.....................................................................................................................................................
After the first day fiasco with the goat,we got better and Alfa was always on hand to help skin the goats ,we even went as far as making pepper soup with the head.We were on a spree ,taking down goats at will.We were so 'prosperous' that some of our friends would come around and share from the bounty.
We were so carefree that Alhaji found out what we had been doing,Alhaji being a thief himself,did not bother to confront us ,instead he started stealing goats too.He had a family of a wife and three children with another two extended family staying with him,meaning Alhaji was stealing twice the number of goats we were stealing.
After months of these pilfering by Alhaji and our team,the supply of goats suddenly dried up.Only two things could have happened,the first one was that the owners of these goats had finally found a way of 'sheltering' them or all the goats had a meeting and decided to relocate so as to avoid extinction.
A meeting convened.
'So,una wan tell me say four wheeler no dey for this whole Ilorin again'...i asked
'Omo,we no fit go beyond our vicinity o,make the thing no turn to capital offence o'......Uche advised
'How goats no go finish when na every weekend Alhaji de do goat asun'........Obi was furious
'Anyway,we have to find a way to solve this issue o'.........i said
'How now?no more 2 wheeler sef'.......Obi reminded us
'We will find a way,make we come from lectures we go continue the gist'...
'we better o,am running out of my last supply'......Obi said it as if we were dealing in drugs
Weeks turned to months,and it got so difficult to even see a goat walk by talk less of hunting one,Alhaji seemed okay and did not show any sign he was bothered,infact we all kept mute because we knew what each of us were doing.No one dared to bring up the subject,it was like an unspoken code.
After several discussions,we still could not find an alternative to our meat addiction,i called it addiction because of a particular day that Uche wanted to eat fried eggs and boiled yam but because he was thinking of meat all the while,he got the eggs ,boiled the yam,made the egg sauce,then proceeded to break the eggs only to find out that he bought boiled eggs.
A particular day i had gone to school for lectures and was in a hurry to meet up and i ran into Madamski,the most patient hustler i have ever met in my life.
'Jojo ,make i see N20 Naira dere now,i go return am for evening'....he hustled me
'Madamski,abeg i don late ,wait for me'......i lied as i moved on
'No wan,i go wait for you here'.....
Hours later,finishing from lectures ,i was dog tired,i started to shuffle towards the bus stop,i was already thinking of the horror of struggling to get a cab,when i met Madamski at the same spot i left him.I had totally forgotten about him,i would have changed my route because when Madmaski says he is waiting for you,you can bet your life he would be waiting.
'Jojo,how far now,i still de wait you now'...
'Madamski,you no de give up'....i was exasperated
'I even get one mercenary job for you sef'......he knew about my sitting for exams for selected people for money.
'ehn ehn,u dey scope me because of money abi?......
'Lailai,u sabi Ronke now,na she dey look for you sef'.......
I knew Ronke,i had done some mercenary jobs for her before,she was a sure customer,always paid on time.
'Omo,na N10 naira i get now o,u go take am?'....i had to get madamski off my path
'at all at all na witch,give me,i go tell Ronke say i see u'....
'Make she check me for department for wednesday'....i started walking towards the bus stop.
Thirty minutes later ,i was at home and surprised that the others were yet to get home but something was amiss.As i was entering the building i bumped into Kunle.Kunle was Alhaji's right hand man and his hacthet man ,once you see Kunle around then you know something was going on.
At first i though,our neighbour was having a party when i began to perceive the smell of roasted meat,i decided to check through my back window to ascertain where the smell was coming from.I could always see Alhaji's backyard from my window and as soon a s i peeped ,i saw that he was roasting a large piece of animal.
'Ha this Alhaji sha,dem don kill four wheeler,omo where dem go root this one from now this time wey dem sacrce'...i though aloud thinking i had enough gist to give the others when they got home.
'But wait a minute o'.....i paused
I saw the head of the suppose four wheeler,it looked smaller,something was not right.I waited a bit at the window,hiding behind the curtains.I had to see more.
Alhaji kept turning the meat so as not get burnt,i waited.
He turned the laps,i waited.
He turned the breast,i waited.
Then he turned the head,i squinted.
I could not believe what i was seeing,at first ,i saw that the ears were kind of longer.Then i saw the teeth,the fangs were long,Goats don't have fangs..........it slowly began to dawn on me that in the absence of goats ,Alhaji had gone higher.
OH MY GOD!!!! ALHAJI HAS STARTED EATING DOGS!!!!!!!!!
Monday, 26 January 2015
Friday, 9 January 2015
Chance or Destiny....Part 6...(7) cont....
....................................
All that glitters is not gold' goes a popular saying,seeing Alhaji drive round in his latest car begged a lot of questions but alas no one was brave enough to ask him,even the landlord association that had been harassing us in his absence all kept mute.We learnt the association was thinking of filing a petition against him but Alhaji seemed not to care and the way he started relating with our friends and joining our numerous activities one would think he was a student also apart from his big pot belly.
Well,Uche appraised us of the fact of 'upping' our game and it was time to strike,we were inexperienced as far as killing of local goats was concerned but Obi kept on assuring us that he would handle that part.We had to be very discreet,we had done our survey a night before and we already knew that most of the goats in the area usually stray into a particular uncompleted building just a street behind us for short naps and regurgitating.The site was overgrown with bushes and weeds.
That night we all had our boots on and Obi had his touch ready,we were set to go at exactly 12pm,this was serious business we dare not get caught.
'All man don set?'.........Obi asked
'Make we waka'........i interjected......i knew Obi likes being the leader of things like this.The job was to be carried out by Obi and i,Uche would stay as guard and whistle if anything pops up.
Obi and i moved stealthily through the dark street armed with a nylon full of salt,this is to be put in the goat's mouth just in case it starts to bleat,it will concentrate on licking the salt instead.Still we had to be very careful not to run into the local vigilantes responsible for the security of the area while bringing the goat back to the house.
Our objective was ,catch,bind and transport.
Obi struck a conversation.
'Omo,if that Alfa wey dey stay our house show face when we bring in the four wheeler wetin we go do?
'Make we wait till then'..i replied
'omo,if he wan raise alarm ,we go arrange am o '......Obi snarled in the darkness
'Till then jor'......i wanted to concentrate on the job at hand,i knew Obi had the propensity of solving issues with violence.
We got to the uncompleted building without any incidence,the place was pitched dark but we had already combed the area the previous night and we knew the room where all the goats usually sleep.We entered the building and moved quickly and quietly so as not to startle the herd.We used the torch lights to blind the goats momentarily.
Obi spotted one big fat she goat,signaled to me to cut off it's escape...
we moved in.....
Obi grabbed the neck as the rest of the goats scattered,he proceeded to strangle the goat.Obi and the goat struggled for like 20 mins while i was pouring salt in it's mouth to stop it from bleating,eventually the goat stopped moving.Now we had to move it to the house,the goat was quite big and it took us almost a 30 mins to get back to the house because we were being careful not to be seen,we had to take our time.Uche was already so worked up,he broke into a smile when he saw how big the goat was.
'Is it dead,its a she goat sha?'....Uche asked excitedly.
'Yes now,i broke the neck'.....Obi was already showing off.
'Lets close the gate abeg before yawa go gas o'....i brought them back to reality.
We quickly moved the goat into the corridor and closed the only door gate that leads into our side of the house.We all stood looking at the She goat without a clue of the next move.
'Hope say that Alfa never wake o'........i asked
'nope,i no hear any sound from his room'......Uche answered.
'oya ,wey the knife,u sharpen am well?.......
