BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE: NZE SIMEON SOLUDO’S LIFE AND TIMES, CHARTING A COURSE OF RESILIENCE (PART 3)

By Christian ABURIME

In 1939, at the tender age of eight, Simeon embarked on a transformative journey, departing his home for Onitsha.

Under the tutelage of his kinsman, Mr. Joseph Anyaonu, he apprenticed as a trader for seven formative years. It was a period etched with hardship and tribulation, a grooming in resilience amidst adversity.

In the face of challenges of life and tests of fate, a beacon of change emerged when, in 1943 at the age of 12, Simeon found solace and guidance within the folds of the Boy Scouts Movement at the Holy Ghost Catholic Parish in Onitsha.

Here, he imbibed the essence of Spartan discipline through rigorous drills and partook actively in expeditions and benevolent endeavours. The Scouts Movement became an enduring sanctuary, endowing him with essential survival skills that fortified his spirit through the trials and tribulations that lay ahead.

By 1946, Simeon returned to his village to embark on a new chapter: marriage. The subsequent year, however, marked a pivotal turn. Driven by a quest for purpose, he ventured to Port Harcourt in the company of Mr. Lawrence Okpala-Ibejekwe.

Despite being merely 16, uneducated, and lacking formal skills, he secured employment at the Shell Petroleum Development Company as an office assistant. A couple of years later, in 1948, destiny saw him journeying to Siroko in Ondo State to toil as a sawyer alongside Mr. Gilbert Afuzobugwu.

Amidst the laborious task of felling trees and fashioning timber for export, Simeon encountered the harsh lessons of life’s toil and hardship. Tragedy struck in the same year with the sudden demise of his father, Soludo, plunging the 17-year-old Simeon into the abyss of grief.

The weight of this loss bore heavily upon his young shoulders, cushioned only by the support of his step-mother, Obele, and the venerable guardian, Akuano.

After laying his father to rest, Simeon resumed work as a sawyer and joined the Sawyers Association in 1949, continuing his journey of self-sufficiency.

However, it was in 1953, while in Ilesha under the guidance of the Late Daniel Ike, that he received a tumultuous mix of news. His wife, Mgbafor, welcomed a son named Ikechukwu (later christened Emmanuel) while the passing of Akuano left a profound void in his life.

The years unfolded with Simeon’s nomadic journey: from Omanenu in Rivers State where he plied his trade as a sawyer before venturing into the hospitality industry by establishing a restaurant in 1956.

That was also the year that his wife, Mgbafor, gave birth to a baby girl named Paulina, followed by another baby boy, Silas, two years later in 1958.
Unfortunately, however, both Paulina and Silas died in their infancy.

Meanwhile, the restaurant business venture that Simeon had established at Omanenu, which initially promised riches swiftly crumbled in 1959.

The years 1956 to 1959 were years of despair, punctuated with losses and graded afflictions.

Hope dawned anew with the birth of his second surviving son, Charles Chukwuma, (former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the current Governor of Anambra State) in July 1960, coinciding with an opportunity at the Nigerian Cement Company, Nigercem Nkalagu.

His association with a French company during his Port Harcourt days facilitated this job offer. Despite an invitation to France, Simeon declined, anchored by familial responsibilities.

His role in the Civil Engineering Department commenced in 1960, later confirmed in June 1965, while his third surviving son, Ogochukwu, entered the world in 1964. Pastor Dr. Ogochukwu Soludo is currently the General Missions Director of African Missionary Empowerment Network (AMEN) as well as the Initiator and Chairman of Advanced Development Solutions Initiative (ADSI) Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited.

….to be continued.

Credits: Materials and pictures support by Pastor (Dr) Ogochukwu Soludo