My dear AMANDA SOMADINA AMADI,
Adam nwanyi! You are the first JEWEL in my crown; the untamed STRENGTH of my raving youth; my foremost EFFORT at procreation and the debut of my OVATION into fatherhood.
On this day, 20 years ago, you came forth from HEAVEN to usher your mum and I into proud and happy parenthood. Your grandmother, my late mum, danced so excitedly at the news of your birth. Finally, she had become a worthy grandmother! And proudly, she nicknamed you ‘Ada Doc’. Your maternal home was also agog with loud celebrations. As the last child of her family, your mum was the CYNOSURE of attention. Your birth was a MOMENT of JOY for both families, as well as for countless friends who had come from far and wide to witness our wedding nine months earlier.
In later years, you remained the most recognizable face amongst the AMADI SIBLINGS, by position and poise. Presciently, your names were already DETERMINED before you were conceived. You may ask how I correctly guessed your gender. It was NOT a guess. GOD answers fervent PRAYERS! I had asked Him for a GIRL child as my first and He sent you.
‘AMANDA’ is an Italian name that translates to ‘WORTHY OF LOVE’. Without reservations whatsoever, you have lived true to that meaning. I named you after Amanda Quick, a pseudonym for a New York Times bestselling author of more than 50 titles. Interestingly, your immediate younger sister, NADINE, was also named after Nadine Gordimar, a South African Nobel Laureate for literature. This unplanned coincidence would serve to underscore my silent but abiding admiration for writers and their literary world, despite my deep scientific leanings.
Your second name, SOMADINA (I don’t want to be alone), conveys a more subdued and sobering connotation for me, privately. Your birth put a pleasant end to a LONESOME lifestyle, as I struggled to reclaim the laughters of my SOLITARY childhood. With your arrival I finally had a PLAYMATE of my own flesh and blood. So much for those early and fondly recollections.
Going forward, this ANNIVERSARY marks the end of your GRACIOUS TEENAGE years and the beginning of a GLORIOUS ADULTHOOD. Thankfully, PROVIDENCE has relocated you, in your BLOOM, to one of the most LIVABLE countries in the world, with boundless OPPORTUNITIES. You have the SAFETY and FREEDOM to reach your full potential, UNSHACKLED by disabling and disempowing national policies; to be the BEST you can ever attain, UNBURDENED by the triplet evils of nepotism, federal character and quota system; to pursue and convert your DREAMS to reality, UNHINDERED by nauseating tales of corruption, cattle grazing and tribal violence.
The WORLD is now at your feet. Soar like an EAGLE and reach for the STARS! By way of DNA and MILIEU, you possess the NATURE and NURTURE to achieve EXCELLENCE, in every sense of the word.
As you navigate the VICISSITUDES of adult life, do not let your CHOICES of today diminish your CHANCES of future greatness.
In the fast paced world of GenZ, to which you belong, do not lose your mind in the maze of SOCIAL MEDIA, pursuing ILLUSIONS and ELUSIVE celebrities. Odinso eluaka!
As your special day winds down to a CANDLELIT dinner, remember to burn the midnight CANDLES, thereafter, to obtain distinction grades.
Above all, let me remind you that we have raised you in the WAYS of our LORD, JESUS CHRIST. And we hope, according to the BIBLE, that as you have now grown up, you will not depart from HIS path.
Once again, I wish you a most MEMORABLE birthday celebration.
ENJOY YOUR DAY WITH A BLAST!
Dad.