'Omo,we go jam am o if e try anything,because...'......Obi stopped....
All of a sudden Alfa door started opening slowly....
We all froze..........................
Alfa (the muslim cleric) stepped out of the room and we all stood there looking at him,he looked from us to the She goat and back to us and he immediately connected the dots.
'se e fe dumbu e ni?......Alfa asked us if we wanted to slaughter the goat
The three of us nodded in unison like overgrown mumu's
'Biwon se shee ko niyen,e mu obe yen wa'.....Alfa said we were not doing it right and we should hand over the knife to him.
All the three of us jumped up in celebration and we started to hug the Alfa as if we had just gotten a new member into our contraternity clan,we were wrong about him ,this one was Alfa awon boys.
We were still back slapping and shaking the Alfa when we heard.
meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ......with a loud noise
Everybody ran helter skelter...falling on ourselves ,trying to escape for dear lives!!!
Obi had failed us!!!!!
THE GOAT WAS ALIVE!!!!!!!
All that glitters is not gold' goes a popular saying,seeing Alhaji drive round in his latest car begged a lot of questions but alas no one was brave enough to ask him,even the landlord association that had been harassing us in his absence all kept mute.We learnt the association was thinking of filing a petition against him but Alhaji seemed not to care and the way he started relating with our friends and joining our numerous activities one would think he was a student also apart from his big pot belly.
Well,Uche appraised us of the fact of 'upping' our game and it was time to strike,we were inexperienced as far as killing of local goats was concerned but Obi kept on assuring us that he would handle that part.We had to be very discreet,we had done our survey a night before and we already knew that most of the goats in the area usually stray into a particular uncompleted building just a street behind us for short naps and regurgitating.The site was overgrown with bushes and weeds.
That night we all had our boots on and Obi had his touch ready,we were set to go at exactly 12pm,this was serious business we dare not get caught.
'All man don set?'.........Obi asked
'Make we waka'........i interjected......i knew Obi likes being the leader of things like this.The job was to be carried out by Obi and i,Uche would stay as guard and whistle if anything pops up.
Obi and i moved stealthily through the dark street armed with a nylon full of salt,this is to be put in the goat's mouth just in case it starts to bleat,it will concentrate on licking the salt instead.Still we had to be very careful not to run into the local vigilantes responsible for the security of the area while bringing the goat back to the house.
Our objective was ,catch,bind and transport.
Obi struck a conversation.
'Omo,if that Alfa wey dey stay our house show face when we bring in the four wheeler wetin we go do?
'Make we wait till then'..i replied
'omo,if he wan raise alarm ,we go arrange am o '......Obi snarled in the darkness
'Till then jor'......i wanted to concentrate on the job at hand,i knew Obi had the propensity of solving issues with violence.
We got to the uncompleted building without any incidence,the place was pitched dark but we had already combed the area the previous night and we knew the room where all the goats usually sleep.We entered the building and moved quickly and quietly so as not to startle the herd.We used the torch lights to blind the goats momentarily.
Obi spotted one big fat she goat,signaled to me to cut off it's escape...
we moved in.....
Obi grabbed the neck as the rest of the goats scattered,he proceeded to strangle the goat.Obi and the goat struggled for like 20 mins while i was pouring salt in it's mouth to stop it from bleating,eventually the goat stopped moving.Now we had to move it to the house,the goat was quite big and it took us almost a 30 mins to get back to the house because we were being careful not to be seen,we had to take our time.Uche was already so worked up,he broke into a smile when he saw how big the goat was.
'Is it dead,its a she goat sha?'....Uche asked excitedly.
'Yes now,i broke the neck'.....Obi was already showing off.
'Lets close the gate abeg before yawa go gas o'....i brought them back to reality.
We quickly moved the goat into the corridor and closed the only door gate that leads into our side of the house.We all stood looking at the She goat without a clue of the next move.
'Hope say that Alfa never wake o'........i asked
'nope,i no hear any sound from his room'......Uche answered.
'oya ,wey the knife,u sharpen am well?.......
'Omo,we go jam am o if e try anything,because...'......Obi stopped....
All of a sudden Alfa door started opening slowly....
We all froze..........................
Alfa (the muslim cleric) stepped out of the room and we all stood there looking at him,he looked from us to the She goat and back to us and he immediately connected the dots.
'se e fe dumbu e ni?......Alfa asked us if we wanted to slaughter the goat
The three of us nodded in unison like overgrown mumu's
'Biwon se shee ko niyen,e mu obe yen wa'.....Alfa said we were not doing it right and we should hand over the knife to him.
All the three of us jumped up in celebration and we started to hug the Alfa as if we had just gotten a new member into our contraternity clan,we were wrong about him ,this one was Alfa awon boys.
We were still back slapping and shaking the Alfa when we heard.
meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ......with a loud noise
Everybody ran helter skelter...falling on ourselves ,trying to escape for dear lives!!!
Obi had failed us!!!!!
THE GOAT WAS ALIVE!!!!!!!
Wednesday, 31 December 2014
Chance or Destiny....Part 6...(7) cont....
.....
Alhaji was not a loquacious person ,he rarely talked and when he did,it sounded more like whispering and you really had to lean in close to him to hear his voice.Obi said maybe it was the torturing they gave him while in police custody that had affected his voice.
'Jojo,u no know say na only one shirt and one trouser follow Alhaji comot from prison?...........Obi informed me.
'Before nko,dem dey dash clothes for prison?...
'But forget o,Alhaji was bragging to yesterday that he will soon get a car o'....
'Person wey no get work dey buy car?........i quipped...
'Sebi him wife de work'.........
'Mscheeeew,how much she de collect?...........we ended the gist on that note.
Before the arrival of Alhaji from prison,we already made it a habit to always make chicken soup every weekend by seizing any available chicken that mistakenly comes near our house.
Obi would use a trail of corn to tempt the chicken inside the house and from there ,it ends up in our pots but since Alhaji's arrival,we found out that we no longer had chickens coming around again because Alhaji was in the habit of killing them everyday.Alhaji had a younger brother of his living with him and both of them were brothers in crime.
Not that we as students were not also committing the same crime,but we felt ours was born out of necessity.This was getting too much ,we had an emergency meeting.
'Omo ,this one wey Alhaji don pai all the cowboys we dey this area i hope the landlord association dey take notice o,make dem no go dey yan say na students now'..
'Jojou funny o,dem no wan know o,if anything miss na we o'...Obi corrected me
'Haa,that one no go funny o'.......
'We need to change tactics and prey'.......Uche suggested.
'Like what?...
'Four wheeler'..................Uche replied
We all looked at each other ,if what Uche was suggesting was what all of us were thinking ,then it would be a jamboree every month with enough meat to go around.Uche suggested we should move our mark from chickens to goats!!! The meeting was not concluded,we had an indigene living in the house now and the guy was also an immigration officer,we had to be very careful.Uche was telling us to up our game,that needed a lot of thinking and we all agreed to think about it.
The next day was a weekend and i was relaxing on my bed when i heard Obi banging on my door ,i jumped up and quickly opened because with Obi,anything can happen.
'I no tell you say Alhaji say e go buy car?'...Obi was excited.
'Eh ehn,wetin come hapun?'
'come outside'......Obi started dragging me..
On getting outside.....Alhaji was leaning on a blue coloured Mazda 626,grinning from ear to ear.
Alhaji had struck again!!!!!!
This was not the era of yahoo yahoo and the only way Alhaji could come up with cash was to carry out an operation.
