Last Word Faith In Any Friendship Will Always Bear Good Fruits Mammy Yeanoh was taken unawares on a Monday morning when her husband, Sergeant Major Salieu Masama shocked her with the sudden news that District Commissioner Thomas Preston had suggested that their twin boys, Alhassan and Hassan, be sent to school, far away from Romanka District. Mammy Yeanoh found it difficult to express her fear and the prospect of losing her identical twins, but manage to ask “but who will take care of the boys”? Sergeant Major Salieu Masama said, “all I know is that Mr. Preston wants the boys to go to school and you know that we have no good school here.” Mammy Yeanoh said pitifully, “if you think that is what is good for the boys, I have no objection, but don’t forget that these are the only two children we have.” Two days Later, District Commissioner Thomas Preston pulled his 1940 Austin Car near the residence of Sergeant Major Salieu Masama and after a few minutes, the two boys, Hassan and Alhassan jumped into the Englishman’s car and Mr. Preston drove off as mammy Yeanoh stood gazing at the departing car with her heart throbbed. The entire barracks community found it difficult to understand why Sergeant Major Sallieu Masama and his wife could give away their children to a white man knowing fully well that they had no other children they should call their own. The village goldsmith Bockarie Kanu totally opposed the Sergeant Major’s action and observed, “the old fool is a stupid crazy man who does not want to take care of his boys. The twins are already the best students in our local school, which merely emphasizes that Sergeant Major Msama does not want to take care of his children, a clear act of irresponsibility. When District Commissioner Thomas Preston arrived in Freetown with the two boys, his friend, the Director of Public Works Department Martin Duncan roared in laughter and said, “Thomas, what do you want to do with these two little Negro boys?” Thomas Preston was shocked at the racist statement made by his friend but he managed to reply, “Martin, these twin boys are the most brilliant pupils at the Romanka Native Administration School, and I thought I should give them a chance to further their education I am sending Hassan here to Pobi College in Nigerian and Alhassan will go to Achimota School in the Gold Coast. Some instinct keeps on telling me that the boys must be separated for a while.” Both Hassan and Alhassan arrived in their different new schools after traveling by the ship MV Akansas. It was Alhassan who first disembark in Accra and few days later Hassan arrived in Lagos and was later taken to Opobi Collage by the Missionary, Rev. Peter Saunders who was already expecting Hassan. Back at Romanka Mammy Yeanoh was extremely lonesome, but worst still she had no knowledge about the where about of her twin boys. One evening, an extremely depressed mammy Yeanoh confronted her husband and asked, “where are the boys?” Sergeant Major Sallieu Masama replied, “I have no idea where the twin boys are bit I will find out from the District Commissioner. It is in everybody’s interest to know where the boys are at this moment.” The following morning, District Commissioner Thomas Preston was going through one of his files in his office when Sergeant Major Sallieu Masama appeared before him after he had demanded from the orderly, Momodu Sanu that he wanted to see the District Commissioner as he stood before the Englishman, he at first stammered out of sheer fright but succeeded in asking, “please, sir it’s about my twins boys where are they, sir, District Commissioner Thomas Preston answered Sergeant Major Salieu Masama that the twins boys were safe and in good hands. The district commissioner continued’’ Alhassan is in gold cost and Hassan is in Nigeria, both of them attending very good schools. My friends in the Gold coast and Nigeria have assured me that the boys are doing fine and that there is no need for us to worry ourselves” Sergeant major Salieu Masama left and returns home to pass on the massage to his wife, Mammy Yeanoh. Yeanoh was not very satisfied with the explanation and asked, “my husband, we have schools here in this country, why should the District Commissioner take my sons to distant and separate countries without our knowledge? How can I convince that the boys are still alive?” Sergeant Major Salieu Masama remained mute. As time went on, the barracks community became extremely talkative as court messengers and their wives suggested that the dumb Sergeant Major had allowed District Commissioner Thomas Preston to sell his children into slavery in an unknown country. As the rumors intensified, Mammy Yeanoh travelled to Mabata to explain to her relatives the circumstance that led to the disappearance of her twin boys. The elderly Pa Musa Kanu, the Uncle of Mammy Yeanoh roared in anger, “how can that stupid husband of yours allow a strange white man to take your children away and sell them into slavery? All of us will travel to Romanka to ask the old fool of a Sergeant