THE 24HOUR PRESIDENT!

Features the powerful and mysteriously unbeatable Mafia; a president kidnapped; blackmail and impersonation;murder and so on....

To some,it looked like an island only surrounded by murderous soldiers-not water-the only occupant of the treeless external surrounding. From all the four cardinal directions,it stood as single as the number 1,and was marched with a single road that ran between the dangerous weaponry of the looking-and-ready-for-trouble soldiers. Others saw it as an estate of about 120 or there about bungalows plus a number of upstairs. To some,the entire buildings remained mysterious: an abstract of a portrait, looking more like the fort it was. Be it as it might be,several miles had to be crossed before reaching the barbed,architecturally designed wall with a huge green-white-green Coat of Arms that served as the only,well,'visible' entrance. A single look could tell this was the villa the Number 1 citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria dwelled in.
The Aso Rock!

The scene was now featuring an outrider,leading a convoy and blasting his siren to have the "local" road users scattered and dispersed. The convoy of vehicles,consisting of seven tinted army-green Peugeot,a tinted white GMT limousine and another seven tinted army-green Peugeot covered by three more outriders,approached from the impressive Coat-of-Arms gate toward a swamp of the deadly soldiers now lined up by the both sides of the road in a robotic way,saluting their safe journey.

The convoy had now passed,zooming as if ready to crack the earth. The leading outrider led the convoy to the highway-the way a duck does to its ducklings-"an ideal of the normal accompaniment of power and authority in Africa!"

The President,gagged and blindfolded with a green-white-green bandanna tied around his face,and under the threat of an acid-thrower pistol,had just been driven out for the first time since the May 29,2015 he was inaugurated.
Was he a captive?

The duck,tailed by the ducklings,roared along the road,maneuvering through the fast moving vehicles of the FCT Abuja. A couple of hours spent in a break-neck speed that took them to "the Manchester Of Africa",that historic Center Of Commerce of the Sudan,the present commercial center of the North and the domain of King Bayero. Having reached Kano,Naibawa precisely,the convoy took the Eastern By-Pass road that led straight into the bush where the bandanna and the gag were removed off the President's confused face.

He looked what he was: a Nigerian of early 50s but faking out people with 40s. He had a face many could pay to call theirs. Numerous unanswered questions floated in his bewildered eyes.

The time was now 13:30,the President noted from the GMT's impressive dashboard. Now just as they were moving through the thicket bush,the duck,still tagged along by the ducklings,and, having reached a particular unmarked area,only surrounded by shrubs,somehow went downward as if entering a well through a coop; this coop-like opening had what looked like a well-dug mine that made the President rob his eyes,unable to register the reality or otherwise of the unfolding dreamy fact. A passage,leading the convoy into a flood lit garage laid before them.

Parked.
All the fourteen vehicles, adequately,yet the garage still had more space to room a couple of American Lincoln Continentals.
Car doors swung open.
Rugged-looking men in blacks hopped out. No word was uttered as if saving not to run out of any. These men in blacks,followed by the President,walked a three minute walk along a narrow corridor that finally took them to a hall big enough to play American football in. Several thousands of American dollars seemed to have changed hands for the furnishing that gave the hall those artistically impressive features of the UNO Hall.

The windowlessness of the places passed made the astonished President realize that the building was an underground. This discovery set his heart into an abnormal race,knowing he might just be side-stepping some graves before finally reaching his very own.

Seated.
Twenty two of them,all in blacks,except the President who was in whites: trousers and long-sleeve that matched the white Gucci shoes that partly sank into the grassy brown carpet. Now a side door opened. A woman,Asia written all over her,came out the door. She wordlessly served the men with Coco-Date drinks and left.

A man of early 50s with an egg of a head sat some 20ft away from the President's seat. His bossy gestures told the President that the former was the big shot around,and was now addressing the gathering.

