LONDON (ENGLAND)
Guardian blog
Dec. 1, 2019
By Pat Okedinachi Utomi
Sons of a Priest is a book big in size, profound in content, diverse in its views and as complex as its subject– Very Rev. Fr. Nicholas Chukwuemeka Tagbo OON (1929-2016). Reading through the insightful foreword by Willie Obiano, the notes of the editor, the detailed introduction provided by Oseloka Obaze and the very personal biography carefully told by Fidelis Ezemenari and kindly titled “A Letter to Rev. Fr. Tagbo,” the reader instantly gets the feeling of being about to embark on a journey of beautiful tales by sons eager to gush with praises at a dear father. To conceive of a project like this is nothing but a show of intellectual boldness and humility at being awed by the influence of another. To follow it up to a logical conclusion, demands of courage and material muscle.
Sons of a Priest is a 286-page coffee table book printed in glorious colours –a sheer testament to the confetti of emotions suffused into its production. It has contributions from over 120 past students in its main section. It has very colourful pullout which begins with “Other CKC Greats” and cascades into a centerspread of the 1977 CKC World Students’ Soccer Cup Team. The pull out further spills into a section called “Other Sons of a Priest.” The book closes with two key areas – one of “Tributes” dedicated to the burial ceremony of Rev. Fr. Tagbo and the “Interviews” section –of the book. It finally settles with an emotional story, on page 282, told by Amaka Cypriana Uzoh, the daughter of an old boy and the granddaughter also of an old boy –who joined CKC Onitsha when it was founded in 1933. While telling the funny story of how she, all along, thought that CKC meant “Seecasey,” Amaka draws the attention of the old boys to the current physical state of Christ the King College and the need for them to act fast.
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