A BOOK AM WORKING ON

CHAPTER 1

Time and time again I recall one of my mother’s greatest and most interesting stories. At first I taught it was just a fairy tale, like the one my grandfather used to tell us to get us off his back when we clamor for a story, but as I heard it over and over again, I began to understand that it was the situation surrounding my birth that she was desperately trying to unveil to me. She usually starts with a low tone of voice but as the story became more emotional, she would resort to some interesting voice that would get me to build rivers all over my face. Mama was named Mrs. Ajoke Bello but known to all as Ajoke always made sure I never forgot this story even if I forgot all others; she always emphasized the role of my papa named Mr. Kayode Bello. Even after all these years, the story still remains pretty fresh in my memory.

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It was on a cloudy day, the atmosphere was in a serene state that made many people wonder how special the day might end. The bells were chiming; the time of celebration was near. One would never have doubted that the year was about to run to an end but to a family, there was about to be a new beginning. In the wake and aftermath of these frivolous activities by the people, our family found an invaluable way to occupy their mind.

She couldn’t really figure out which day of the month it was but she was pretty sure it was the 11^th month of the year.; I couldn’t possibly blame her for not knowing so since she had to drop out of school several years ago but as I grew up, I got to know that it was on the 1^st of November 1950 in a town called Sepeteri situated in Oyo State; a woman was in labor about to give birth to what she would later refer to as the “promise before the promise”. No one knew whether it be boy or girl as there was neither technology nor machine to prove so but she was quite confident that she will have a fine baby. My dad was calling out to the nurses to be as fast as possible to help is wife to the labor room.

‘She will be alright sir’ said the nurse.

It was not as if this was the first time that my dad would take my mom to the labor room but it was definitely a very challenging one. Two years earlier, papa and mama lost a baby who was almost 11 months old after birth; the situation behind the loss would later be categorized as a non-natural cause, mama used to tell me how painful it was for my dad after the loss of his firstborn but that sorrow was about to soon be replaced by my birth. Due to this fact, he was quiet disturbed that his wife might have lost the nerve to go through the pain of child birth again.

‘It is going to be alright dear,’ my mom was comforting my dad after she saw the worried look on his face, ‘everything will work out just fine.’

How she garnered so much confidence to say those things that day, she would never understand. To avert her thoughts from the present condition, she decided to take a look at the hospital. It was a large room and probably the only painted one in the village; the corridors were so large that it could accommodate as many people as possible. Although it was a working day, the hospital seems to be quite empty with little or no people around. There were about five people gathered and she presumed they must be waiting patiently for a family or friend in labor or having to undergo a surgical operation. Although she was never allowed to complete her education, since women were seen as the weaker vessel who has no use for the education given to them; she had always had the dream of becoming a nurse in one of their local hospital someday but she had to sacrifice her been learned for her brother to go to the school. She saw two nurses at the entrance of the hospital attending to every need of each customer, they were meticulously dressed for the day’s job and she suspected that must have been one of the reasons she wanted to be a nurse. It is not that she does not love her present life, in fact she would not trade it for anything else; she only has these fantasies occasionally. In all her days of coming to the hospital, she has never had any cause to call for another doctor except Dr. Charles who was always attentive to her complains and advice her in the best way possible but surprisingly today, he was nowhere to be found, she wondered what might be wrong.

 All these thoughts were interrupted by a loud groan from her; she realized she was beginning to feel more of the pain involved in childbirth. The first time was quite relaxing, she couldn’t understand why at the present.

‘It is time to go to the labor room ma, I believe you are showing more of the signs we were expecting.’ One of the well dressed nurses told her.

She was wheeled away and anxiety was the order of the moment for her husband. He was thrown into a world of fictitious imagination where he had to shun every thought that comes to his head. He was pacing all through; until he fell into a trance. He saw himself in the midst of several people anxiously waiting to hear someone speak; he was unconscious of who they were waiting for. He tried to get to know by asking from the onlookers but he was unable to get an answer, so he decided to force his way through. To his surprise, he saw a man standing on high platform ready to address the people. It was as if the world was all on the speakers shoulder; he saw a hint of himself but was unable to phantom whom the person was. He tried to push his way to the front, pushing the person beside him he forged his way half through; a man looked at him annoyingly and gave him a scornful look for trying to push him out of the way.

