The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Accident

  • AIB investigates accident at MMIA

    AIB investigates accident at MMIA

    The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has begun investigating a ground accident involving a Boeing 777-200LR belonging to Emirates Airline and a Boeing B737-400 owned by Hak Air.

    The aircraft collided at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos on Monday night.

    AIB’s spokesman Tunji Oketumbi said the incident occurred at 9.30pm.

    He said the AIB deployed a team of investigators to determine the circumstances surrounding the accident.

    The Emirates Airline aircraft marked A6-EWD was taxiing for take-off to Dubai when its wing tip cut into the B737-400 aircraft parked at the domestic wing.

    The Emirates aircraft had a little damage on its wing tip, the Hak Air B737 sustained substantial damage.

    The flight was aborted and the passengers were evacuated immediately.

    The Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer of AIB, Dr Felix Abal, yesterday inspected the accident scene. He promised that the investigation would be done speedily.

    “Every incident is a safety issue that must be thoroughly investigated. This will help in preventing accidents and sustain safety in aviation. This investigation will be conducted with speed,” he said.

     

  • 12 killed in Kogi auto crash

    At least 12 persons on Monday lost their lives while 16 others sustained various degrees of injuries in an accident that occurred at Irekpeni village, along the Lokoja-Abuja highway.

    Eyewitnesses said the accident happened in the morning when a luxury commercial bus in which the deceased were travelling rammed into an oncoming truck owing to a road block mounted by suspected armed robbers.

    According to one of the witnesses the driver of the luxury bus with registration number KRD 799 LC in an attempt to manoeuvre his way slammed into the truck which was coming from the opposite direction.

    According to him, the bus was trying to manoeuvre its way through but unfortunately had a head-on collision with the truck marked KTN 711 YZ.

    The truck was loaded with dozens of cows, 20 of which died on the spot.

    The accident, said the source, led to a gridlock on the highway before officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) cleared the obstruction.

    The Kogi State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Charles Abochi, who confirmed the accident, said a total of 73 passengers were involved in the accident.

    He said the luxury bus heading towards the North had a head-on collision with the truck while attempting to avoid a barricade set up by armed robbers on the road.

    He said corpses of those that lost their lives were deposited at Aleri Hospital and the Federal Medical Centre, both in Lokoja, while the injured were also taken to Federal Medical Centre for treatment.

  • Another container accident

    Another container accident

    It was bad enough that the truck involved in the tragic accident that claimed the lives of 12 undergraduates of the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, on June 26 was carrying a container allegedly not strapped and potentially dangerous to other road users. It was worse that the driver of the truck was driving against the traffic when it collided with the Toyota Hiace bus in which the students were travelling to Lagos.  The 20-feet container fell off the truck, crushing the bus and the passengers.

    Regrettably, in an understandable emotional reaction, hundreds of incensed students of the university took the law into their own hands and vandalised a plastic factory on the Lagos-Ore Expressway said to be linked with the truck. Products and trucks on the factory’s premises were targeted by the protesters who demanded that the policemen and officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Ogun State Traffic Agency (TRACE) on duty when the accident happened be prosecuted for negligence and dereliction of duty. The students also reportedly threatened to carry out a repeat action if the relevant authorities failed to bring the implicated truck driver to justice within one week.

    It is alarming that accidents involving fallen containers continue to happen with such frequency on the roads, often resulting in avoidable deaths.  It is instructive to note that a study by the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) identified the causes of container accidents, including rickety trucks, overloading, bad roads, absence of weigh bridges at loading points and declaration of false weight. But the group pointed out that the chief factor is the absence of regulations; and where there are regulations, the absence of enforcement.

    From all indications, there are serious problems concerning the enforcement of the regulation that containers should be properly strapped to trucks, and it doesn’t require a prophet of doom to foresee a continuation of tragedies like this one if nothing is done to make truck drivers and their employers respect and obey the law.

    In this case, it is reassuring that the Ogun State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga,  led a government delegation to sympathise with  the OOU   Governing Council  and also visited the only survivor of the accident, Miss Akinbo Laughter Ibukunoluwa, at the Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilishan Remo. More importantly, the deputy governor warned that the government would not tolerate reckless driving and would not hesitate to sanction wrong-way motorists.  It is hoped that the tough talk was not just circumstantial.

