WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

A Peep into the Lifestyle of Nigerians preparing for Christmas Holiday.

Alhaji Aminu's old Rickety Van TWERKS along the road, very fast, trying to dodge one yeye trailer approaching with reckless abandon. The "trailer" this morning was Oga Chinedu's White Toyota pickup.

It is swaying up the road, another rickety monster, almost hitting the woman selling oranges on the side of the road.
" E ti ya were" You have gone mad! The woman yells after him. Oga Chinedu does not look like he was ready to argue that fact.
He is already seen arguing with his passengers, all of them crammed into the back seat. They're returning from Illesha market for the Christmas shopping holiday. They all shouted from behind as he jolts his hands on the wheel and his legs on the accelerator and break pad.

"Spreee!" He escapes another accident, a United Fear grip the passengers as they all shriek from the back. The Bicycle man that would have been knocked down the rocky gutter, with shock and anger written in his voice yells curses at the driver. A passerby fumbles on her way, her basket of groundnuts sliding from her head and landing harshly on the dusty ground.
Oga Chinedu panics, he sees a Smoky shadow of dust rises over his windscreen, he can barely see the other vehicles honking and bellowing their Way through the late Christmas commercial area. Everywhere was almost covered in dust. He tries to wet his lips but worries about tearing up his lips, as sacrifice to the harmattan season of the year.

As the dryness that accompanies the harmattan season is a whole new trouble of it's own. But nevertheless, hark the herald regardless. "You idiots want to put me in trouble eh?" He yells, in igbo. "If you like kill all of us in this your vehicle" his fourth passenger fires back at him, "You will not go scot free". Other passengers in the vehicle, clap their hands furiously and interject with words like: "banwa!" "Exactly". "Agba'ya!" "Shameless old man!". "You silly passengers please shut up!" He roars .

The first Passenger pulls her head tie from her head, she is a widow. And had only gone to the market to buy groceries for the Christmas holiday, she raises her hand in prayer, asking God to deliver her from the hands of a rough driver like Oga Chinedu.
She sighs in regret, for disobeying her spirit which had earlier discouraged her from joining the old Rickety pickup. Now she is learning in the hard way. Her daydreaming was caught halfway as the vehicle jolted at a police checkpoint.

Oga Chinedu in attempt to escape giving to the Police man his checkpoint entitlement, was harshly interrogated. " Who gave you this vehicle?" The unfriendly looking police Officer asked with an evil smirk on his face. "Erm erm" Oga Chinedu scratches his occiput, ". Officer na my friend Baba Otunba" He is a retired Police officer, the police man looked at a Muhammadu Buhari sticker on the windshield and recognized the vehicle. He beckoned on Oga Chinedu to move, distracted by an incoming truck carrying Rice and onions from the North the Police man moved towards the incoming truck.

Oga Chinedu happy with his own witty escape started narrating a story to his already tired passengers, of his life in the northern part of Nigeria, talking about his then neighbour Alhaji Bayero, who had many Wives, Amina the First was really a stubborn one, and thus always received whips of Alhaji's Koboko "cane", each time she delays to present his meal.

On noticing the absent mindedness of his passengers in his story, he turns and taps one of the women immediately, she blinks away with a contemptuous vindictiveness. Uninterested in his story, thinking of how she is going to go and take a loan from her co-operative society in other to buy Christmas gifts and dresses for her children. In other to spite the domineering spirit of her neighbourhood, she sighs in frustration and looks out of the Window.

Reviews

[emmajoygreen]

A fascinating tale and different. Our world is so large; people live all over it and - so rarely have access to a story like yours! But, here in Writers' Cafe, the world shrinks and a Uk woman learns how such dangerous and chancey things can give birth in your imagination then - be set down so well as a story! Many thanks for sharing!