"Feel at home at home,Mr. President,take the soft drink....good stuff,enough to quench your confusion!" Then he went on in a voice more bossy than the previous,"Now,this is Daddy,just Daddy,father of the late Brainy Smart*,remember him? Everyone does! Anyway,I guess I needn't have to bore you much,but that's my way of saying,good to have you with us,Your Excellency,in this historic get together organized by the shadowy people of the underworld. For your information,you are dealing with the Mafia!"

Cold sweat oozed out of the captive's forehead in spite of the conducively chill atmosphere of the hall. Black fingers simultaneously curled around twenty-one cocktail glasses, lifting them up for a sip act that filled the superseding gap.

"You may not believe it,Mr. President," Daddy continued,"but you've just been successfully kidnapped! No lose end! This, is a part of a 12-year-nursed operation to be carried out within 24 hours, exactly three more hours from now.
"Well,I understand His Excellency knows about the Mafia,everyone does,coz writers can't keep their busy pens off our daily doings, being topical...they've been writing all sorts of bullshit and link it with Us...some of these efforts are partially factual. Well,the Mafia is that unbeatably powerful and richest secret organization world over. We are equipped with an undetectable network of numerous members: spies,thugs,snatchers, doctors,army and cop officials,and press men in every country featured on world map. Don't be surprised to find presidents like you,top diplomats, police I.Gs and army generals on Our able payroll. We also recognize the importance of ordinary porters,guides,air-hostesses,mechanics,vulcanizers...the list is endless,but their contributions are vital. We have kinda pocketed the prime movers of this planet Earth. Well...I guess that'd kinda tell you the class you're in now! Once again,good to have you with us,Mr. President!"

Surrendered,the captive stammered,"W...Wh...Who's to pay th...the ransom?"

"Mr. President,We,the Mafiosi,rely on no-one but Ourselves. We fish out the needed fish when We feel like fishing one."

"K...kindly stop beating a...around th..the bush,just call a spade a spade."

"It's a long story,Mr. President,this,is the operation of the millennium: a newly inaugurated president gets kidnapped a day after his assumption to the leadership. Then an already schemed plan to have him impersonated gets to be put in motion. This is simple: the impersonator already got under the knife and got himself a new face exactly like the President's. This fake president is already equipped with the genuine President's looks,voice and behavior,and of course,signature as well. But that's just a brief on the blue print of this 24 Hour Operation,actively supported by the G-8,ironically yearning to lay their deathly hands on the very impersonator!"

"Think you can full this wool over my eyes?" The captive President was now no longer stammering.
Pulled his self up a bit!

"Daddy! Looks like His Excellency is getting up to it now that he's confident enough to doubt!"

Incredible!
That voice was hundred percent the president's. But the speaker was not! The voice came from a man seated not far from the President who was automatically gaping at the now smiling face of the man who had just spoken in the latter's distinct voice."You don't expect the Mafia to spend 12 straight years in vain,do you,Mr. President?"

With that,the man stood up and put his fingers under his black collar then removed a mask of very special thin layer which he gently pulled upward to reveal a new face that looked every inch the President's.

The Coco-Date was simultaneously drunk again. The President's drink still remained untouched. There was an act of eye twisting reactions from him. Simply bewildered,unable to decipher the unfolding mystery of the moment.

Eyeing the man,the captive realized that he might as well been staring at a mirror: same eyes;exact replica of earlobes;length and width of nostril;lip curve....and a carbon copy of chin and chicks. The artistic mastery is superb! Plastic surgeons can really be terrific!

The impersonator scribbled in green a signature on a piece of paper which was then passed over to the captive,whose eyes already scanned through the artful jotting that perfectly marched the very signature he had not cunningly invented while schooling,but been using it since then. The captive was then visibly restraining a look of defeat.

"You still have a hell of a long way to go," the still courageous President said,"because,I'm not gonna cooperate! That's for sure! Go on,shoot me dead! Push me to a hell-hole further than the grave,I don't care: I've had all the fun in the world more than an ordinary brain can think of. Listen guys,you're f*****g dead wrong to think that this your 12 year brilliant bullshit will go like a bomb. Frankly,knowing my position,I am indispensable to you guys,because killing or hiding me in some place won't take you anywhere. You may think I'm bluffing my way out of the casket...I dare you to try it,you'd live to regret ever being on Earth!"

