ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE

It was another thanks giving day in my church as it was the first Sunday in the month, I was already dressed for church when I heard a beep on my phone and it was mayowa, he asked where I was and I told him I was already prepared for church service, he pleaded that I waited for him, he had something important to discuss with me, I told him to wait till I come back from church and he unreadily agreed.

‘tk , I have something important I want to share with you, but first you must promise you will not discourage me, I found it difficult to promise but I did promised after asking him if it was not a shady deal particularly armed robbery or money ritual.

The roots of ultimate failure can be seen in our search for happiness in something outside of us, be it drugs, relationships, or new shiny cars.

Mayowa was a young aspiring boy within my neighbourhood, he stopped me from taking my cars 4 car washing for number of months, he took it upon himself to do many of my home chores, he used to do many of those things for me until this day.

Tk baba! I am sorry but you know I can’t keep anything from you… I met a man who was willing to send me to united state of America’ just like that? I asked in curiosity and he replied, ‘yes, just like that but he wanted me and some of my colleagues to carry cocaine to the state for him’ what! I exclaimed in shock and he quickly knelt before me, ‘tk baba, please remember you promised you wont discourage me, I am tired of this suffering, I am just tired, the first child of the family after my HND, nothing to show for it, please let me just do it, I know you are trying but how long will I keep depending on you, please all I need from you is your word, chief kunle is ready to foot the expense bill’. When I remembered, I had promised not to discourage him, and I hate myself that moment. I simply stood up and went to my bedroom, he called me severally, but I just ignored him and entered my bedroom.

Twenty days later, he resurfaced in my office, of course before then, I have tried to call him on phone to tell him my bits but his number was switched off. when mayowa showed up again, he was actually looking different, a lot better than he used to be, he told me chief kunle has taken him and his 6 other friends whom I know about 3 of. They had series of meeting with chief kunle and about seven others. He told me a lot which I wouldn’t want to reveal here, among those things he told me was the one he told about having being taken to an herbalist in ogun state who paraded them on a bare floor naked for seven days, many training too, eventually… they got shortlisted to best three, mayowa, sharafa and taofik .. While he was telling the story, I just kept quiet, looking at him with my cheen resting on my palm. After all said and done he said they were going to meet chief kunle and his caucus in 2 days time to collect the sum of 400.000.00k naira each for shopping.

‘Tk baba, ee ti e soro nii,( tk baba you are not even talking)’ he said, and I told him, mayor! Like I fondly call him, I am not in support of this, I only want to see you or call you if you change your mind, but if you insist on going.. Please don’t see me again. He tried to talk but I turned a deaf hear.

Nine days later, I saw mayowa again, now he was looking like a mad man, he was looking very haggard…

‘Baba when I left your office, we went to chief kunle’s house at ikeja on the said day; he gave each of us the 400.000. 00k he promised. We boarded d same bus at ikeja under bridge, a bus with ply wood windows, on boarding the bus, we met about 10 passengers, that was all we remembered, when we opened our eyes, we met ourselves in a forest’ according to him.

He continued, ‘we were being maltreated until we got through the thick and thing of the forest till we got to an open place in between the forest. A lot of coconut trees were planted within the opening, and there was a white bungalow at a corner, the coconut trees numbered up to about 50 each about a meter from other, the whole floor was a mess up, immediately they got there with some other passengers(assumed preys), they were, tied each to a coconut tree, before he could gain consciousness, heads were rolling on the floor and many chief kunle’s type were coming to patronize them (the captors) ……… to be continued …..