Mrs. Mighty Joe

                Saint John's Parish

                 Kpor

                 Alhambra Sate

                 Nigeria

                 19th August ‘23

Mrs. Joe.

I am sure you know already through the address who is writing to you. This is my third year in this post now. In that duration, you and your three friends have refused to set foot in person in the meeting. It is always a hell of worded letters with thousands inside it. Excuse letters, exemption letters,and shout-out letters from you and your three friends I receive here each August. This year, I was eagerly waiting for it and I was not disappointed when they appeared as usual worded. It is even as f you intentionally go all the way with those words as punishment for me to read them. Well, it is not. You have a way with words and I confess I am hooked anytime am reading them. 

I have one more year to run in this my four-year tenure as Secretary not chairlady. I don't need to be a psychic to know that next year will go the way of the previous three. God's willing, I will be waiting for the letter too. I am writing to express as it is in my heart and free myself of the task I know comes from heaven. “Advice them” I heard thrice so, I decided to write. Maybe the voice is fake, maybe real whichever, I Loses nothing. Mrs. Joe, I recalled vividly that three of you never missed any meeting before my set took the reigns of this August women's meeting of Saint Johns church and I equally know well that three of you are supporters of Mrs. Rose in this post am occupying now during election. Heaven in their ways has reasons and if their agenda happened to be against yours, what can one do?  You are too important, too educated, too rich to comprehend that their ways are never ours.

You might be wondering if three of you are the only ones absent each August for me to have noticed and seen it fit to be commenting. No, you are not. Many, but you are not many. That is why I made out time, money, and strength to write to you. The three Musketeers. Permit me to address three of you in such a manner but that is the impression I have. If I am to search my head for the reason behind this letter if spiritual or anything connecting to heaven should be removed, it would be to educate you and tell you as it is not as you want to hear. I think it will be important at this juncture to remind true friends of what August meeting stands for in case you have forgotten. Some take it to be a fun gathering where like a yearly reunion you come to see your old friends and spy on others. It is not a social club or a mundane-based gathering. Nope. Mrs. Joe. It is for the service of God, to build his glory. To build up His ways in society, church, and families.  I don’t know what exactly is in your mind when you joined the meeting five years ago. It is good to see that some of us thought it is where political ambition are launched. We all know your political ambition and the subtle moves you had been making since joining this meeting.

Mrs. Joe, you probably think like many do that you are up there and the rest of us down there. Maybe you are right in your judgment but am sure you have also seen that even wisdom and common sense don’t come from the classroom alone. Do you consider those that had been around you for years you have attended this meeting stupid? You and your group up there, me and this my regime wish you three all the best. Mental illness has proved to be no respecter of any class.

Humanity Is passing through hard times on earth these days and we all need to bond togeth to overcome this trying moments For your well-being, let me remind you that twelve percent of the women in these meetings is nothibg but well-educated and gainfully employed. The number has even increased to fifteen percent considering the number of new wives that joined the meeting since three years you had been absent. To think that those women had been behaving themselves, mingling heartily with others of all classes and carrying out their assigned duties and never asked God to bless them first before they render services which you can honestly believe is your philosophy. That will tell you certain things about knowing oneself and her neighbor. I just feel like I would fail in my task if I refused to send this letter to you and your group. No one will do that if I don’t and see it as part of my responsibility to the women of ST John parish which you are part of. So, nothing personal here.

To think that these women are all office workers will tell you the commitment they haven for things of God, humanity and future generations. In my mind while reminiscing on things I have encountered since sitting on this chair for three years now, I wondered at times who needs to hold any political offices among us. Most of those women's' names kept creeping up first. I wasn’t there on the top list, neither is you. That is why or one of the reasons for writing to you. It might not escape my mind that you are an Engineer and your husband is popularly known as Mighty Joe meaning that you are called Mrs. Mighty Joe. I know all that but I go for what I see and observed Mrs. Joe put two and two together to avoid a heart attack or psychological problems in thee near future.

     Like I have mentioned earlier, I know the three of you won't be coming to next year's meeting also, I am already waiting for your letter of excuse and fully worded as usual but, I hope that whatever ilk, jealousy that made the three of you swear not to step your foot in the meeting as long as I am on this seat will free you people from its clutches after next year for you to resume coming here each August. During election for this post I noticed how you three are going about it and your reactions when I was named the winner, I know you won’t be coming, and I saved your your excuse letters since for three years. All are in front of me as I write this. I am even surprised that you saw it feat to write at all. What made me to be writing apart from other excuses is that I wanted to know how good I have become at reading people, and happy to announce to you that using three of you as a yardstick, I can confidently now claim to be a professional in reading humans. All I predicted about you came to pass exactly as I put them down. I know the remaining year will fall into a pattern too. For that, I am grateful to you all for acting as my study materials. As I hinted, I had planned to write this letter next year but Covid and Monkeypox have shown us, humans, how vulnerable we are so, I decided to do it now that I am still in the land of the living. Life Is too short, people no longer leave this planet as we appeared. Only fools now leave for tomorrow what they can do for today. I am not one hence this letter. 

When heaven lifts someone up, no matter what anyone observing from the side might think, or whatever metric the person uses as a measure, it’s all waste of time for anger and jealousy in history of humans have never achieved anything positive. If you keep proving me right, what three of you came here to achieve will certainly continue to elude you whether am in this post or not.  

Far be it from me if I’m trying to frighten you or force you into attending the meeting next year for even to me, it is sounding that way.

Our number had been increasing and I am not sure that anyone including the old members still recall how three of look. This is a fact. Reasons among many of writng is to tell you that three of you had been transparent like fake white bedsheets i wonder at times about that. When you began to confirm to others permutations easily, it’s a big problem.

Wishing the three of you all the best.

Mrs. Clifford Orji

The Secretary

Catholic Women Organization

(CWO) Saint John's Parish 

Kpor. 19th August 2023.