"Bravo,Mr. President! The Commander-In-Chief-Of-The-Armed-Forces of the giant of Africa;the brain behind the founding of the ruling Peoples' Democratic Party;the son-in-law of the current Sultan of Sokoto;the life-long pal of the current President of the States;the richest self-made tycoon, second only to the dynamic Dangote of Kano;the former ambassador of Nigeria to the States;the former UN ambassador to Nigeria....Your Excellency?" Daddy paused deliberately,purposefuly before the last stab, "Congratulations,Mr. President! I heard your son is the current winner of the 2015 Kano gubernatorial seat."

"By the way,Your Excellency,"said the impersonator,"Would you care to tell us about the First Lady...your wife's whereabouts?"

"And what has she got to do with this?" Asked the captive.

"Everything,Your Excellency!"

"Well,she's somewhere where your filthy hands wouldn't touch her. A fly can't unless she so likes. It's an underground apartment in the Presidential Apartment Section of the Aso Rock;it is guarded as the hell: 240 Republican Guards,24 hours,on a daily 10 hour shift,and more deadly than the death!"

"Sounds well-secured as the American Alcatraz! Any possibility of reaching to snatch her?"

"Never! Unless it is some Kannywood movie you happen to be filming. I think it time you stopped daydreaming,Mr. Daddy, I tell...." said the captive,calling the Mafiosi boss' name for the first time,but was interrupted by his impersonator:

"Mr. President! Behold our souvenir from your secured Aso Rock..." he stopped,pointing at a side door that had silently opened to reveal a woman whose slimness and prettiness reminded the captive President of his very wife. And lo! She looked the one all right!

But so the dreams went on and on and on,because another woman of the same height and complexion, plus bodily movement and geographic appearance of the captive President's wife had just followed the first one! They both looked alike! The likeness was so perfect,a bishop could've sworn with the Holy Book that these women were twins! The captive himself couldn't tell them apart. It was only when one of them approached him,that he seemed to have seen through the tricks!

Wrong!
Something sure was!
The First Lady never approached him with her eyes looking him straight in the eyes: she always approached in a rather shy way until she reached him then looked up to plant the regular kiss he would ever live and long to remember!

"I tell you guys,"said the captive,smiling his princely smile,"you're not gonna make it: this is not my wife,the other one perhaps..."

And there she was,walking the graceful steps that still made her husband's heart race. Instincts dragged the President off the comfy seat;a look of relief and confusion boldly displayed in his eyes.

Hugged and entwined!
A hot embrace with fondly back pat,the husband held the wife up in the mid-air while the latter rotated around that her high-heels momentarily kicked a side door which immediately sprang inward to reveal a tastefully furnished living room. There was an oval-shaped white table standing in the center. The entire furnishing was spotlessly white,and so was the artistically decorated ceiling though having four triangular-shaped, green spaces in artistically selected angles! The Jay Kay that carpeted the floor was both green and grassy enough to stir jealousy from natural grass carpet. There were artificial flowering and non-flowering flowers placed on thoughtfully selected angles meant to catch and hold beholders' eyes. More artificial flowers could be seen through the French doors leading to a flood lit garden on the other side of the room. Hanging on the wall facing the entrance was a landscape,Noon On Tranquility,by Bakano{April 3,2013}.
Seated in one of the white compy couches,in a yellow,finely cut gown was a woman in her early 30s! Her face was invisible due to the MICROBIOLOGY text she was engrossed in. Two more paperbacks laid on the desk. And so was a halfly filled glass of drink.

Not much could be seen of her geography due mainly to the relaxed way she sat in the couch. The low part of the table revealed her shoeless legs,toes,partly hidden in the grassy blades of the Jay Kay. But,there was this alluring scent of My Me perfume dangling in the atmosphere.

My Me!
The perfume had fixed it!
That was the First Lady's favorite stuff!The captive President had come to the surface of reality. Freed himself from the yielding hands of the woman supposed to be his wife! Just when would the dream come to pass?