We did not know the kind of operation he did and none of us had the liver to ask him,all we could do was celebrate with him as he ordered for crates of beer and resigned ourselves to everyday life of fear not knowing when the police would come again,we could only prepare ourselves by making sure we did not harbour any incriminating stuffs in the house.
This particular day was the only day i remembered that Alhaji bought any livestock with his money,he bought some live chickens and we fried them to be taken with the cold bottle of beer.
In a lame man's terminology, when referring to someone that had suddenly come across good fortune,we say......
Alhaji has arrived!!!!
Alhaji was not a loquacious person ,he rarely talked and when he did,it sounded more like whispering and you really had to lean in close to him to hear his voice.Obi said maybe it was the torturing they gave him while in police custody that had affected his voice.
'Jojo,u no know say na only one shirt and one trouser follow Alhaji comot from prison?...........Obi informed me.
'Before nko,dem dey dash clothes for prison?...
'But forget o,Alhaji was bragging to yesterday that he will soon get a car o'....
'Person wey no get work dey buy car?........i quipped...
'Sebi him wife de work'.........
'Mscheeeew,how much she de collect?...........we ended the gist on that note.
Before the arrival of Alhaji from prison,we already made it a habit to always make chicken soup every weekend by seizing any available chicken that mistakenly comes near our house.
Obi would use a trail of corn to tempt the chicken inside the house and from there ,it ends up in our pots but since Alhaji's arrival,we found out that we no longer had chickens coming around again because Alhaji was in the habit of killing them everyday.Alhaji had a younger brother of his living with him and both of them were brothers in crime.
Not that we as students were not also committing the same crime,but we felt ours was born out of necessity.This was getting too much ,we had an emergency meeting.
'Omo ,this one wey Alhaji don pai all the cowboys we dey this area i hope the landlord association dey take notice o,make dem no go dey yan say na students now'..
'Jojou funny o,dem no wan know o,if anything miss na we o'...Obi corrected me
'Haa,that one no go funny o'.......
'We need to change tactics and prey'.......Uche suggested.
'Like what?...
'Four wheeler'..................Uche replied
We all looked at each other ,if what Uche was suggesting was what all of us were thinking ,then it would be a jamboree every month with enough meat to go around.Uche suggested we should move our mark from chickens to goats!!! The meeting was not concluded,we had an indigene living in the house now and the guy was also an immigration officer,we had to be very careful.Uche was telling us to up our game,that needed a lot of thinking and we all agreed to think about it.
The next day was a weekend and i was relaxing on my bed when i heard Obi banging on my door ,i jumped up and quickly opened because with Obi,anything can happen.
'I no tell you say Alhaji say e go buy car?'...Obi was excited.
'Eh ehn,wetin come hapun?'
'come outside'......Obi started dragging me..
On getting outside.....Alhaji was leaning on a blue coloured Mazda 626,grinning from ear to ear.
Alhaji had struck again!!!!!!
This was not the era of yahoo yahoo and the only way Alhaji could come up with cash was to carry out an operation.
We did not know the kind of operation he did and none of us had the liver to ask him,all we could do was celebrate with him as he ordered for crates of beer and resigned ourselves to everyday life of fear not knowing when the police would come again,we could only prepare ourselves by making sure we did not harbour any incriminating stuffs in the house.
This particular day was the only day i remembered that Alhaji bought any livestock with his money,he bought some live chickens and we fried them to be taken with the cold bottle of beer.
In a lame man's terminology, when referring to someone that had suddenly come across good fortune,we say......
Alhaji has arrived!!!!
Thursday, 18 December 2014
Chance or Destiny....Part 6...(7) cont....
..................
Seeing Caleb with that team meant this was more of a student issue.Till today i really do not know what warranted the raid,we knew amongst ourselves that we were lucky.
On our way to the campus in the morning ,i began to question Obi
'My guy,the tin wey happun today,you know about am?'
'No o,how i go know'
'Ehen hen ,you no know abi?
'i no know o'
'ok ,i go ask Caleb'
'which one be say you go ask Caleb,i say i no know'.....
I knew Obi was hiding something and the fact that i bluffed him using Caleb name did not shake him.Anyway we got to the campus that day and after lectures i looked everywhere i know to see if i would bump into Caleb but i didn't and at a point i thought he did not come to school at all only to see him later in the day at the Law Library.I moved closer.
'Caleb my man!'.....i greeted him
'Your man meaning what?'......He turned with a straight face
'Ahan han cool down now,are you not my man again?'.....i acted surprised
'ehnn,meaning what now?......he apparently knew why i was hailing him and he was quick to put up a defence.
'This morning for my house,what was that all about ?...i asked him point blank.
'I don't know what you are talking about?...he denied.
'I know your are not obligated to talk,just give me a hint'.....
'Its classified Jojo'........
'I know but a hint will help me know who to talk to,was it about Alhaji?....i pressed on
'No '
'landlord association?'..
'No,when u see Obi ask wetin him do,i no fit talk pass that one'
'Thank you Caleb,just what i needed'.....
I thanked him and stood up,my fears had been verified,like i suspected Obi was not entirely clean but he would not own up.I decided to let him be and wait for an opportune time to raise it up again.
Having finished our exams we all proceeded for the long vacation and the matter was forgotten,we even turned Alhaji's name to a taboo never to be discussed which kept the peace in the house.Before leaving we had two vacant rooms for rent and we could not get any student to rent it since it was close to end of Semester so Obi told Alhaji's wife to be patient until we resume for the following semester so she could get premium rents for the rooms.She agreed.
Once in Lagos.the rush of the city got me back hustling,i had to make good money before going back to school.Lagos is the land of opportunities and you have to be very sharp to see them and turn them into money.
Before you say Jack Robinson,the holidays were over and i started thinking of going back to school,I asked Obi when he would be leaving for school and he said the next day, i promised to join him the following week.My room mate was not Lagos based but i know he usually resumes earlier than me.
My journey back to school was smooth,the bus dropped me at the roundabout,i took a cab because of my luggage and we headed straight to Tanke, i had a John Grisham novel i had been reading in the bus,i quickly brought out so i could finish it.
Getting down from the cab ,some of the street boys came around to help me with my luggage,I crossed the busy street, passed Bostra restaurant and turned into my street ,i could see my house from the junction and i noticed that a snooker table was in front,a lot of boys were smoking,drinking and playing and i could even hear someone of them betting and going to one corner to give a man the bet money.
As i moved closer ,i noticed that the man was quite older than all the boys,he had a small stool in front of him with a big bottle of stout and his stomach was almost touching the stool table.
As soon as Obi saw me,he shouted and everybody looked my way and we started exchanging greetings.
'Obi,who be that man wey get big stomach?;..i quickly pulled Obi to one side.
'hahahahahaha'.....he laughed
'Talk jor'....
Jojo;na Alhaji be that o'
'Alhaji? our landlord? ! is he back from prison?....
'Yes o,na him be onile (bet moderator) now'....
'wetin e de find here?'....
'Omo,the man don move back with him family into the other wing o'..
'how come?Oga Police nko?'....
'He don give that one quit notice since na,e don move comot'...
'Oh i see,so he is back?.....
'omo na so meself jam am as i come o.infact he don even collect two more tenants'....
'ehe ehen,students?....
'one student and one Alfa'...
'Alfa bawo?that one go dey scatter our runs o'
'Meself tire,make we see as e go be'....
We ended the conversation as i followed Obi to be introduced to Alhaji,i felt like a sheep being led to the altar for sacrifice.Alhaji was a short man with a very protruding stomach,his belly was massive compared to his frame,i could not help but to wonder how this mammoth of a man could be a robber and be this big,what if they were being chased by the police but i only had to look at his eyes and i had my answer.Alhaji had a cute face not handsome like but babyish but his eyes gave him away as a very dangerous person,they were sharp and spoke volumes,the kind of eyes that make one feel uncomfortable when it scrutinises.
