listen to news and hear the way politicians steal our collective wealth in a country where many are dying of starvation
“There were less cases of divorce during that time. The men, too, knew their responsibility; they knew they have to carter for the family. Unlike now, women are working hard to help the man and to make ends meet. A man’s greatest need in this world is to be respected, and the person he desires that respect from the most is his wife. Take it from me, when respect is given, even when he doesn’t deserve it, it will motivate him to earn it. That doesn’t mean you pretend that his choices are good ones when they aren’t. Things like that still need to be communicated, but you can trash out your differences,” Madam Obiekwe says.
The octogenarian adds that during her days, match-making of mature children by their parents was usually done, especially between the members of two friendly families.
“If your father has a friend and his friend gave birth to a son, he can tell his friend that he wants his son to marry his friend’s daughter and he would not deny the request, but rather support the idea. The two families will jointly perform the marriage rites before the bride moves in with the bridegroom,” she states.
