“Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward: Psalm 127 : 3.
This statement of the fruitfulness of the womb which is a blessing from God shows that it is always morning, somewhere especially when any man is blessed with children. It is marked with the moment of joy, happiness and refreshments. So it was in the family of Odili in Kwale of Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State in the Eastern Region of Nigeria in the African continent when the family celebrated the arrival of eighteen children of which the writer is one of them. Today, the ones that are alive are ten children as eight among them are dead.
Moses Odili, the father of the writer was a polygamist, with three wives namely Ogugua, Mary and Victoria (my mother) who is equally alive today.
Moses was a farmer and also a fisherman who specialized in the production of cash crops with his wives helping him. Though a farmer, nothing qualified him to be termed ‘a rich man’ then, because of his inability to train his children to the post-primary educational level.