A long time ago, in a small town called Ekondo, in Calabar, there lived a man who had two wives and 3 children. His first wife, Ekamma, bore him a son, and his second wife, Emem, had 2 daughters.
Effiong was a man well-known in the town for his contributions and commitment to making Ekondo the town that it is today. His good reputation had made waves for him and made him stand before the clan heads and rulers far and near. Despite Effiong’s achievements, he could mold his family to be one of a kind to look up to in the community. His wives were always at war with each other, and so were his children. Because Ekamma, the first wife, couldn’t give him a male child, he had more love for his sons than his daughter, who was the child of his first wife.
Mr. Effiong and Emem raised the boys in ways they ought not to have done, and they had no respect for elders or even their parents. As if their abysmal manners were not enough, the eldest son, Offiong, had picked up a dirty habit of stealing, which was known to his parents. Still, because he was their precious son, the first pride of his father, as Mr. Effiong usually calls him, unknowingly, they helped him nurture this habit until he grew up into a fine man. This was something the whole village frowned at, yet his mum especially would always say, “ he is just a child and will outgrow this when he grows.”
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years as everyone kept watching out for when Offiong would finally outgrow being a thief. Mr. Effiong and his family received reports of theft every blessed day from people in the community about their beloved son, but they always sided with and paid off those involved to cover up their son’s deed. Ekamma’s daughter, who was never regarded or recognized by her father because she is a female child, had just been admitted into the University of Calabar to study nursing. She took different jobs just to support her mother with her academic demands. Her father and stepmother didn’t see a need for her to be educated, so they mocked and tried to discourage Ekamma from training her child while her child went around, causing a nuisance in the town of Ekondo.
Mr. Effiong built a political career for himself and got elected as the treasurer of their local community party, known as the People’s Alliance Party (PAP). He was treasurer for only 6 months when his Son Offiong discovered that he brought home huge amounts of money each time he returned from their meetings so it could be taken to the bank the next day. Offiong and his brother planned a robbery so they could take this money from their father without being suspected.
One day, Mr. Effiong had just returned from his usual meeting. It was about 11:45 pm that night when they heard a loud bang on the door. They frantically jumped out of bed, running to find help. “where is the money? Where is the money?” they asked, as Mr. Effiong replied in fear, “There is no money, which money?” they threatened to kill his wife as he screamed and gave out the bag of money to the robbers, and they took it away. This incident led to Mr. Effiong’s illness and the loss of trust in him by the community party members. He had money and no one to run to anymore because everyone suspected that his sons were behind the robbery. A few weeks later, the robbers were caught, and they mentioned the orchestrators of the robbery. The sons’ of Mr. Effiong were hanged and shot to death as a penalty for their crime.
Mr. Effiong lost both Sons and a reputation built on hard work and commitment. This taught both the young and the old that as you lay your bed, you will lie on it.
Ekamma’s neglected and disregarded daughter now became Effiong’s only child and pride. She graduated top of her class, some years after the demise of her brothers. She got a job overseas and moved to England to start a new life. She became everything and more to her family and restored the lost name and legacy of the Effiong dynasty.