‘Can you please tell me who that man is?’ he asked the man after all effort to forge his way to the front proved abortive.

‘You mean you don’t know that man? He his like the most popular man in the nation’ the man replied with a surprised look.

‘It’s also strange to me to see so many people gathered here, we do not even have enough kinsmen in my village.’

It was becoming frustrating for him, how could he not know what everybody knows? How could everything seem like a blur to him?  

They were all shouting something inaudible to him, he tried to decipher what it was but all effort proved abortive, in the mist of his confusion…

‘Hello young man’ Kayode was tapped on the shoulder by an old man, he woke to realize that he has been dreaming all this while.

‘May I have a word with you?’ asked the old man.

It was not strange to him for an elderly man to ask him something since it was considered a sign of respect to always listen to your elders, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands he replied, ‘Alright sir, you may’.

‘Do not be surprised about the dream you just heard, the one where you saw a man’ the old man saw the look of surprise in Kayode’s face but still he continued.

‘You may wonder how I got to know this but I want you to know that the man you saw in your dream is your son.’

‘I don’t even have a son.’ he interjected

‘But you are about to have one’ the old man calmly replied him, ‘there is no point in questioning me, just listen to what I have to say.’

‘You are about to have one on the greatest boy turn man his generation and nation will ever know, he will foster lots of thing in his society and he will also be a force to reckon with,’ the old man stopped for a moment to catch his breadth.

‘There will be lots of challenges in the way, you have to take very good care of this boy and make sure he goes in the right path, the future of many depends on it.’

My dad couldn’t believe what his ears just heard; he wanted to ask tons of questions but he was too surprised to do so. It was enough loosing a son and feeling like the word is about to end for him, but this…

‘Congratulations sir, your wife has just delivered a bouncing baby boy’ a nurse declared with a voice full of joy. What was happening to him today, papa began to wonder; it was enough hearing the news of the old man and now this. He leaped up for joy; he remembered the word of the old man and turned to thank him for his advice, to his utmost surprise, the old man was no where to be found. Amidst the joy of the newborn, he shook off the thought of finding the old man.

‘Can I see my wife now?’ papa asked the nurse.

‘Of course sir, you are all she has been asking for.’ The nurse replied.

He hurried through the large corridor and went to a room where he was too happy to notice what was going on around.

‘Am so happy dear, what a great day it is’ he hugged mama and took me in his arms for the first time. I wish I knew what it was like to be felt for the first time but I definitely envy that young me that had that experience.

I will never know the bond between my parents; it was so strong that even I was unable to pinpoint it, the very fact that they came from the different hometown and background as never for once shown in my family, even as I was growing up, I always wanted such union to be mine forever. I was told that I was very healthy at birth that even the nurses took turn to carry me. It was on that same day that my parents decided to name me.

‘This boy is a promise of what to come,’ my father said ‘he shall be called Kunle because he will bring joy to our family.’

It was a surprise that I was named even before the eight day, since that day, I was known as Ireti Ayokunle Bello. It was surprising how fast news travel, I remember my mom telling me how many people from far relatives came to see the new Bello. I was lavished with gifts and all sorts of things; it was a happy day for my family. Sometimes, I envy that little boy, not knowing the trials he has to go through, not knowing what awaits him in life, though he might but not fully grasp the meaning of such things; in short, it was a happy day.

The ceremony was conducted in my village where my parents resided then, though our family cannot be described as wealthy; not even close, my parents always managed to feed their family, at least two times a day. I live in a society whereby childbirth is like the entire world to us, my father was born in Accra, Ghana which made up for his little enlightenment and his slight western way of life; but when a law was made that all Nigerians should evacuate the country, my grandparents decided to come back to our hometown, how tough it was for him when they migrated was something he always tell me when he is in some kind of bad mood or when the family has not much to eat; now that I think of it, it makes me realize how much he was thinking of then.

My mom informed me in her very eloquent but astonishing story that they were taking every precautions even during the naming ceremony so that what happened to their first born will not happen anymore; somehow, they still believed it was not a natural cause, we have a saying in my culture that a fire does not born an individual twice. I was christened on a cold Tuesday morning with accordance to our tradition and all the necessary steps were taken. My mom always makes it a note to me that she could not explain how much relieved she was when the ceremony was finally over and she finally had the chance of being with her baby alone, it was always a wonderful moment for her.  As much as I would love to continue my mother’s story, my own memory has to jump into the story line as well.

