This is for my daughter, whom I raised and
loved with everything I have. Hereby I give her my heart and my soul so that to
teach her how to live and love.
Dear Ezinma,
Seven years of exile was so unbearable.
What more is that I have to see with my own eyes that our once beautiful
glorious village is falling apart? The albinos, with their so called supreme
religion, had invaded our world. Our people were degraded and disintegrated,
causing the disarray of our homeland and cluttering our traditional culture. I
have rose and fell among our people and I do not think that I can risk failing
this time. I have decided to kill myself. By the time you see this post, please
stay strong and fight for my sake.
People of Umuofia are no more supportive of
our own culture and belief. The innocent people were blinded by the excellent facilities
provided by the albinos. They have changed sides to believe and love the white
men’s God, just like your brother did. Speaking of him, I am so ashamed by his
decision of embracing Christianity. He is indeed a weak and useless boy who
failed me and his entire village. He is supposed to be a real man of Umuofia,
stand alongside with you and me to fight off the arrogant white men and regain
our glory. Such a coward he is to just run away like this.
My dear darling, I have lost all that I truly
believe and all that I love: my son, my culture and my village. I have lost the
faith of keep fighting. I felt so caught up in everything that I could not deal
with anything anymore. I felt so
helpless unable to control my own fate. Despite my strength, my wealth and my
success, am I really controlling my life? I wondered. I can feel that my chi is failing me. Why did
all bad things have to come at once? Well, perhaps this is an omen. Our
ancestors are calling for me to concede defeat to my chi and to sacrifice
myself honourably for our beloved village.
My suicide will be the last attempt to
remind our people of our culture and values in the face of impending
colonisation. I hope my sacrifice will be able to inspire resistance against
the colonial oppressors. We have to defeat the white men. We have to chase them
out of our village! I will serve as a warning to our young people in Umuofia so
that they would rise and fight. Someday near future, there will be peace in our
village and we can live happily like we did before the white men came.
Daughter, you’re now my only hope. Please
note that I always love you. Do marry well and influence and lead the clan to
fight for our belief. I can only depend on you to bring back the glory of our
clan. You must have the spirit to stand strong and firm. Do remember that your
father had died for a greater cause, to protect our culture and belief and for
you to fight stronger. Do not weaver no matter what the white men offer. They
may be richer and more resourceful than we are but what is to preserve has to
be protected.
Never question your belief, my daughter.
Our ancestor will be proud of us. We will protect you throughout your journey
to bring back the old good time. Farewell, beautiful lady. Be well.
Your father,
