Ubong King: My friend, my brother

By Richard Mammah

It’s indeed a tough one to write. Since getting the news early in the day, I had tried to not get it: it could not be true. Ubong King. My friend. My brother. But alas. The genial and multi-tasking personality. The convivial entrepreneur and God-chaser. The loyal and irrepressible gentleman for all seasons is gone. Ubong King is gone the way of mortals.

Ubong exuded life. Indeed it’s tough speaking of him in the past tense. Ubong was life. Ever warm, ever playful. And incontrovertibly very sound.

In over a decade of making his acquaintance, I cannot remember a minute when he was out of his element. Ubong was Ubong. He held his own. He lived for his life. And with a very lively and most generous mien all the time.

It’s a tough call for those of us who knew him. But I also know it is a tougher one for his immediate family. He and his equally very brilliant wife, Unyime-Ivy (author of that notable fictional text, Burning Hurt) were indeed a very close pair. And the children were also very firmly knitted in the King sphere. Our prayers are with them at this time.

‘May the Almighty God, whose we are, and whom we serve,’ be a steady source of comfort for them at this time. And may He also give calm and succour to all who are grieving now because one of the earth’s most prized gems has slipped over to the other side of eternity. Peace.

Mr. Ubong King