INTRODUCTION:
Hello, my name is Innocent Nsikak Effiong, a young man in his early thirties from Ini Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria. Currently, I am pursuing an undergraduate degree in Religion and Education at the University of Uyo. I enjoy teaching about the Bible, music, writing, and aspire to become a curriculum specialist.
INTEREST:
My interests lie in solving issues within religious, educational, philosophical domains, and societal settings.
SKILLS:
I possess skills in graphic design, Microsoft Word, lawnmower operation, and I am eager to discover more.
HOBBIES:
Reading, music, and teaching are some of my favorite hobbies.
VISION:
Ultimately, my vision is to establish a global school where young individuals can be nurtured and trained to make a positive impact. I strive to become a voice that influences my generation and the world at large.
LANGUAGE:
In terms of language, I am proficient in Efik/Ibibio and English. I believe that my best is yet to come in the near future.
THE BEST OF ME IS YET TO COME IN THE NEXT VERSION.
Every Man Has A Story.
(2)Inocent Effiong's Story)
It's a blessing from God to be born into a family whose foundation is Jesus Christ - the solid rock. No wonder when the storms of life met me at an early stage, I was not swept away.
I AM ALIVE TODAY BECAUSE GOD PRESERVED ME:
"I am not a mistake; God has a plan for my life, which is why He preserved me for that."
Innocent Effiong happened to be the first born to his parents.
His mother and father got separated when he was 5 years old. After their separation, due to improper care and the absence of motherly love, I was exposed to the cold, which led to the sickness called pneumonia.
My father was a mechanic and spent less time at home. He didn't know about my health condition at that time. Yet, this sickness was eating me up slowly; I had a swollen stomach which made me look like a pregnant boy, but I kept smiling!
One day, when Aunty Faith (from my father's side) came to visit me, she saw my condition and realized that all was not well with me. She then looked for a way to send a message across to my mother, informing her of my health condition. So, one evening, my mother came to visit, and at that time, my father was not back from work. Mum took me to where she was residing, got some medicine for me, but my condition was getting worse instead of improving.
Looking at me sorrowfully, she decided to send a message to her younger sister, Aunty Uwem, to pick me up to the village (Ukwot) so that her mother (my grandma) could provide treatment for me. I was taken to the village in a bad condition, and upon reaching there, my grandmother wept when she saw how my condition was, thinking I might not survive. In the village, grandma treated me using native methods, and after a year, I recovered from the sickness.
During this time, I realized I had stayed at home for a year without schooling. I began to get used to village life: joining my friends to hunt bushmeat in the bush, going fishing, playing, etc.
RESUMING SCHOOL:
"Without education, potentials are killed and buried."
People were concerned upon seeing that I was growing wild, so they told my grandmother to register me in the village primary school so I could resume school with other children. One faithful morning on Monday, I was asked to dress up, and then she took me to school, registered me, and I began school there in primary 2, which I furthered to primary 4.
IN THE WAY OF THE LORD
"Proverbs 22:6" Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it - RSV"
There in the village, my grandmother worships at the "Church of Christ" where she takes me as well. As her custom was, every morning at 5 am, she would wake me up and take me to morning prayer. On Sundays, I would dress up for church early to meet up with Sunday school, and in the midst of the week, I would attend teenagers' Bible study. Every week, the church council would assign a teacher to our class; their duty was to introduce the discussion topic on the blackboard and ensure we memorized the memory verse by repeating it about 5 times. After the class, before the main service began on Sunday, we would all march to the large congregation and present our topic and memory verse.
SEEING MYSELF IN THE FUTURE:
"What I am today is what I saw yesterday, and what I will become tomorrow is how far I can see today".
One afternoon, grandma asked me a question while we were discussing something: What would you like to become in the future? I was quiet for a while, then imagined seeing myself as a teacher. I opened my mouth and told her, 'Grandma, I want to be a teacher.' She asked me, 'Why do you want to be a teacher?'
I answered, 'Because I am always inspired by my teachers when they are teaching.' She prayed for me, 'May the Lord be with you and grant your heart's desires. Amen.'
RETURNING TO THE CITY:
''It does not matter how slow you are in God's calendar, but how solid and stable He will place you in life.''
I didn't have the relevant qualifications, which led us to the option of starting from primary 2 or trying another school. I chose to start from primary 2. During this time in the church I followed my mum to, my Sunday school teacher, who was a retired teacher, taught me a lot. She was in her late 70s yet still so strong and active in serving God in the children's ministry. I wonder what she saw in me that made trained me to be one of the children's pastor in one of the children's conference, mean while pastor's children were there.
There in Bishop King, the best of me was revived, I was doing very well that I held the position of class captain from primary 3 to 5.
At the time in primary 5, life was difficult for me mother that I needed to go and serve a nurse for a year in Calabar Municipality so as to be able to finish my primary education.
Upon my Completion, my mother and my uncles decided I return to stay with father to further my secondary education.
Stay with in my father house with my step mother was like a training in the army.
I learned the lesson of life the hard way.
I will introduce to so many trade to the extent that I will hawd garri (sell) in the morning before going to school and after returning from school.
It got to a point that people began asking me: is that your biological father?
But now I realize that in the hardest way is gold refined.
In every phase of life , God sent destiny helpers: One of them was my Christian religious education teacher name, Mr Moses Boco, this man play a vital role during secondary days to see I succeeded.
Today , my aspiration is to grow into who God wants me become and to help other become who God wants them become.