    To give teeth to the talk, the government should get to the bottom of this particular accident and punish the culpable to serve as a deterrent to others. In addition, the government should look into the demand by the students that compensation should be paid to the victims’ families. As Onanuga observed, “It is sad that the students died in their prime, at a time the country needs the younger generation to contribute their knowledge towards the growth of the society.” It is necessary to appeal to the angry students to sheathe their swords and allow the law to take its course; and it is equally important that justice should be seen to be done in the matter.

    More fundamentally, there is an urgent need for the agencies established for road traffic purposes to wake up and be alive to their responsibilities. It is counter-productive and unacceptable to treat such accidents as acts of God when the tragedies can be traced to individuals who failed to play their official roles.

     

  • OOU students forcefully collect colleagues’ corpses from morgue

    OOU students forcefully collect colleagues’ corpses from morgue

    Commotion enveloped the premises of the Ade Maternity Home, Sagamu, on Saturday as scores of grieving students of the Olabisi Onabanjo University(OOU) forcefully removed the corpses of their collegues from the hospital’s morgue.

    The Nation gathered that the angry students threatened to make the hospital uncomfortable should it insist on collecting N20,000 per corpse before the dead students would be released to their families.

    The enraged students stormed the private hospital’s morgue and evacuated their dead colleagues forcefully without paying and moved them to the morbid anatomy unit of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital(OOUTH) Sagamu.

    The Police had a hectic time trying to keep the students under control.

    Head of the teaching hospital’s Morbid Anatomy and Histopathology Department, Dr Deji Agboola, told The Nation that after combing private morgues in Sagamu, the remains of the affected students were located at Ade Maternity Home by noon.

    He said the angry students refused to yield to the demand for payment by the hospital before the corpses of their colleagues could be released.

    The Nation contacted Ade Maternity Home and a man in charge of its morgue who identified himself as Bayo Fasanya said that the corpses were that of the students of OOU and have all been taken away.

    He noted that calm had return at the hospital but rued that nobody had yet paid him.

    He told the reporter that the Sagamu Area Command of the Nigeria Police Force had said he should let him see the morgue’s service bill when it is ready.

    Earlier on Saturday, Agboola, an associate professor and who also doubles as the Chairman of the OOU branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU), said grieving relatives had initially besieged the OOUTH, thinking the victims were kept there.

    Agboola added that he, the Head of the Students Affairs and Chief Security Officer of the institution decided to comb private morgues in Sagamu in search of the remains of the student – victims of the accident until they were found at Ade Maternity morgue.

    Over a dozen students of OOU were crushed to death and others gravely injured on Friday at Sagamu corridor of Lagoss – Ore expressway when an unlatched 20-feet container from a moving truck came off and fell on the roof of a psssenger bus conveying them.

    The weighty container press – pinned the bus to the ground killing the passengers in the accident which involved a truck marked (LAGOS) BDG 779 XE and a Toyota Haiace passenger bus bearing (Lagos) XV 311 MUS.

    It was learnt that the OOU students were travelling to Lagos state for the weekend when they met their untimely death.

  • OOU accident: relatives search for corpses

    OOU accident: relatives search for corpses

    A curious twist has crept into the death of dozen of students of the Olabisi Onabanjo University(OOU), in an expressway accident on Friday as grieving parents, relatives and friends are yet to locate their remains, 19 hours after the incident.

    Many of them who had besieged the morgue of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital(OOUTH), Sagamu, to see the bodies of the victims said to have been deposited there were advised to search elswwhere.

    Head of the Teaching hospital’s Morbid Anatomy and Histopathology Department, Dr Deji Agboola, told The Nation that he had checked twice and found that corpses of students said to have died in an accident were not kept at OOUTH.

    Agboola, an associate professor who also doubles as the Chairman of the OOU branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU), said grieving relatives had been coming since Friday following wrong media report that the dead were deposited at the OOUTH.

    He said the wrong information is already creating problem as it tends to leave the impression that they are hidding something from the relatives or friends of the victims.

    Agboola added that he, the Head of the Students Affairs and Chief Security Officer of the institution have, Saturday morning, began to comb private morgues in Sagamu in search of the remains of the student – victims of the accident.