He smiled at me when i greeted him and his smile was more like a snarl,though his chisel like teeth were bared,his eyes were cold as ice and as soon as he shook me,a cold shiver ran through my body and i needed nobody to tell me that i was in front of a deadly man.
Now things are really about to get ugly,Alhaji being back meant we would be living with an armed robber and a murderer and i really don't have an idea how this will pan out but i did not have to wait that long....................................................................
Seeing Caleb with that team meant this was more of a student issue.Till today i really do not know what warranted the raid,we knew amongst ourselves that we were lucky.
On our way to the campus in the morning ,i began to question Obi
'My guy,the tin wey happun today,you know about am?'
'No o,how i go know'
'Ehen hen ,you no know abi?
'i no know o'
'ok ,i go ask Caleb'
'which one be say you go ask Caleb,i say i no know'.....
I knew Obi was hiding something and the fact that i bluffed him using Caleb name did not shake him.Anyway we got to the campus that day and after lectures i looked everywhere i know to see if i would bump into Caleb but i didn't and at a point i thought he did not come to school at all only to see him later in the day at the Law Library.I moved closer.
'Caleb my man!'.....i greeted him
'Your man meaning what?'......He turned with a straight face
'Ahan han cool down now,are you not my man again?'.....i acted surprised
'ehnn,meaning what now?......he apparently knew why i was hailing him and he was quick to put up a defence.
'This morning for my house,what was that all about ?...i asked him point blank.
'I don't know what you are talking about?...he denied.
'I know your are not obligated to talk,just give me a hint'.....
'Its classified Jojo'........
'I know but a hint will help me know who to talk to,was it about Alhaji?....i pressed on
'No '
'landlord association?'..
'No,when u see Obi ask wetin him do,i no fit talk pass that one'
'Thank you Caleb,just what i needed'.....
I thanked him and stood up,my fears had been verified,like i suspected Obi was not entirely clean but he would not own up.I decided to let him be and wait for an opportune time to raise it up again.
Having finished our exams we all proceeded for the long vacation and the matter was forgotten,we even turned Alhaji's name to a taboo never to be discussed which kept the peace in the house.Before leaving we had two vacant rooms for rent and we could not get any student to rent it since it was close to end of Semester so Obi told Alhaji's wife to be patient until we resume for the following semester so she could get premium rents for the rooms.She agreed.
Once in Lagos.the rush of the city got me back hustling,i had to make good money before going back to school.Lagos is the land of opportunities and you have to be very sharp to see them and turn them into money.
Before you say Jack Robinson,the holidays were over and i started thinking of going back to school,I asked Obi when he would be leaving for school and he said the next day, i promised to join him the following week.My room mate was not Lagos based but i know he usually resumes earlier than me.
My journey back to school was smooth,the bus dropped me at the roundabout,i took a cab because of my luggage and we headed straight to Tanke, i had a John Grisham novel i had been reading in the bus,i quickly brought out so i could finish it.
Getting down from the cab ,some of the street boys came around to help me with my luggage,I crossed the busy street, passed Bostra restaurant and turned into my street ,i could see my house from the junction and i noticed that a snooker table was in front,a lot of boys were smoking,drinking and playing and i could even hear someone of them betting and going to one corner to give a man the bet money.
As i moved closer ,i noticed that the man was quite older than all the boys,he had a small stool in front of him with a big bottle of stout and his stomach was almost touching the stool table.
As soon as Obi saw me,he shouted and everybody looked my way and we started exchanging greetings.
'Obi,who be that man wey get big stomach?;..i quickly pulled Obi to one side.
'hahahahahaha'.....he laughed
'Talk jor'....
Jojo;na Alhaji be that o'
'Alhaji? our landlord? ! is he back from prison?....
'Yes o,na him be onile (bet moderator) now'....
'wetin e de find here?'....
'Omo,the man don move back with him family into the other wing o'..
'how come?Oga Police nko?'....
'He don give that one quit notice since na,e don move comot'...
'Oh i see,so he is back?.....
'omo na so meself jam am as i come o.infact he don even collect two more tenants'....
'ehe ehen,students?....
'one student and one Alfa'...
'Alfa bawo?that one go dey scatter our runs o'
'Meself tire,make we see as e go be'....
We ended the conversation as i followed Obi to be introduced to Alhaji,i felt like a sheep being led to the altar for sacrifice.Alhaji was a short man with a very protruding stomach,his belly was massive compared to his frame,i could not help but to wonder how this mammoth of a man could be a robber and be this big,what if they were being chased by the police but i only had to look at his eyes and i had my answer.Alhaji had a cute face not handsome like but babyish but his eyes gave him away as a very dangerous person,they were sharp and spoke volumes,the kind of eyes that make one feel uncomfortable when it scrutinises.
He smiled at me when i greeted him and his smile was more like a snarl,though his chisel like teeth were bared,his eyes were cold as ice and as soon as he shook me,a cold shiver ran through my body and i needed nobody to tell me that i was in front of a deadly man.
Now things are really about to get ugly,Alhaji being back meant we would be living with an armed robber and a murderer and i really don't have an idea how this will pan out but i did not have to wait that long....................................................................
Monday, 8 December 2014
Chance or Destiny....Part 6...(7)
.........
When trouble show face, the saying that 'Police is your friend ' always fails the test.
My brain went into overdrive,i began to think of all the possible bad things that could attract police to our apartment on a rainy day and so early in the morning.I began to sort and sieve.
'was is the white cockerel that Obi tricked into the apartment with pieces of corn and that ended up in our pots?,
'Was it the goat that we stole and used for pepper soup during Larey's birthday?
'Has Obi gotten all one of these area girls pregnant abi Obi has gone to swindle an indigene? i could not really vouch for him,he was a restless person and liked the fast life'
My mind kept on churning out different scenarios but none would warrant this kind of bursting early in the morning and particularly on a rainy day.
We had no choice! the door must be opened eventually as the pounding increased.
...
Six hefty plain clothes detectives bounced into the apartment.
'why e take una 2hrs to open down!!!!?...shouted one of them
'Oga,na candle we dey find to light sir'.......Obi replied them,kind of looked as if he was prepared for their questions
'who be dis?.....the Policeman swung his torch light to make out Obi's face.'Go wake everyone up ,now now!
By now all the 5 occupants of the apartment had woken up and we all lined up at the corridor while the policemen went into our various rooms and started searching.Na that day i know say if Police wan work dem sabi their work,all our rooms were turned upside down,they even searched inside the engine of our T.v.
I kept on looking at Obi's face to read his expression but it was blank and i started to think if this was not in connection with Alhaji's past deeds.I had to clear my head and think fast,i was not sure what they were looking for and not sure what they would find.
'Oga ,abeg i wan piss'...i nervously asked the policeman guarding us
'Go outside go piss'....he said casually
i was surprised that he did not intend to follow me ,that was when it dawned on me that these guys knew who they were after.
I went out in the rain and saw the silhouette of their wagon van,because of the darkness i missed it at first but as i passed the pickup ,i noticed that there was someone at the boot,and you know you can actually see through the trunk of a 505 wagon.The person looked tied up and folded like the foetus of a new born baby.
I quickly relieved myself and started back because i was wet already from the torrential rain,as i was close to the main door of the apartment,some of the officers were coming out.
I almost bumped into them because i was running from the rain.
'Sorry sir,i quickly apologised'...
