It was Wednesday evening, a day after Christmas. Seated in a round-table setting at the private residence in Warri, Delta State, of a retired Naval officer, Commodore Omatseye Nesiama popularly known as 'The Commodore of Hope', were family members, friends and associates.

They had all been invited by The Commodore of Hope and his family in the spirit of the yuletide celebration and as part of the tradition of the Nesiama's in thanking the Almighty God for making it through the year, as revealed by The Commodore of Hope in his opening speech as the ceremony flagged-off few minutes to 6pm.

"Today is just for us to appreciate God and thank Him for the year. A lot of people know us. Normally, when we are in town we host. Last year we couldn't host because it was the heat of political activities. The last time we hosted here it was mainly family and friends. But this time, we said family, friends and political... not really associates—those guys that were in the trend with me throughout the electioneering period.

"My real family are the people you're seeing here now. And I want to thank you for being part of my family. I want to thank God for the privilege to be able to call this gathering on a very short notice and we are all here," he acknowledged.

Asides the need to thank God and to celebrate, Commodore Nesiama (rtd) who said that "The programme line up today is to eat and drink" also urged his guests to use the opportunity that the sit-out offers to network among themselves. "This is a gathering where you network. Don't just sit down, go round, greet and know people because the person you see here today might be important to your progress tomorrow," he further added.

The evening was marked with musical entertainment by the live band, Anointed Stone Superstar, and with comic relief from MC QP A.K.A Youngest Landlord in Warri, and MC Charles The Generous. There were varieties of foods such as rice, suya (roasted meat), wines, assorted drinks, roasted fish among others. Santa Claus (Father Christmas) was also on ground to swell the fun for kids in attendance too.

Commodore Nesiama (rtd), who gained political prominence at the last general elections wherein he campaigned vigorously in the Delta South Senatorial district on the platform of the New Nigeria People's Party, NNPP, stunned his guests when he opened the Karaoke session, which was part of the activities to liven the mood of guests.

The Commodore of Hope brought back the nostalgic feeling of the late 70's when he performed the song 'Coward of the County' by the late country music singer, Kenny Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020).

Other guests also joined the fray in the Karaoke session. Songs like 'Suddenly' by Billy Ocean, 'You're My Best Friend' by Don Williams among others, were performed by participating guests. While some sang to the admiration of guests, others were a bit muffled up as they try to follow the lead words displayed on the projected screen. Yet, there were still those who departed from the Karaoke by performing local songs of praise.

But most importantly, everyone met someone new, like Pastor Sunny Aghe who was excited to meet for the first time the radio show presenter, Laju Awala of Rize FM in Warri. Also among the Nesiama's were Rear Admiral Franklin Nesiama, Dcns Victoria Nesiama, Mrs. Queen Temile, and a host of others.

I was getting carried away with the fun when my four-year-old daughter, Olivia, awakened me to the reality of a precarious situation, "Daddy, I'm feeling sleepy" she said, a signal that our fill of the celebration was over at just few minutes past 8pm. And as for my daughter, meeting Santa Claus was all that matters 😃.

View more photos on Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0wytRrw4u6QjBpEuBNLVrcmu6DodM6mhY2HyzKQNoaa6cpCpuYNufmTWtZZVhm36sl&id=100041939655507&mibextid=Nif5oz

#penglobalsocial