Major to produce our children.” A large delegation from Mabata travelled to Romanka and confronted Sergeant Major Salieu Masama. Pa Musa Kanu the Chief Spokesman shouted. “Salieu Masama, when we gave you our daughter to marry the idea was not to produce slaves whom you can sell like goat or pig. Now you have taken our daughter’s twins and handed them over to the white man who in turn cannot now account for the boys if you are interested in a white man job and you are looking for promotion, we find it immoral that you can sell our daughter’s children for your own selfish ends’’ Sergeant Major Salieu Masama took great exception to the manner in which pa m Musa kanu spoke to him. “Pa Musa, I recognize the fact that you are uncle-in-law, but you have no right to come here and insult me. I have no reason to sell my own children into slavery to be promoted, for already I am Sergeant Major, and that is the top most rank anybody can attain in this job of ours. I will now ask all of you to leave my house and return to your village I have no patience to listen to you anymore.” Pa Musa Kanu Shouted we know you are a powerful man here, but we have discovered that you are a dishonest man, and therefore we are taking our daughter Yanoh along you do not deserve her any longer. We know that if she bears anymore children, you will sell them like you have sold the twins to your friend of a cannibal.” Pa Musa Kanu and the delegation from Mabanta returned taking Mammy Yeanoh along. One evening, Corporal Tamba Koroma paid the Sergeant Major a visit. After a brief while, Tamba Koroma said, “please sir, a very wicked rumor is circulating in the entire district. One version of the story has it that you sold your children to District Commissioner Thomas Preston for fifty pounds; another has it that you have killed the two boys in a ritual murder. The whole of the barracks community and the surrounding villages are talking sir, and it is most embarrassing to us.” Sergeant Major Salieu Masama responded helplessly. “I have nothing more to say, let the gossips have their field day.” When one morning, news circulated that District Commissioner Thomas Preston was returning to native England the gossip about the twins further intensified. Corporal Tamba Koroma the Sergeant Major‘s most faithful court messenger friend rushed to the home of the Sergeant Major and asked anxiously, “please, sir, the district commissioner is leaving tomorrow, what about your twins, are you not going to ask him to produce your children?” Sergeant Major Salieu Masama replied, “I know he is leaving tomorrow, but why should I ask him about the twins? I know Mr. Preston is a good man.” Corporal Tamba Koroma asked again, “Sergeant Major do you realize that once District Commissioner leaves tomorrow you will never set eyes on him again until we all meet in the world beyond?” The very faithful friend of the Sergeant Major replied, “yes I know that District Commissioner is returning to his home in the country of the white people and tomorrow will be the last day I will ever set eyes on him but why should I doubt his integrity only because he is leaving?” After the departure of District Commissioner Thomas Preston, even Sergeant Major Salieu Masama knew that he had lost all lines of communication with his children the twins. Meanwhile Achmota School in the Gold Coast, Alhassan was top of his class and at Opobi College in Nigeria Hassan was clearly the number two man in his class. The two boys were now in form five in their respective schools and they wrote frequent letters to each to each other frequently “I think, Alhassan even though we have not seen each other for five years now you still look exactly like me. I am going to endeavor to write a letter to parents today. Mr. Thomas Preston wrote to me from England to inform me that he had retired from the colonial service.” Hassan wrote to his brother in the Gold Coast When the other twin brother replied his brother from Nigeria he wrote, “Hassan, I have always warned you since we were children that it is you who resemble me but you keep on insisting that I look like you. The idea of writing letter to parents is good Mr. Preston wrote to me that he is now retired and that he is in Devonshire. Nigeria is quite an interesting country; but I have tried my best to maintain my Sierra Leone accent. You must do the same Hassan doesn’t pick up the accent of the Gold Coasters.” After both boys had taken the Higher School Certificate, Thomas Preston wrote from Devonshire to each of the twin boys asking Hassan to travel by ship to Liverpool and that he had already paid the fare adding, “all you need to do is to contact the officers of the shipping lines in Accra I will travel to Liverpool to meet you when the boat arrives.” Hassan arrived in England three weeks later Mr. Preston drove him straight to Cambridge where he was later enrolled at one of the colleges of the University to study civil engineering. One month later Alhassan too traveled from Nigeria and was received at Liverpool