'it;s ok'....... came back the reply
That voice made me take a second look at the officer,our eyes locked and he showed no sign of recognition or rather he chose not to.
The voice was unmistakable.
CALEB!!!!!
Caleb was a student in the Law department,and we even relate very well
OH MY GOSH!!!!! SO THIS GUY NA SPECIAL SECURITY OFFICER.
When trouble show face, the saying that 'Police is your friend ' always fails the test.
My brain went into overdrive,i began to think of all the possible bad things that could attract police to our apartment on a rainy day and so early in the morning.I began to sort and sieve.
'was is the white cockerel that Obi tricked into the apartment with pieces of corn and that ended up in our pots?,
'Was it the goat that we stole and used for pepper soup during Larey's birthday?
'Has Obi gotten all one of these area girls pregnant abi Obi has gone to swindle an indigene? i could not really vouch for him,he was a restless person and liked the fast life'
My mind kept on churning out different scenarios but none would warrant this kind of bursting early in the morning and particularly on a rainy day.
We had no choice! the door must be opened eventually as the pounding increased.
...
Six hefty plain clothes detectives bounced into the apartment.
'why e take una 2hrs to open down!!!!?...shouted one of them
'Oga,na candle we dey find to light sir'.......Obi replied them,kind of looked as if he was prepared for their questions
'who be dis?.....the Policeman swung his torch light to make out Obi's face.'Go wake everyone up ,now now!
By now all the 5 occupants of the apartment had woken up and we all lined up at the corridor while the policemen went into our various rooms and started searching.Na that day i know say if Police wan work dem sabi their work,all our rooms were turned upside down,they even searched inside the engine of our T.v.
I kept on looking at Obi's face to read his expression but it was blank and i started to think if this was not in connection with Alhaji's past deeds.I had to clear my head and think fast,i was not sure what they were looking for and not sure what they would find.
'Oga ,abeg i wan piss'...i nervously asked the policeman guarding us
'Go outside go piss'....he said casually
i was surprised that he did not intend to follow me ,that was when it dawned on me that these guys knew who they were after.
I went out in the rain and saw the silhouette of their wagon van,because of the darkness i missed it at first but as i passed the pickup ,i noticed that there was someone at the boot,and you know you can actually see through the trunk of a 505 wagon.The person looked tied up and folded like the foetus of a new born baby.
I quickly relieved myself and started back because i was wet already from the torrential rain,as i was close to the main door of the apartment,some of the officers were coming out.
I almost bumped into them because i was running from the rain.
'Sorry sir,i quickly apologised'...
'it;s ok'....... came back the reply
That voice made me take a second look at the officer,our eyes locked and he showed no sign of recognition or rather he chose not to.
The voice was unmistakable.
CALEB!!!!!
Caleb was a student in the Law department,and we even relate very well
OH MY GOSH!!!!! SO THIS GUY NA SPECIAL SECURITY OFFICER.
Monday, 1 December 2014
Chance or Destiny....Part 6...(6)
.................................................
'You have to be kidding me ,Obi'......i was still dumbfounded
'No be joke o guy'.....
'Why u no tell me?'......i asked him
'Haba,if i tell u ,u go collect mule?'......
'Na wa o,details,give me details'....i wanted to know more
'Omo,meself no know the whole story because we de semester break that time but i hear say na one of him gang member wey dem get kwanta as per sharing the loot wey dem hustle.....Obi explained.
'ehn ehn'......
'but not our wing sha ,na the other wing where that Eke de stay'.....Obi was trying to reassure me.
'no be the same house?'....i hissed and stood up
'no forget your promise o,as per kemi'.....
'i don hear'......i moved out of his room
I had time to think it through the following day and i knew it would be difficult for me to raise another money if i intend to go looking for another apartment,besides the mule has a a toilet which was rare to get in that vicinity .I decided that the best thing to do was wait out my rent and see how things would unfold.Well a whole lot of things happened afterwards.
Approximately 2 months into our mid semester tests,i had arrived early from school hungry and i went to Bostra restaurant to eat,i only had twenty Naira on me and that was enough to buy me two wraps of fufu and two pieces of meat.I headed up back to mule meaning to have a short nap but i met Uche my room mate waiting for me.
'i don de wait you since na'.......Uche said
'I go lem'.....i answered
'oh ok,Obi drop light bill o'.....
'Make i see am'..i collected it from him..
I browsed thru the bill and how the bill was shared among the rooms and very crafty of Obi to share the bill per head instead of per room.
'This bill na per room or per head?'.....i turned to Uche
'Na why i de wait you make u see am urself'......
'Obi don come back?'....
'No'....
'Okay,when e come we go thrash am out'...i folded the bill and put it in my back pocket
I waited till late in the night for Obi to return until i eventually had to go and sleep.I woke up to the sound of thunder and lightening as the heavens opened up and it started to rain,splendid for me,it will ensure i had a good night sleep.Uche was snoring as usual and i had to use my pillow to deaden the noise.
I must have dozed off for a couple of minutes,when i heard the banging,at first i thought it was the thunder clapping again but it went on obstinately,i realised that it was someone banging on my door,i checked the time,it was 2.am,I got up slowly.
'Who be dat?....i shouted above the noise of the rain
'Na me Obi!!.......
I opened the door and Obi was soaked to his feet,his eyes showed panic.
'wetin hapun,why u wet like dis?'....i quickly asked him
'Omo,Eke dey outside o'.......he whispered
'Eke like how?u mean our neighbour?'
'Nooo,na busting o,u get any contraband for inside'...
'nooo ,ooo'....i was awake now
Before i could ask further questions,i heard a loud banging on our main door....
gbagbagbagbagba!!!!!!!
I had to summon courage
'who dey there?'.....i shouted
'POLICE!!!!!!!OPEN UP!!!!!!!
'You have to be kidding me ,Obi'......i was still dumbfounded
'No be joke o guy'.....
'Why u no tell me?'......i asked him
'Haba,if i tell u ,u go collect mule?'......
'Na wa o,details,give me details'....i wanted to know more
'Omo,meself no know the whole story because we de semester break that time but i hear say na one of him gang member wey dem get kwanta as per sharing the loot wey dem hustle.....Obi explained.
'ehn ehn'......
'but not our wing sha ,na the other wing where that Eke de stay'.....Obi was trying to reassure me.
'no be the same house?'....i hissed and stood up
'no forget your promise o,as per kemi'.....
'i don hear'......i moved out of his room
I had time to think it through the following day and i knew it would be difficult for me to raise another money if i intend to go looking for another apartment,besides the mule has a a toilet which was rare to get in that vicinity .I decided that the best thing to do was wait out my rent and see how things would unfold.Well a whole lot of things happened afterwards.
Approximately 2 months into our mid semester tests,i had arrived early from school hungry and i went to Bostra restaurant to eat,i only had twenty Naira on me and that was enough to buy me two wraps of fufu and two pieces of meat.I headed up back to mule meaning to have a short nap but i met Uche my room mate waiting for me.
'i don de wait you since na'.......Uche said
'I go lem'.....i answered
'oh ok,Obi drop light bill o'.....
'Make i see am'..i collected it from him..
I browsed thru the bill and how the bill was shared among the rooms and very crafty of Obi to share the bill per head instead of per room.
'This bill na per room or per head?'.....i turned to Uche
'Na why i de wait you make u see am urself'......
'Obi don come back?'....
'No'....
'Okay,when e come we go thrash am out'...i folded the bill and put it in my back pocket
I waited till late in the night for Obi to return until i eventually had to go and sleep.I woke up to the sound of thunder and lightening as the heavens opened up and it started to rain,splendid for me,it will ensure i had a good night sleep.Uche was snoring as usual and i had to use my pillow to deaden the noise.
