It was 9:35pm when I woke up. I had been
sleeping for about 3 hours and the last thing I could remember before I slept
off was that power went off. NEPA and their wahala! If I was ever campaigning
for presidency, the only points on my agenda would be constant electricity and
free Wi-Fi for all. The youths would vote for me. As I kept still on my bed
still muttering these things, NEPA brought back the light, ‘awon oloshi
mtchewww’. Therefore, I chilled a little bit checking out the new movies on my
laptop while jamming some music with my speakers, something I do often. I had
to stop when my stomach started feeling hollow. I was hungry. I stood up to
check the pot on the camp-gas, ‘beans’. I ate beans in the afternoon. There was
no way I was going to eat beans again and there was nothing else that was
already made.
I looked across the room and there laid Bayo at a corner
seriously playing FIFA manager. I hated that game. I still do. We weren’t
cooking anything that night so I made up my mind to go get something to eat
outside. Now it was 10:30pm. I didn’t have a problem with the timing because on
a normal night, I would still get something to buy at a specific Iya Fathia
shop in my area at 10:50pm. So, I picked up my wallet.
‘Guy, you don chao?’, I asked game boy at the corner.
‘Yea, this babe for the next floor bin make one mad
delicacy’, he replied.
‘Shet, you for bring am come here nao’. The sound of the
word ‘delicacy’ was causing havoc in my tummy.
‘Na for her room o, guy’…
My guy was alright for the night. I left the room to find
something to eat.
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Walking to the gate in the compound, I observed that
movement was minimal. ‘Iya Fathia must still be around’, I thought.
When I got outside the compound, all the shops in the street
were closed even the suya seller had packed up. I heard somebody shout ‘Sai Buhari’
from a dark spot. I wasn’t seeing the person neither did I know how many other
men were there. The rest of the whole place was void of movement except for
that one dark spot or so I thought. Just then, I remembered a man who always
sold till it was 11pm at the far end of the street. I decided to go there, my
big bulgy eyes canvasing my way through the dark area I was now passing. Not all
houses had bulbs. My brand new Google Nexus 5 had a very bright flashlight. I
would turn it on if I needed it.
I was now at a very empty nook. It looked
deserted. Suddenly, I saw some weird-looking group of men carrying dried bamboo
fire torches coming directly from where the axis of the compound where I stay.
They were chanting something strange. It wasn’t Yoruba, I was sure. I saw them
as harmless until I noticed one of them holding a machete and another, a
horse-whip. At their most behind was one who was definitely holding something
that looked like a hunting rifle. I stopped walking to observe
more carefully. These people were definitely not looking harmless anymore. My
bladder suddenly became full. I took to my heels. I was running far away from
my street. I didn’t notice a pothole on the road before I feel face to the ground.
...(to be continued)