Many say that it is difficult growing up in a village, many say that they cannot think of the horrors surrounding such kind of life, but many has forgotten that the best of fun is also in the village. My earlier years in the village were one of the best I have ever had in my life; I can still smell the fresh scent of the trees, the taste of the various species of fruits that we enjoy then is still pretty much lodging in my memory. Growing up was not so much a bed of roses; what I mean by this is that I did not have everything that I wanted, I remember one day when I was fed up of seeing my neighbors’ son riding his father’s bicycle; out of envy and want, I ran to my father.

‘Papa, why don’t we have one of those?’ I asked with a curious and boyish stern. My father was not a man that tells you what you want to hear, he tells you that which you do not want to hear and on this present day, he broke my helpless heart.

‘We do not have one of those son because we are not them, we cannot because our neighbor has something start then running to have the same too’ he replied. I was about to continue my questioning when he sensed my next move and interjected.

‘And remember son, not all fingers are equal; what you want badly cannot and may not always be the ones you get first, you have to learn to approach things one step at a time.’

Why my father always spoke to me in such manner then was such misery to me, I thought it was just to make me stop asking questions; in fact my mother gets tired of my questions maybe simply because she finds them too difficult to apprehend, she had long accepted the fact that I was way more smarter than she was at my age.

After my abrupt but disturbing moment with Papa, I became more enthusiastic and followed my neighbors’ son riding the bicycle maybe I could even get to touch it. I was moving slowly behind him, feeling much confident of myself for not being discovered and for having a free view at a bicycle. Bicycles in my village were something of a luxury then, I could remember quite well that just about 10 to 15 people only had it, the only other machinery that surpasses a bicycle in my village is the motorcycle, and just one of that is in the village, and it stays, sleeps and bathes in the palace of the king. So we have to make do with what we have.

‘Why are you following me?’ the unrecognized voice said, ‘I hope you are not thinking of stealing this bicycle from me?’ stealing bicycle then was more common that kidnapping.

‘Of course not, why would I think of something like that?’ I replied with the fear of being discovered as a bicycle stalker still within me; that was when I saw the fear in the boy’s face too. ‘To tell you the truth, I was just admiring your bicycle.’

‘Wait; have seen you somewhere before, where was that?’ he paused for some moment ‘now I remember, you are my neighbor, what was that name, Kunle, yes’ a smile suddenly formed in his face.

Taking time to take a closer look at him, I discovered that he was no older than I was probably 6 or 7, I myself was 6 then.

With Guilt still built inside me I replied, ‘am sorry if you think of me in a bad manner which you must definitely do seeing me go after your father’s bicycle, but I was trying to see what it was like to be in one of those.’

‘Following me will not help your infatuation, all you needed do was just to ask and by the way my name is Segun.’

I never for one taught I could make friends in such a manner; in fact, my mother has been so worried about my seclusion in the village. Most of the kids my age that tried to be friends with me either ended up getting scared of me or got tired of me, why? Well it wasn’t my fault that I was smart, all of those that used to be my friends couldn’t march my smartness, I asks questions too much. Words are already getting everywhere that I will turn out just like my mother, I have heard people say that she thinks she is better than everybody else, she doesn’t like to attend meetings, (the ones being done by jobless housewives), she detests gossiping and would never have anything to do with you if she thinks you will not add any value to her life, these characters to the villagers are bizarre. So, hearing Segun tell me his name was nothing of a surprise to me, I knew that this would end as fast as the others did.

‘I presume you already know my name, so can I take a ride with you?’ I asked him.

‘No you cannot.’

‘You just told me I needed ask only, so why not?’

‘Before you can have a ride I have to tell me father, I need permission to do something like this.’

He didn’t seem bothered or scared to answer me; he was just so confident and was ready for my next move.

‘You don’t have to let your father know, just a few minutes will do.’

‘I know I don’t have to but I want to, after all he owns the thing,’ he thought for some seconds ‘but I could tell him today, then by tomorrow you can have your answer.’

Although I ask questions a lot, but I never thought it would be necessary to run everything by my father, its not that I was scared of him, but I used to think that even as young as I was, I was quite capable of doing some things myself. In my village, once you have reached the age of 5, you are considered to have a sense of reasoning, and I was far beyond that age, to my own understanding then, 6 was way more awesome.