I must have dozed off for a couple of minutes,when i heard the banging,at first i thought it was the thunder clapping again but it went on obstinately,i realised that it was someone banging on my door,i checked the time,it was 2.am,I got up slowly.
'Who be dat?....i shouted above the noise of the rain
'Na me Obi!!.......
I opened the door and Obi was soaked to his feet,his eyes showed panic.
'wetin hapun,why u wet like dis?'....i quickly asked him
'Omo,Eke dey outside o'.......he whispered
'Eke like how?u mean our neighbour?'
'Nooo,na busting o,u get any contraband for inside'...
'nooo ,ooo'....i was awake now
Before i could ask further questions,i heard a loud banging on our main door....
gbagbagbagbagba!!!!!!!
I had to summon courage
'who dey there?'.....i shouted
'POLICE!!!!!!!OPEN UP!!!!!!!
Monday, 24 November 2014
Chance or Destiny....Part 6...(5)
...............
'i no fit lie to you Jojo'.....Obi said
'You must be joking ,Obi,seriously?'.......I couldn't believe what i was hearing and the fact that Obi kept this as a secret all the while.
'na so e be o'....he said again.
I kept on looking at Obi,i had a feeling he was holding something back
'Obi,are sure that is all?'...i asked him
'i swear Jojo!'......
'The fact say u swear sef no make me believe you jor'.......
'I de tell youuuuu'......he tried convincing me
'I bet there is more,it can't be because of prison ,na him everybody dey use bad eye dey look this house?...
'nothing else o'....
'wetin Alhaji do sef wey e de chop beans?......i was sure by now Obi was hiding something
'Him na Dagbo man now,e get plenty things for him hand'...
'ehn ehn'...
I knew i had to change my approach if i wanted to get the information out of him and the only way to do that was to use his weak point....women!!.I would have to balckmail the info out of him.
'Lola even talk say u dey chike her sister?'.....i asked him
'Omo,i like that logo o,gba,she tell u?'....Obi's face lit up
'I see am self,she ask after you'......
'ehen ehn,true true?'.............
'Ehn now,i fit arrange make una meet sef'...
'Jojo ,my man!!!!!........
'Trust me now,na benbele thing'.....
'so how we go do am?........he was off his guard now.
'condition dey sha o'.....
'u don come o'...he went on the defensive
'wetin Alhaji do wey make am go prison?......
'omo,i think say we don forget that side now?.....
'Ok,no worry'...
I started to stand up all the while waiting to see his reaction.
'come now jojo,no go like that now'......Obi jumped up anf grabbed my hand
'Leave my hand guy'....
'wait na,u no say i gbadun that logo na,why u dey blackmail me now'........
'na u know o,if u like talk if u like no talk,na go i dey so o'..........i bluffed him
He paused for a while ,then i guessed he must have weighed what he would be losing compared to the information.
'No be say i no want tell you,the thing just get as e be'......Obi said
'Talk!!!'......
'But make sure say u no tell Uche o ,you fit still maintain pass am..........he was refering to Uche my room mate.
'Ok,ok,talk ,he wan pass say Alhaji shubi?'.....i preesed on
'E pass that one o'...
'Oya!'...
Obi swallowed his spit once again and suddenly ,i had this feeling that made me re think if i really wanted to know what Alhaji did but it was too late because Obi just opened his mouth.
'Jojo,Alhaji kpai person!'....
'He what?...........i asked incredulously
'No be only that o'...
'ehn,there is more?'.....my eyes was about to pop out of its socket..
'he killed someone in this very building!.................Obi whispered
'I did not know when i shouted ,MOGBEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
'i no fit lie to you Jojo'.....Obi said
'You must be joking ,Obi,seriously?'.......I couldn't believe what i was hearing and the fact that Obi kept this as a secret all the while.
'na so e be o'....he said again.
I kept on looking at Obi,i had a feeling he was holding something back
'Obi,are sure that is all?'...i asked him
'i swear Jojo!'......
'The fact say u swear sef no make me believe you jor'.......
'I de tell youuuuu'......he tried convincing me
'I bet there is more,it can't be because of prison ,na him everybody dey use bad eye dey look this house?...
'nothing else o'....
'wetin Alhaji do sef wey e de chop beans?......i was sure by now Obi was hiding something
'Him na Dagbo man now,e get plenty things for him hand'...
'ehn ehn'...
I knew i had to change my approach if i wanted to get the information out of him and the only way to do that was to use his weak point....women!!.I would have to balckmail the info out of him.
'Lola even talk say u dey chike her sister?'.....i asked him
'Omo,i like that logo o,gba,she tell u?'....Obi's face lit up
'I see am self,she ask after you'......
'ehen ehn,true true?'.............
'Ehn now,i fit arrange make una meet sef'...
'Jojo ,my man!!!!!........
'Trust me now,na benbele thing'.....
'so how we go do am?........he was off his guard now.
'condition dey sha o'.....
'u don come o'...he went on the defensive
'wetin Alhaji do wey make am go prison?......
'omo,i think say we don forget that side now?.....
'Ok,no worry'...
I started to stand up all the while waiting to see his reaction.
'come now jojo,no go like that now'......Obi jumped up anf grabbed my hand
'Leave my hand guy'....
'wait na,u no say i gbadun that logo na,why u dey blackmail me now'........
'na u know o,if u like talk if u like no talk,na go i dey so o'..........i bluffed him
He paused for a while ,then i guessed he must have weighed what he would be losing compared to the information.
'No be say i no want tell you,the thing just get as e be'......Obi said
'Talk!!!'......
'But make sure say u no tell Uche o ,you fit still maintain pass am..........he was refering to Uche my room mate.
'Ok,ok,talk ,he wan pass say Alhaji shubi?'.....i preesed on
'E pass that one o'...
'Oya!'...
Obi swallowed his spit once again and suddenly ,i had this feeling that made me re think if i really wanted to know what Alhaji did but it was too late because Obi just opened his mouth.
'Jojo,Alhaji kpai person!'....
'He what?...........i asked incredulously
'No be only that o'...
'ehn,there is more?'.....my eyes was about to pop out of its socket..
'he killed someone in this very building!.................Obi whispered
'I did not know when i shouted ,MOGBEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Thursday, 20 November 2014
Chance or Destiny....Part 6...(4)
................................
'No way'...i said to myself
'Make we enter now,come see my room you go like the inside'.....Obi broke into my thoughts..
As soon as i stepped my foot into the building,the saying that 'never judge a book by the cover' slammed me in the face.
It was as if i was crossing the Niger bridge from Onitsha with all the violence to Asaba cool serenity.
Obi was right!......I liked the spacious room,well plastered and painted,it had a ceiling fan already and all i had to d was move in.Obi saw that i was impressed,
'I tell u say ,you go like am,oya come see my own room'......he said as he started to open the opposite door.
Stepping into Obi's room erased all my doubts,the way it was painted off white, his reading tables ,his bed,everything was apt.We discussed the rent and went to see the wife of the owner where we finalised it.
Back in school ,a friend of mine who was looking for accommodation suggested we share the room and split the bills.Sounded like a good idea to me so i agreed.
The following week was a busy one academically but eventually we found time to move into the apartment after paying the rent to Alhaji's wife.
The weeks went by and we were busy moving into the new room,at that time the bungalow had four rooms,obi and i had a room each while the other wing was occupied by a police man and his family.