by Mr. Thomas Preston who took him to Victoria station and both of them traveled to Scotland where Alhassan was enrolled at the University of Aberdeen to study electrical engineering. Back at Romanka, their father, in an effort to diffuse the rumour that he has sold his children, took the letter written to him by his sons to as many people as possible “you see my boys are still alive,” he would say. One day in a discussion with his friend Sergeant Muctaru Tarawallie, he boasted that Mr. Thomas Preston was a kind man who was taking care of children. But Muctaru Tarawallie replied sarcastically, “this very kind Mr. Preston why has he not sent back you children. Look at my two boys they are already married and are very productive farmers.” Meanwhile, Mamy Yeanoh the mother of the boys refused to get marry to another man even though her relatives put her under pressure to marry a more serious and humane man. After four years, the two boys completed their courses in their respective universities after which Mr. Preston encouraged them, now twenty-six years old to return to their native Sierra Leone. When Alhassan returned to Freetown he stayed with a friend he had known in Accra. Two weeks later, Hassan traveled from Scotland and stayed with a friend he met in Scotland. The two brothers had not seen each other for twelve years Sergeant Major Salieu Masama now old and about to retire had no knowledge that his sons had returned in Sierra Leone. After a while, Alhassan was employed at the Public Works Department as a civil engineer and two weeks later Hassan to was employed by a local construction firm as technical manager. On the eve of Independence Hassan told his friends that he must travel to Romanka, to celebrate Independence Day. Then Alhassan too traveled to Romanka on the same day Hassan arrived first and the entire Romanka community assembled to admire the twenty-six year old young man dressed in a suit, driving a Consul car and constantly combing his hair with a small comb. “Where is your brother?” The now elderly Corporal Tamba Koroma asked Hassan replied, “I have not seen him since we left here twelve years ago” When later in the evening Alhassan drove in town in a navy blue consul car exactly identical to Hassan’s car an even larger crowd assembled to behold the other twin Alhassan climbed down from his car, wearing a black suit exactly identical to the suit Hassan had on and in less than two minutes he took out his small comb from his breast pocket and started combing his hair just like his twin brother Hassan had done earlier. Alhassan later recognized his brother Hassan and his father as he embraced both of them as the three wept with happiness. The two boys spent the whole evening chatting with their father, also explaining to the old man their experiences both in Nigeria and the Gold Coast and how they met new people in Britain. Sergeant Major Salieu Masama almost broke down in tears when he said “they said I sold you people to Mr. Preston even our mother abandoned me on the instigation of her relatives that I had sold you into slavery.” One of the twins, Alhassan fumed, “what rubbished” “What stupid rubbish is that” the other brother said angrily. The following morning the twins, the old Sergeant Major Salieu Masama and faithful Corporal Tamba Koroma traveled to Mabanta village. The two boys embraced their ageing mother and said in unison “mama, we are back” Alhassan said “I am now an engineer working for the Public Works Department in Freetown” Hassan on the other hand said “I am also an engineer working for Royal Engineering construction Company in Freetown.” Mammy Yeanoh held onto her twin children firmly for a long time shedding tears. “I must apologize to your father, your absence was not an easy experience my dear children. My late uncle, Pa Musa Kanu almost destroyed my marriage to your father, but your father was always very sure you two would come back one day I wished I had faith in him.” Alhassan, one of the twins said to his mother, “now mama, you are packing you belongings as we are going back home at Ramanka as papa needs you dearly and we also need you to be by our aging father.” Corporal Tamba Koroma who had never been promoted since he attained the rank of Corporal fifteen years earlier had also decided to proceed on retirement but was satisfied that his friend, the Sergeant Major had been exonerated at last as he spoke to the twins. “In your absence your father was humiliated he was accused of having sold you into slavery he was even incited to physically confront District Commissioner Thomas Preston but he always resisted all temptation of destroying his cordial relationship with Mr. Thomas Preston as he insisted always insisted that Mr. Preston was a good man and honest man. Today you are here highly educated people and the pride of all we have learnt that -’”faith in any friendship will always bear good fruits”.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 10:14:15 +0000
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