    As at 8:20am Saturday morning, he said they have now found out that the victims were deposited at the Fakoya Hospital, Sagamu, but requires the help of the hospital management to ascertain the identities of those kept in the private hospital’s morgue.

    Students of OOU were crushed to death and others gravely injured on Friday at Sagamu corridor of Lagoss – Ore expressway when an unlatched 20-feet container from a moving truck came off and fell on the roof of a psssenger bus conveying them.

    The weighty container press – pinned the bus to the ground killing the passengers in the accident which involved a truck marked (LAGOS) BDG 779 XE and a Toyota Haiace passenger bus bearing (Lagos) XV 311 MUS.

    It was learnt that the OOU students were travelling to Lagos state for the weekend when they met their untimely death.

  • Scores of OOU Students killed  in Lagos – Ore expressway accident

    Scores of OOU Students killed  in Lagos – Ore expressway accident

    Over a dozen of students of the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) Ago – Iwoye, were crushed to death k and others gravely injured on Friday when a container fell on a passenger bus conveying them.

    The Nation gathered that the unlatched 20-feet container from a moving truck came off when the driver was driving àgainst traffic and in a bid to avoid an obstruction at the  Sagamu stretch of the Lagos/Benin expressway, the load tipped  and dropped lethally atop of the bus’ roof.

    The weighty container press – pinned the bus to the ground in the accident, which occurred few meters away from the gate of a plastic manufacturing company situating near the Ilisha Remo junction.

    The vehicles were a truck marked (LAGOS) BDG 779 XE and a Toyota Haiace passenger bus bearing (Lagos) XV 311 MUS.

    It was learnt that the OOU students were travelling to Lagos state for the weekend when they met their untimely death.

    The Ijebu – Ode Commander of the Ogun state Traffic Management and Compliance Agency (TRACE), Tommy Hamzat told reporters that the driver of the container laden drove against the traffic.

    Hamzat added that the wrong driving made it difficult for the passenger bus driver to notice the approaching truck and eventually collided with it.

    He explained that the container from the truck fell on the bus which caused the death of the passengers.

    He said: “I was coming from Sagamu and saw the accident, I have to hurriedly parked my car, ran there to see if the passengers could be rescued but unfortunately all the occupants were dead including the driver.

    “The bus is facing Lagos, though; I don’t know where it was coming from. The container truck with no load in it was coming from Sagamu side but was driving against the traffic and that resulted in the collision, which eventually claimed the lives of the innocent people.”

    Also, the TRACE Commander in Sagamu, Kehinde Arode, who confirmed death of 12 people, said one person was badly injured.

    Arode however, said that the injured person has been taken to the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu, while the remains of the dead have also been deposited at the same hospital.

     

  • The accident (4)

    The accident (4)

    THE trip to Ghana was supposed to last for a week but due to an unforeseen situation, we had to stay an extra one week. The organization had a guest house in one of the housing estates in Accra and that’s where Flora and I stayed. We were very busy most days as we had to visit several locations where my outfit had ongoing projects in some suburbs of the city like Osu and Jamestown and even some communities many miles from the city.

    Then a few days before our return home and with most of the work done, I took some time off so Flora could do some sight seeing as it was her first visit to the country. She had worked really hard and I believed she deserved a treat.

    We visited several tourists sites including the popular Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum. A wedding reception was taking place in the spacious garden of the centre when we arrived. Inside the mausoleum, we stood silently surveying the final resting place of the late Ghanaian leader. Close by was the grave of his Egyptian wife who the guide informed us had directed her children to bury her close to her husband after her death.

    “Her body was brought from Egypt and buried here according to her wish,” the guide explained.

    “Their love must have been really strong that even death could not separate them,” Flora commented as we went outside towards the fountain…

    The following day Ronnie Blankson, a very good Ghanaian friend of mine called to invite me to join a group of friends that were visiting a beach resort on the outskirts of the city that weekend.

    “I won’t take no for an answer. Most times you come to Accra, do your work and run back to that mad Lagos city of yours. You need to take a break, man, learn to relax from all your hard work,” he stated.

    “Alright,” I conceded, not in the mood to argue with him. “When are we leaving?”

    “Around 10. I’ll come and pick you,” he said. “And Bari,” he added before hanging up. “Make sure you come with that sexy secretary of yours. I want to see her again.”