After some weeks i began to notice some funny attitude towards us in the environment,one,i could not get any young boy in the area to help me out with my laundry or other chores,all of them kept on lying to me and they never turn up.If i go to buy food stuffs and maybe i need to give the woman some additional money,she would refuse to allow her son to follow me home to collect the change, anyway there was this chick that was living on my street that i really fancied,she was a student also at the mini campus and her parents were living on the same street,they had been living there for a while before i moved in.I finally had a chance to talk to her and she responded very well but any time i tried inviting her to my house she always seems to blow me off,at first i thought she was just taking her time.A particular day got us talking and i brought up the subject
'Lola,i need to ask you a question and i want you to be honest with me'......i asked her
'Ok'.....
'is it that you don't like me enough or why don't you want to come to my house'..
'Of course i like you,i like you a lot,its just that'.........she paused
'Just that what?'.....i pressed on
'That your house has some kind of history and am afraid to enter'...
'Ehn,what kind of history,please tell me'.........by now i was really at full attention
'You know we have been in this area long before you?....
'I know ,i know'.....i was getting impatient.
'Go and ask Obi now,i have to go before my parents come back'..........and she stood up and started leaving
I tried to persuade her but she didn't wait.
My head was boiling,what happened in this house that Obi did not tell us? no wonder i kept asking him where the Landlord was living because i could not imagine the owner of this big bungalow letting out all the rooms without staying,he would waive the questions .I couldn't wait to get to the house,i was more like jogging than walking.I went straight to his room.
'Obi,we need to yan o'.........
'As per wetin?.......
Obi was not willing to open up to me but i would not leave the room and kept on barging him with questions,eventually i worn him out and when he started talking ,my mouth was left agape.The house was owned by Alhaji for sure and according to stories ,he was a very dubious person up to armed robbery.
'Jojo ,you be dagbo man now,you suppose understand this kain thing'.........Obi said
'Omo! bone that o,oya where is Alhaji now.
'Na wa o'......
'Obi,answer me ,where is Alhaji!!!?........by now i was really really angry
Obi knew i was really mad at him,he looked at me and swallowed some spit.He probably reasoned that it was better he told me the truth.
'Jojo,Alhaji dey for Prison'
'Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'...................i screamed
'No way'...i said to myself
'Make we enter now,come see my room you go like the inside'.....Obi broke into my thoughts..
As soon as i stepped my foot into the building,the saying that 'never judge a book by the cover' slammed me in the face.
It was as if i was crossing the Niger bridge from Onitsha with all the violence to Asaba cool serenity.
Obi was right!......I liked the spacious room,well plastered and painted,it had a ceiling fan already and all i had to d was move in.Obi saw that i was impressed,
'I tell u say ,you go like am,oya come see my own room'......he said as he started to open the opposite door.
Stepping into Obi's room erased all my doubts,the way it was painted off white, his reading tables ,his bed,everything was apt.We discussed the rent and went to see the wife of the owner where we finalised it.
Back in school ,a friend of mine who was looking for accommodation suggested we share the room and split the bills.Sounded like a good idea to me so i agreed.
The following week was a busy one academically but eventually we found time to move into the apartment after paying the rent to Alhaji's wife.
The weeks went by and we were busy moving into the new room,at that time the bungalow had four rooms,obi and i had a room each while the other wing was occupied by a police man and his family.
After some weeks i began to notice some funny attitude towards us in the environment,one,i could not get any young boy in the area to help me out with my laundry or other chores,all of them kept on lying to me and they never turn up.If i go to buy food stuffs and maybe i need to give the woman some additional money,she would refuse to allow her son to follow me home to collect the change, anyway there was this chick that was living on my street that i really fancied,she was a student also at the mini campus and her parents were living on the same street,they had been living there for a while before i moved in.I finally had a chance to talk to her and she responded very well but any time i tried inviting her to my house she always seems to blow me off,at first i thought she was just taking her time.A particular day got us talking and i brought up the subject
'Lola,i need to ask you a question and i want you to be honest with me'......i asked her
'Ok'.....
'is it that you don't like me enough or why don't you want to come to my house'..
'Of course i like you,i like you a lot,its just that'.........she paused
'Just that what?'.....i pressed on
'That your house has some kind of history and am afraid to enter'...
'Ehn,what kind of history,please tell me'.........by now i was really at full attention
'You know we have been in this area long before you?....
'I know ,i know'.....i was getting impatient.
'Go and ask Obi now,i have to go before my parents come back'..........and she stood up and started leaving
I tried to persuade her but she didn't wait.
My head was boiling,what happened in this house that Obi did not tell us? no wonder i kept asking him where the Landlord was living because i could not imagine the owner of this big bungalow letting out all the rooms without staying,he would waive the questions .I couldn't wait to get to the house,i was more like jogging than walking.I went straight to his room.
'Obi,we need to yan o'.........
'As per wetin?.......
Obi was not willing to open up to me but i would not leave the room and kept on barging him with questions,eventually i worn him out and when he started talking ,my mouth was left agape.The house was owned by Alhaji for sure and according to stories ,he was a very dubious person up to armed robbery.
'Jojo ,you be dagbo man now,you suppose understand this kain thing'.........Obi said
'Omo! bone that o,oya where is Alhaji now.
'Na wa o'......
'Obi,answer me ,where is Alhaji!!!?........by now i was really really angry
Obi knew i was really mad at him,he looked at me and swallowed some spit.He probably reasoned that it was better he told me the truth.
'Jojo,Alhaji dey for Prison'
'Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'...................i screamed
Monday, 17 November 2014
Chance or Destiny....Part 6...(3)
..........................
I went through the rest of the semester mechanically with just a pair of jeans and two shirts and a cherokee ankle boots,I couldnt wait for the Easter break to come.I needed to regroup.
It was afterwards i decided i did not want to stay on the campus again and started talking to my friend of any room for rent outside campus.
'Jojo,i hear Obi is looking for a co-tenant o'......my friend Larey informed me
'ehn ehn,make i go follow am word,where him dey sef?'...
'Check am for Lab,he get test'....
'ok,wasere'........
Obi was one of the funniest dude i had ever known,he was such a clown that he could'nt complete a sentence without people bursting into laughter and he was also a master of slangs,he rolls out new slangs every day and it was just an effort to keep up with him, he would have made it as a comedian if he was born in this age and time.
I tracked him down later in the day at the Lab and as usual he was talking to a babe,well,scoping babe was more of a hobby for him.As soon as he saw me.he excused himself and moved towards me at the same time yabbing.
'Jojo with your shorrrrrrt body!i hear say u wan mule?.....
'You kin?...which kind mule e be?.....i asked him the kind of accommodation he had
'Omo,mule na mule o, as you no get choice now'....he laughed saying ,a house is a house o.
'Mule no be mule jor,e get water?.........
'Mule wey i de stay already,e get water now,na just one room free as the landlord no dey around'..
'ehn ehn,when make i come check am?.......
'make we fix am for tommorow na,i get waka with that logo'......meaning he had a date.
'hmmm,dagbo man,the logo na mati,she de bosu?............i asked if the chick was from a rich background,cos i knew that was his speciality.
'Trust now,with your logo logo body,but no be only she de bo o,as she de bo,i de bo,she de bo ,i de bo'.............meant we both spend on each other.
'tommorrow now'.....i said
'Ok,dagbo man'......
The next evening ,i met up with Obi at Tipper garage so we could go and inspect the house
'Tell me a bit about the mule now?'......i started to probe
'I don de live there since now,the landlord no de around so na the wife dey let out the rooms'...
'ok'...
