Hello sweeties. It's been a while. I've had a couple of weeks away from social media.
That's because I've just got back from a hectic week away in Nigeria.
Last week Friday we buried my grandmother, Nnenne.
This picture is the way I remember her from the last time I saw her in the flesh.
She was the last of my grandparents (on both sides).
Nnenne was a beautiful, gentle soul. However, she was no pushover.
She always had words of encouragement and would always ask about our welfare. She gave herself selflessly and opened her doors with a generous heart.
We never needed to ask for food when we arrived at her house. She always gave without asking for anything in return.
She was our prayer warrior and when she sent words of prophecy (usually warnings) we heeded them.
As a child I spent many wonderful holidays in her house. She would wake us early in the morning so we could go to the farm with her. At night, she would tell us stories about the past.
Her stories and anecdotes would later inspire my own storytelling and writings. Actually the character of Ma Yise in Riding Rebel is partially based on Nnenne.
At 101 years old, she outlived her husband and one of her sons. She survived through two world wars and one civil war. She lived in Nigeria at the time of British colonisation, and through Nigeria's fight for Independence. She lived under civilian governments as well as military dictators.
She saw it all.
I am the first of her many grandchildren. I was named after her mother because she believed that I was her mother reincarnated.
My siblings and I got to enjoy her in her prime before my cousins (her other grand-children) came along in later years.
And of course, Nnenne was also a great-grandmother.
This is me holding her photo during the funeral procession.
I loved Nnenne. Her life was exemplary. She was love personified and a blessing to everyone.
She was a very special human being.
As one of my brothers said, her death marks the end of a great era.
Nnenne, nwanyioma, la n'udo.
(Grandma, wonderful woman, go in peace)