Queen Effiong Ette hails from Cross River State. She’s a single mother of two, who has had it bitter in life from a very tender age. The 34-year-old looked exhausted, spent and sad when Saturday Tribune approached her for an interview. She sells hats and traditional coral beads under an umbrella at Ikpa Road, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
In a shaky voice and with teary eyes, Queen told her life story, narrating how she was born with a silver spoon and how things went sour after her father “siezed by a strange spirit” and got hooked up to their househelp in a relationship.
“My name is Queen Effiong Ette. I’m 34 years old from Cross River State. My mum is from Akwa Ibom and my dad, from Calabar, Cross River State.
“My father is a medical doctor while my mother was a nurse when they met in India. My siblings and I were born in India before my parents decided to return to Nigeria.
“We were rich as I was born with a silver spoon, but along the line, the househelp we employed seduced my father which led to the destruction of my family,” she disclosed.
According to Queen, the unholy union left her mother devastated as she was sent out of her matrimonial home with her six children. Rather than fight back as some women would have done, her mom, thereafter, took the six of them and relocated to Uyo, Akwa Ibom, where she hailed from to start life afresh.
“My father and his housegirl, now-turned-wife, chased my mother and the six of us her children out of the house. My mother had to take responsibility in eking a living for us. We relocated to Uyo where we started suffering, but my mother did all she could to weather the storm.”
With the reversal of fortune and a once-bubbling family thrown into the cold, life and living became somewhat unbearable for her mother and her children. And in no time, her emotionally depressed mother died, leaving the children in graver danger of lack and vulnerability.
Queen said “mom saw me and my siblings through primary and secondary schools. I was already in College of Education in Calabar when my mother passed away and I had to suspend my studies as a result of her demise. I had to begin to fend for my siblings.”
With mother dead and father still in the cosy laps of his lover in Calabar, perhaps till date, the religious organisation they belonged came in handy for their survival.
“We were attending the Brotherhood of The Cross And Star (Olumba Olumba). They assisted in seeing us through school with scholarship scheme,” she narrated.
Not long, she met Christ and became born again, a development that prompted her departure from Olumba Olumba to a Pentecostal church after which she met a man who offered her marriage. With him, life took a new turn for good as the marriage was blessed with two kids before a tragic incident eclipsed the new life.
“When I realised Christ, I had to leave the church (Olumba Olumba) and start attending Mount Zion Light House.
“In 2010, I met a man who I married and had two kids for. During the period of our marriage, things were working well,” she said, unknown to her what fate had in store for her.
Queen said her husband and benefactor “got a job appointment in Port Harcourt in 2021. He died on his way to assume duties there leaving me alone to cater for my children, a girl and a boy.
“I have been feeding from hand to mouth since my husband died. The self-contained apartment which he paid three years rent for before his sudden death expired in May this year.
“My landlady came to throw us out of the house. I prayed to God and pleaded with her to give us till this August to pay and she allowed us to stay. I don’t even know where the money to pay the rent will come from, but I have faith in God that everything will work out for us.
“My first daughter, who is 13 years plus, is no longer going to school because I have no money to pay for her secondary school education. She was in a private secondary school before the father died, but she couldn’t continue because of lack of funds.”
Saturday Tribune requested to know the whereabouts of her father, her husband’s family and why they’ve not been of help to her and her children.
Hear her: “I don’t know whether my father is still alive or not. My late husband’s family has no way of helping my children because, out of the two brothers he has, one is not healthy and the other one is struggling to put food on the table.
“I buy food on credit and any money I make from this my small sale of hats and beads goes into the payment of my debts. I can’t even save or gather money.
“Before I started selling hats, I was selling groundnut, but it was not lucrative as I was only experiencing losses in the business. I collected money from my sister to start a business less than two months ago. The business has not yielded any profit, yet I’m hoping and praying to God to prosper it.”
Queen didn’t reveal much about the whereabouts of her other five siblings, who are also hustling to get a new life for themselves. She, however, pleaded for help, although she’s not ready for another marriage until her kids are through with their education.
“The kind of help I want is for my children to be able to return to school and for the expansion of my business. I like this hats business and I would want to expand it. This location is not convenient for me. I can’t beg that is why I’m still trying my best to survive with my children,” she said.
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