‘No problem, I guess I have to wait for an answer if I really want to have a ride; be sure not to forget, will you?’ I told him expectantly.

‘I will be sure not to forget, what is this I hear about you being so smart that people are intimidated by you, you have not even started school yet’ he replied moving along the path to the market.

‘Are you not intimidated by me?’

‘Why should I be, from my point of view, you don’t look so smart for me, in fact I have a feeling I am way smarter than you.’

‘I don’t think so, many people have criticized my smartness, and they say that I am smarter than I am supposed to be at my age, so you should be worried too.’ I replied astounded that I have someone that stood up to me for the first time.

‘I will prove this to you in every way, I am way smarter than you, and I will definitely and always have an edge in everything we do together.’ He said vehemently.

That was the beginning of what was to become a long rivalry and a long but challenging friendship, since the day I heard that he means to be better than me in everything we do, I was more determined than ever never to lose to anyone, not even Oluwasegun Popoola (his full name as I found out later).

After that awkward meeting, we actually became quite a bunch messing around the village and I so glad that I eventually found a friend but the friendship never affected out promise to edge one another in every way, we were competing all the way.

I remember one day I almost broke my leg, as it so much happen that I love tree-climbing main reason because our village was surrounded by trees but it also happens that Segun loves climbing trees too. On a fateful day, we decided to go tree-climbing.

‘Have told you before and am going to tell you again Kunle, you cannot beat me at tree climbing.’ Segun said feeling confident.

‘And have also reminded you times without number that beating me is something you have to work for, it will not come so easy,’ I replied with some measure of enthusiasm.

As we walk by the tiny road that leads to one of the tallest tree in the village, I replayed in my mind how the situation might go. It was in this thought that we finally reached the tree. Segun was so ready to show how good he was, and he was so good, he indeed was.

‘Calm down mate, going up first does not guarantee that you will go higher than I will, just confess that you are scared of loosing to me.’ I said

Have been patient with him first, I had to wait three days to get my bicycle ride, even though he promised to give me a reply a day later, he actually put me off for two more days, he was a genius at taking control of the situation.

He began to climb the tree with some level of expertise, one would know that he was not doing this for the first time, he has lots of experience by his side, and he was definitely good at it. Watching him for some time, I decided to take a go at the tree. I started as smartly and carefully as I could and though I was still some distance far away from Segun, I was doing well. It wasn’t before long that the villagers began to assemble at the tree bottom.

It was widely known that only elderly palm wine tapper could attempt to climb such a tall tree like this, it was a wonder to them why two boys not up to 7 years of age decide to face such an ordeal; but then we were not just some boys, it was the two notorious and smartest boys in the village.

‘You boys better come down before you find it difficult to do so’ an old man said, feeling quite concerned.

In no time at all, I met up with Segun, both of us could hardly see those people down, we were so high that if one were afraid of heights, the next step would be to fall off the tree.

‘I think we have made our point now, lets start going down’ I’d said.

‘Am not going down until you accept that you have lost, accept it or we have to go higher, then whoever cannot go any longer has to concede defeat,’

Segun replied ‘you know I cannot lose in this way.’

‘Neither am I.’ I interjected feeling the heat of the competition.

 I was the first to go higher, the higher we go, the more dangerous the tree looks and the farther it looks to the ground, as I began to gain some ground, and the thought beckoning in my heart that Segun also had the mind to win, I saw him follow me with the same pace. With little of tree to climb and both of us feeling exhausted, I had to do something, I had to find a way to deter Segun from going any further so that I can walk out with my head high of not loosing to Segun.

‘I think we have proved ourselves now, I know you can climb a tree, I can see the potential there but it doesn’t mean that you have to go extra mile to show or believe that you are better than me, which you obviously are not, so lets get down of this tree.’ I said.

Sensing what I was about to do, Segun instead of giving me the submission speech gave me an unexpected reply.

‘I know what string you are trying to pull, but it is not going to work, either one of us win, which in this manner might most certainly be me; or none of us leave this tree.’

I wasn’t really expecting such an answer but nevertheless I was determined never to lose to him. We kept climbing and climbing and climbing until climbing we can no more, I sensed that he was tired and decided to take advantage of that. As the tree stands, there were just two branches left for us to reach the top; to my amazement, Segun stopped and displayed something that looked like fear, I thought it was just a prank to get me to shy away but nonetheless I took the leap.

