MEMORIES OF MEE

 

Written By Omeni Ifeanyi

MEMORIES OF MEE

I first read about her before I met her. Through the pages of the novels she wrote, I heard her voice. 

I heard the comments that some tossed about, after they read and probably even browsed through, that first novel. They called it too make-believe, too reminiscent of the Mills and Boon narratives, with the perfection settings and little of true-life scenarios. 

I saw beyond the criticisms of the content. Inside the pages of her first work, I saw creativity in its naked form; an outpouring of the flowery language that creative writing is famous for. 

My writing skills were in the infancy stage at that period and I was enthralled by that creative work of hers. 

Now that my writing has gone through many fires of purification and endured endless criticisms, both lethal and constructive, to emerge reborn and revitalized, I still browse through the contents of that first creative work. I see it daily, as it occupies a prime spot on one of the bookshelves in my library.

Its sequel is next to it, with the thrill of the contents, the twists and turns and the overall breathtaking beauty of the narrative. The two works draw me in, with their old-school, yet aesthetic feel that still blend with contemporary art.

These two works of art reveal the mind of a lady of letters, skilled in the journalism profession and who polished her pen to bestride the world of creative writing with such a confident stride.

 

This woman, smart and an achiever in her chosen profession took her world by storm.

This woman, whose name converged in the acronym MEE, was an embodiment of professionalism spiced with a desire to break boundaries and stand tall, valiant in the fiercest storms. 

A lady who still had so much to give to her world.

The name MEE, is the acronym for May Ellen Ezekiel, a veteran journalist and writer who decorated the Nigerian journalism landscape with her boundless skills.

 From the Sunday Concord where she started her journalism career, to Newswatch where she worked as assistant editor, to Quality where she was the editor, MEE left indelible marks on the pen profession. 

MEE, still pushing for the top, became the publisher of a celebrity and entertainment magazine called Classique, where veteran journalist, Dele Momodu became editor. 

She was a notable figure in the Nigerian entertainment scene and sure made her mark in that industry.

MEE became a centre of attraction when she married Richard Mofe Damijo, who was the dream of many young ladies then. I must confess that I have had a crush on him since his major appearance on the TV series, Legacy. 

Her marriage to the dashing dude seemed a great accomplishment to many who were curious to know how she hooked such a ‘cool’ dude. 

When she started her talk show MEE and You, on NTA 2 channel 5, this glorious feat was one of the topics of discussion and MEE in her characteristic confident manner told the audience that her husband, RMD was where he belonged – with her.

I still see her image, as she takes confident steps towards the arena where her guests of the MEE and You show are seated. I still hear her voice as she tackles issues with great wisdom and wit. I still marvel at all the feats she achieved and the pathway she carved for herself in the journalism profession. I still see her face, the first time I met her, at a Classique Magazine event. I still carry relics of that encounter. 

I wish I could still see her. She still had so much to give.

MEE took a final confident stride and walked out of earth’s stage to a place where her voice, her personality that loomed large and spoke volumes of her zest for life, became lost in stillness. That signature hairstyle, that gap-toothed smile, that powerful writing pen have been swallowed up in the dust of the memorial park.

For MEE, it is exactly twenty-five years today, 23rd March 2021, that she walked away into that eerie stillness. 

On 23rd March 1996, her husband, RMD saw grief in full measure, her daughter Oghenekome was bereaved of motherly care. The Nigerian nation was bereft of one of the most creative minds to come out of the journalism career.

Dele Giwa, Nigeria’s top shot journalist said this of her.

‘May Ellen Ezekiel does not want to stop until she has reached the very top.’

May Ellen Ezekiel did not reach the very top of her career and life, but she saw it from afar, like a traveller spies an oasis in sight, and was satisfied that her eureka was within reach. 

On this silver anniversary of her departure, she is still remembered. 

Her voice still speaks through her novels, Dream Maker and its sequel, Centrespread; her legacy lives on in her daughter; the impact she made in the journalism world is not a feat that can be forgotten. 

Those who touched flesh with her and made contact with her legacies, draw on the memories of this remarkable lady.

The memories of MEE still linger on…