"J..Jas..Jasmine!" The surprised President heard himself stammer. A stammer that got an immediate reaction. The Microbiology text was slowly lowered,inchly to reveal a well-curved forehead halfly covered in headtie;then appeared a pair of bushy eye-brows below stunning eyes with bobbing eye-lashes affixed. A heart of a face was finally revealed! A face that always made the President pace no more especially in times like this.

Slowly,the book was placed on the other novels.. Then came a sensational move upward, followed by the familiar graceful steps most models aped. Man! Behold beauty in its real sense! The First Lady,though of average height,had that soul-stirring frame of the movie world. Her dark,long lustrous hair appeared briefly from the sides of the loosely kept tie. The President was utterly mesmerized: too stunned to move an eye-lash. And so,simply remained rooted to the Jay Kay,appreciating the raving beauty he would never come to believe existed elsewhere. Fact: such presentability is the type men went gaga about,and filled women green with envy.

"Been expecting you,Bakano,Mr. President," the voice was both liquid and breathy enough to remind you of b-e-d! She said that,planting herself in front of him. Her hands already clutching his.

Twenty fingers fondly touching and gently squeezing, reassuringly. A move that always instilled tons of confidence into each other. Then four inviting eyes met and locked!His,privileged to meet hers; hers,glad to bore into his, appreciating the bold respect she always found there. Then she sensed it. The irregularity of his heart beats. Her fake version,the impersonator,though still there in the room,was completely ignored.

"Worry not about the complications," she began,"This,is part of the price you and I have to pay. Mark my words,Mr. President,it's been willed that a price has to be paid for experience;but footing the bill bags you the audience.

"As the President of the most populous and influential black nation on Earth,you must courageously maneuver through such unexpected huddles. Now,tell the First Lady that the No. 1 Citizen is more than determined to scale through."

President Bakano only managed a dumb nod as a reply,. Such was the moment when words simply fail to play their roles.

"Ah, BK!" Jasmine objected, deliberately sounding informal,"You know,your lady can't accept a nod as an answer from you. A smile perhaps,the type you smiled the first time you were really cared by the Lady of Your World.,you know... "

An automatic smile had already crawled up over his moistened lips only to be interrupted by a French kiss! A kiss with a lasting impact that had the couple seated in the compy couch.

Jasmine was relieved!
Vividly relieved!
The husband was now the then iron-hearted man she loved to possess and keep for keeps.

"Yes! Strive to survive,Mr. President! Rake to take; wake to make; dry your tears and wry your face no more. Remember,the entire 56 black nations,the Great Britain and China,the States inclusive,would be touched if your nation-state fails. It is you the citizens have voted,you can't afford to disappoint them. Millions of Nigerians look up to you! Now's the time to think your way through.....an extra-ordinary success that'd right the wrongs of the past,redress the present short-comings and come up with this future the average Nigerian dreams dreams about. Mr. President, Robert Greene has explained your position as follows:

" 'No one is really going to help you or give you direction. In fact, the odds are against you.' "

"RESPECT!" Said the President,"You're appreciated,Jasmine!"
He had to play the leading role,knowing for sure she always wanted her man to lead, "You're the First Lady I couldn't have done without! Thanks for being a pal in need,I mean for being Y-O-U! But tell me,when exactly did this BUK microbiologist turn into a psychologist;a motivational speaker?"

"Chains of circumstantial happenings,ABUsite historian...precisely from the moment they kidnapped me,and had me known of your being snatched as well. And now to worsen it all...". Jasmine had to pause,because her voice expressed plain disappointment;pointed at her fake version whom was still there in the room,now leaning against the glittering mahogany door,envying the couple. "Those two b*****s have bitched me up,you,and all that's connected to our decent past,present and future,Mr. President. The impact can be disastrously eternal once known by the public. It can start the second civil war! Nigeria may cease to exist!"