Placing my right leg on the branch first, I steadied myself to place the second leg. As I leap forward with my second leg, which is the left, I felt something break, what was it, I look around but before I could notice, the branch that I was standing on was beginning to remove itself from the tree, was it my weight? Was it that it was not strong enough?

In a twinkle of an eye I began to fall of the tree I closed my eyes imagining that I would probably land in heaven when I fall, as I have so much heard many people say, I had given up all hope when suddenly I felt something or rather someone hold my arm. How Segun got the strength and the courage to save me that day was still a mystery till today, I looked up at him; I was speechless.

‘Are you alright?’ I kept hearing that time and time again, I was so abashed; how could I fall off a tree?

We started to climb the tree down; it was easier than going up definitely. I have heard my father say several times ‘it takes years to make a building but it takes only a day to destroy one’ now I know what that feels like.

To our surprise the people were cheering by the time we got to the bottom, they didn’t see the drama that unfolded while we were up there; they didn’t know how close to death I was, the worst part was that they didn’t know that this young boy here saved my life.

‘You boys are so great climbing a tree, I hope you become one of the greatest tapper we ever had in this village, you sure have the talent, and your parents would be proud.’ one of the villagers said.

For me the opposite was the case that day, my parents were nothing but devastated; my mother cried all night saying that I wanted to destroy her chance of having a son to call her own. My father substituted beating for crying, he was such a hard man, I felt my ‘bombom’ (buttocks) that day, my father made me promise never to go tree climbing again. I did promise believing that making such promises will ease my punishment but it only got worse. After dinner both the real one and the one that has some lashes included, I was ready to call it a day when suddenly I heard some noise from our neighbor, it was a familiar voice, it was that of Segun. At first I began to wonder what might be the cause of such crying in the dead of the night, but then I remembered my own ordeal earlier in the day, I knew all of a sudden that such faith has befallen him also. I decided that tomorrow will be a good day to ask him if we could actually measure up the winner by the number of lashes we received.

Not knowing what else to do, I decided to call it a night. On my way to the bedroom, I could overhear my parents having a very intense discussion; I wondered what they might be talking about.

‘We have to find a way,’ my father said ‘this must be done.’

My mother mumbled some words I could not quite understand back to him, I got tired of reading lips and began to move towards the room when I heard my name being called.

‘Segun,’ my father said loudly ‘come here, there is something we have to tell you.’

At first I thought I was discovered eavesdropping but since there was no look of upcoming lashes in their eyes, I was more eager to know what could possibly cause such a call. I walked in and the greatest bombshell of my life was dropped on me.

‘You are going to start school next week,’ he announced ‘we don’t want all these things you have been doing all around the village.’

‘Start school?’ I asked.

‘Yes and that is the final decision.’ He replied sternly.

‘But Papa, all the rich people children go to school, none of the villagers children has ever been; how could I then be the one to suffer all those punishment’ I was close to tears while saying those words.

My father interrupted ‘first of all school is not a punishment, if I were opportune I would have attended too but I wasn’t, so now am giving you the opportunity I never heard.’

I looked up at my mother expecting her to say something in my defense, she shocked me, ‘that’s the way it going to be Segun my son, we are doing this for you.’

At that moment I hated my parents so much I wanted to disown them if I could, how could they gang up on me? Why should I be the one to suffer this? All the children in the village never wants to hear of school, in fact many parents detest the thoughts of their children attending a school; many of them say that when a child attend school, he tends to change his way and move away from his family member. They also say that school makes you go crazy, you start to take on characters that are not yours; and the worst of all, they say that the rich people kids at school mock you everyday and bully you mainly because you are poor (about that they were right).

I suddenly realized something ‘how are you going to pay for my fees Papa, I hear people say that you do not have money’ I said thinking I have found his soft spot.

‘You let me worry about the money, and no more discussion about it, we will go to the school to see the headmaster as soon as I get in touch with him. Now go find a place to sleep son, you have a busy week ahead of you.’

I know my parents love me but I couldn’t understand why they could do this to me, I laid awoke all night thinking of what school will really be like but all I kept seeing was a mean and unlivable place, really the night can be long.

DO YOU LIKE THE STORY? WHAT DO YOU THINK CHAPTER TWO WILL BE ABOUT?