We passsed through some streets and ended up beside the community bank ,crossed the busy road and entered another street adjacent the bank,we turned right and was immediately in front of a bungalow.
'Na the Mule be dis o'.......Obi pointed at the bungalow...
' Mogbe!'.......i shouted
' wetin?why u shout?'.........
'why i no go shout?na the mule be dis?
'Omo,mule na mule o?....
we were standing infront of an uncompleted building.............................................
I went through the rest of the semester mechanically with just a pair of jeans and two shirts and a cherokee ankle boots,I couldnt wait for the Easter break to come.I needed to regroup.
It was afterwards i decided i did not want to stay on the campus again and started talking to my friend of any room for rent outside campus.
'Jojo,i hear Obi is looking for a co-tenant o'......my friend Larey informed me
'ehn ehn,make i go follow am word,where him dey sef?'...
'Check am for Lab,he get test'....
'ok,wasere'........
Obi was one of the funniest dude i had ever known,he was such a clown that he could'nt complete a sentence without people bursting into laughter and he was also a master of slangs,he rolls out new slangs every day and it was just an effort to keep up with him, he would have made it as a comedian if he was born in this age and time.
I tracked him down later in the day at the Lab and as usual he was talking to a babe,well,scoping babe was more of a hobby for him.As soon as he saw me.he excused himself and moved towards me at the same time yabbing.
'Jojo with your shorrrrrrt body!i hear say u wan mule?.....
'You kin?...which kind mule e be?.....i asked him the kind of accommodation he had
'Omo,mule na mule o, as you no get choice now'....he laughed saying ,a house is a house o.
'Mule no be mule jor,e get water?.........
'Mule wey i de stay already,e get water now,na just one room free as the landlord no dey around'..
'ehn ehn,when make i come check am?.......
'make we fix am for tommorow na,i get waka with that logo'......meaning he had a date.
'hmmm,dagbo man,the logo na mati,she de bosu?............i asked if the chick was from a rich background,cos i knew that was his speciality.
'Trust now,with your logo logo body,but no be only she de bo o,as she de bo,i de bo,she de bo ,i de bo'.............meant we both spend on each other.
'tommorrow now'.....i said
'Ok,dagbo man'......
The next evening ,i met up with Obi at Tipper garage so we could go and inspect the house
'Tell me a bit about the mule now?'......i started to probe
'I don de live there since now,the landlord no de around so na the wife dey let out the rooms'...
'ok'...
We passsed through some streets and ended up beside the community bank ,crossed the busy road and entered another street adjacent the bank,we turned right and was immediately in front of a bungalow.
'Na the Mule be dis o'.......Obi pointed at the bungalow...
' Mogbe!'.......i shouted
' wetin?why u shout?'.........
'why i no go shout?na the mule be dis?
'Omo,mule na mule o?....
we were standing infront of an uncompleted building.............................................
Thursday, 13 November 2014
Chance or Destiny....Part 6...(2)
.........................
Everywhere was in six and sevens,no doubt ,someone had stepped on some fragile toes and they were trying to make him pay for it.The panic stricken students started pushing and shoving and some were even trampled on.I 'plastered' myself against the wall to avoid being pushed.
I had seen things like this several times in Lagos,the best way is to do exactly the opposite of what everybody else was doing,so while everyone was rushing towards the open space,i made my way to my room.
Now let me tell you about my room,my room consisted of some Christan brothers,Muslim brothers and OPP boys.We had three big musical decks in the room in each corner and in a bid to outdo each other with their own kind of music,they all play at the same time,you need ear muffs so as not to go deaf.
Brother John was blasting Don Moen's Album and Saddam was blasting Obesere Fuji music,my corner was blasting Snoop Doggy's rap music....i guess everyone was trying to out blast each other,so you could not actually enjoy a good nap in the room and since we had no choice,we just had to tolerate.
By now i was able to sing all Don Moen's song,a particular album by Obesere and Snoop Doggy's rap song subconsciously by heart.I knew all the lyrics
'Saddam,una no go use noise kill person for this room o'.......
'Jojo,u sef see am,na so dem dey do'.....
'u sef join now,hahahaaa'......
'if i can't beat them i no go join them,na these brothers no dey hear word,i dey see people dey run,wetin happun?
'Na some boys dey excited come dey shook themselves o'....
'ehn, bafana bafana?....
'ehn now,the boys the boys.......i laughed as i picked up my books to head to the class area.
Getting to class,i met some of my class mates and it turned out there were having a tutorial session,i joined and was there all night because our next lecture for the following day being a Friday would start by mid day.
Early the next morning .i dragged myself back to my hostel room only to find all my room mates huddled up together in front of the room with some other guys from the rest of the rooms.
'Wetin happun Saddam' ..i asked immediately ,fearing the worst.
'omo,na shubi o'....he answered......
I looked at the faces of the my other room mates,it showed bad news so i ran in quickly to check my bags.........it was not there.For the next 20 mins i searched my bed space like a mad man looking for Agege bread.
Everyone had already done their own checkings before i came so all were silent while i was checking my belongings.
I came out and sat on the floor with both my hands on my head......all the hustling i did during the ASUU strike had been for nothing.
The room had been burgled and all my bags with my clothes were gone,i had only two shirts and one black Lee jeans to wear till Easter break.
It was a black Thursday........................................................
Everywhere was in six and sevens,no doubt ,someone had stepped on some fragile toes and they were trying to make him pay for it.The panic stricken students started pushing and shoving and some were even trampled on.I 'plastered' myself against the wall to avoid being pushed.
I had seen things like this several times in Lagos,the best way is to do exactly the opposite of what everybody else was doing,so while everyone was rushing towards the open space,i made my way to my room.
Now let me tell you about my room,my room consisted of some Christan brothers,Muslim brothers and OPP boys.We had three big musical decks in the room in each corner and in a bid to outdo each other with their own kind of music,they all play at the same time,you need ear muffs so as not to go deaf.
Brother John was blasting Don Moen's Album and Saddam was blasting Obesere Fuji music,my corner was blasting Snoop Doggy's rap music....i guess everyone was trying to out blast each other,so you could not actually enjoy a good nap in the room and since we had no choice,we just had to tolerate.
By now i was able to sing all Don Moen's song,a particular album by Obesere and Snoop Doggy's rap song subconsciously by heart.I knew all the lyrics
'Saddam,una no go use noise kill person for this room o'.......
'Jojo,u sef see am,na so dem dey do'.....
'u sef join now,hahahaaa'......
'if i can't beat them i no go join them,na these brothers no dey hear word,i dey see people dey run,wetin happun?
'Na some boys dey excited come dey shook themselves o'....
'ehn, bafana bafana?....
'ehn now,the boys the boys.......i laughed as i picked up my books to head to the class area.
Getting to class,i met some of my class mates and it turned out there were having a tutorial session,i joined and was there all night because our next lecture for the following day being a Friday would start by mid day.
Early the next morning .i dragged myself back to my hostel room only to find all my room mates huddled up together in front of the room with some other guys from the rest of the rooms.
'Wetin happun Saddam' ..i asked immediately ,fearing the worst.
'omo,na shubi o'....he answered......
I looked at the faces of the my other room mates,it showed bad news so i ran in quickly to check my bags.........it was not there.For the next 20 mins i searched my bed space like a mad man looking for Agege bread.
Everyone had already done their own checkings before i came so all were silent while i was checking my belongings.
I came out and sat on the floor with both my hands on my head......all the hustling i did during the ASUU strike had been for nothing.
The room had been burgled and all my bags with my clothes were gone,i had only two shirts and one black Lee jeans to wear till Easter break.
It was a black Thursday........................................................
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