He sat upright abruptly,facing the wife,sensing the coming of yet another challenge. "The trouble with Jasmine she still talks in codes! I don't know of your BUK,but they don't teach codes to Historians in ABU,Zaria. How about calling a spade a spade,Dear,would you?"

"Those two have been perfectly trained and set up to impersonate me as well. This,they've already began in the filthiest way you wouldn't have imagined!. Your wife,Mr. President,has been destructively impersonated and featured in a disgusting 15 minute porno movie! I'd have hanged myself dead had I not considered the consequences on you! Imagine me featuring on a 15 minute pornographic shot! What'd be the..."

"Porno,you said,Jasmine?" He had to interrupt,because the sharp edges of the trap were unavoidably snapping shot,and hell! with them on the very catch!

"Exactly,Your Excellency!" That was Daddy's voice,responding to the question above.. He stood by the French doors,appreciating the artificial garden on the other side;his back to the captive couples. "So glad she's broken the news to you. Such a sorry state! Can't imagine the hell of eternal crash you'd have to undergo if you're foolish enough to take the other way round,Mr. President. I wonder,which side of the crack you'd first struggle to plaster up! Would you begin with your conservative Hausa/Fulani culture,or the gossip ridden 21st century society? Would it be your son's flourishing political career?" Then he turned,looking the President in the eyes.
"Other socio-politically and economically motivated conflicting groups aside,the Biafrans,the recent Oodua Peoples' Congress and the more aggressive,controversial Boko Haramists would love the porno news! Do you know that your wrong decision could speed up the predicted 2015 total break of the Nigerian state? The six competitively ambitious geopolitical zones of the country might split up! After the final break-ups, other conflicting religious sects would not remain tolerant;would feel subjected to policies introduced by dominant tribes or religious sects." Daddy paused,moving further into the living room to occupy the couch facing the captives. None spoke a word!

"Well,I guess that's enough food for thought for you!" He went on, "Let me make myself clear! Your total cooperation is vital. Careful,Mr. President,We have you hooked up,this porno movie could burst the brilliant bubbles you have blown for years you'd never be able to see again let alone be chanced enough to blow again.
Notwithstanding,I assure you things would work the way you hope. Your efforts for the progress of your country would definitely come to fruition. There'd be no more interference from Us. In fact,We might even volunteer to handle trouble-makers for you- no strings attached!
"Our man and those women would impersonate you and your wife for just the said 24 hours,and nothing more. By the way, I think it best for you to know not about the detailed doings of this 24 hour president. Some details certify one to the graveyard. In life,there are people who have known too much to survive. Their being alive spells deaths to numerous souls! I know you know,many have to go for others to survive. But,consider yourself,and your wife the luckiest couple. You did guess aright,you both are too important to be liquidated. For some reasons best known to Us,you are more advantageous to Us alive than the other way." Daddy paused;crossed his leg,then continued the monolog;the presence of a threat heavy in the voice now.
"Nevertheless,do not let it get into your heads. Or even worse take a wrong step! Remember,you're dealing with the unpredictables! This,is the Mafia,President Bakano! Well," Another pause,glancing at his Rolex,then continued, "time to tell you good bye,for we might never meet again. Feel at home at home. That Chinese woman is at your service. And does she know her responsibilities! You three are not alone; the building houses about nine others as well. You may even stroll around if you so wish.
"Rest assured,you should be taken back to your Aso Rock within the next 28 hours;four hours after the 24Hour President has left. Then you would remain the genuine Commander-In-Chief-Of-The-Armed-Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria! Good luck in your leadership,Mr. President. It's been great,meeting you,the 14th president of Nigeria. You're lucky to have a woman like Jasmine. Frankly,I envy you. She has brains packed in that skull of hers. I see Nigeria becoming brighter and greater than ever before." Then he finally stood up, smiling,and to Jasmine's surprise,held his hat up for her,bowed a little ,and then quietly left the captive couples still seated in the compy couch.

"So long,for now!" That was Jasmine's impersonator. She winked,then walked out,gently closing the glittering mahogany door.
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A DEDICATION TO:
JASMINE "J" OF JEWELS!
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Author's Note

Perfect!