Ubong: What manner of death?
By Daniel Etokidem
How can you bury your Mum Friday and on Saturday you’re stabbed to death by your roommate? Less than 24hrs after you struggled to bury your Mum?
Ubong is a simple, easy going, hardworking, humble and God fearing young man. I knew him through my Electrician, Kennedy. If I needed someone to help clean the compound, Ubong will do that efficiently and will be done with it in less than an hour.
This morning, I was inside the town campus of the University of Uyo, Uniuyo, when a friend who was with me pointed to a young lady crying desperately and walking towards the University gate. What could make a young lady cry this way inside the University environment on a Saturday morning? We both pondered.
Less than 10 minutes, my phone rang? It was my electrician friend, Kennedy. “Hello Sir. Sir Ubong is dead oh! Ubong is dead oh just like that”, the call ended.
Confused and a bit disoriented, I called back. “Kennedy which Ubong? Is it your boy who just buried his Mum on Friday”, I asked. Yes, he replied. How? What happened? Was he sick? I asked. No Sir, he replied.
He just had a minor argument with his roommate he lived together at Idak Okpo Street and within seconds, the roommate took a knife and stabbed him from the back. He lost a lot of blood and we rushed him to the University Clinic where he died”. His body is at University of Uyo Clinic, town campus.
“Hold on Kennedy, I don’t understand”. I’m inside the University and infact I’m not too far from the Clinic and moments ago, I saw a young girl crying, walking towards the gate”, I asked. “Yes Sir, that’s his Cousin. We just left to call a photographer to take some pictures of Ubong’s corpse before we take him to the mortuary”, he replied.
So where is this his “roommate” who stabbed him to death, I asked. “He is currently being detained at Barracks Road Police Station”, he replied with emotions and agonizing tears overshadowing his voice.
Till this very moment, I’m yet to recover from this news and still can’t understand what anger, provocation, or quarrel will make a roommate pick up and knife and stab to death his fellow roommate who just buried his Mother barely 24 hours ago.
I pray the Police will help unravel more of what we don’t know but it’s hard to say Rest in Peace Ubong. I still can’t understand what just happened. Ubong, dead? Just like that? Someone who just buried his Mother on Friday? I wish it was a nightmare.