    “See her for what? And she’s my P.A, by the way,” I corrected him. He had met Flora the couple of times he had come to visit me at the guest house.

    “Whatever. I like her and I want to be close to her,” he stated.

    To a chronic womanizer like Ronnie, that meant one thing and I put my feet down.

    “No way, dude! She’s my staff, that makes her off-limits to you. Look elsewhere for your fun and games,” I stated firmly. Whenever, he saw a beautiful lady that he liked, Ronnie, who at 33 was the same age as me, often behaved like a child in a toy shop instead of a grown man.

    “Thank God, you said staff and not your wife. So, why are you fencing me off? Or are you interested in her? Are you two…?” he said before I cut him off.

    “Nothing of the sort. It’s just that, that girl has been through a lot and I don’t want her to be hurt again,” I explained.

    “Who’s going to hurt her? Not me! Infact, I think she will enjoy what I have in mind for her,” he stated with a chuckle.

    “Ronnie! You will never change!” I stated in an admonishing tone.

    “You know me now! Alright. I get the message- no messing around with your precious P.A. Just come with her, though. I will just chat with her, be on my best behaviour…” he vowed.

    I laughed and hung up.

    Ronnie’s friends were already there when we arrived at the resort that Saturday. It was built close to the oceanfront with a beach nearby. It was a popular spot for holiday makers, weekend revellers and foreign tourists. Several of these were already at the beach when we got there.

    “Aren’t you joining us in the water?” Ronnie asked Flora who had gone to sit under a canopy with the girlfriend of a guy in our group.

    “No. I didn’t come with a swim suit,” she stated.

    “That shouldn’t be a problem. I can always go back to town and get one for you,” he offered.

    She gave him one of her radiant smiles.

    “Thanks for the offer. But I’m fine. I will just sit here with Efua and watch you guys have fun,” she stated.

    “Ah, you’ll miss a lot. Let me…” said Ronnie.

    “She said she’s ok so let’s go,” I said, taking his hand and dragging him towards the sea.

    “Hey, man! Take it easy! Na which kind bad belle be this as you people love to say in Nigeria…” Ronnie protested, running to join his friends in the water.

    After the swim, we played a game of beach volleyball which was keenly watched by a large number of the resort guests.

    We later had lunch after which we sat at the open-air bar under some coconut trees to drink and chat. Flora and the other ladies in our group had gone to the gift shop at the resort to ‘browse’ the items as Efua had put it.

    “Women and shopping! They never miss an opportunity to buy stuff,” said Ronnie, taking a sip of his cold drink.

    “And we always end up picking up the bills!” George, who was Efua’s boyfriend, grumbled.

    We all laughed.

    Moonlight rendezvous

    “Hope you are having fun,” I said to Flora later that evening. We were taking a stroll on the beach after watching a live band that performed at the resort regularly. Ronnie and the others were still there dancing and grooving.

    “Yes,” Flora replied as we walked along the nearly deserted beach. “I love this place. It’s beautiful. And it has such a soothing, calming effect on the mind,” she added.

    She was right. The soft sea breeze which gently rustled the coconut trees, the moonlight and the sound of the waves of the sea lapping at the shore, created an ambience that could soothe the most troubled soul.

    “It’s magical!” she noted enthusiastically, spreading her arms wide. I took a peek at her, noting how the soft moonlight playing on her face, added an extra glow to her radiant looks.

    “Oh!” she said suddenly, looking down on the sandy ground.

    “What is it?” I asked.

    “It’s like one of my bangles fell,” she stated.

    “I’ll look for it,” I said, bending down to search for the ornament. She did the same too and we ended up colliding into each other, falling down on the soft sand.

    “Oh! Sorry!” she said, laughing as she tried to get up.

    But I held her hand to stop her and drew her to me. I caressed her face as my lips slowly searched for hers. I kissed her and for a while, she was unresponsive. Then she sighed and kissed me back, holding me tightly in her arms. Her soft body, the sweet scent of her, got to my senses and I kissed her like a thirsty man who had finally found water on a hot day.

    I unbuttoned her blouse as my lips trailed down her neck towards her bosom. As my fingers reached inside her blouse, my mobile phone which was in my pocket rang. I ignored it at first but it kept ringing incessantly and it broke the spell.

    It was Ronnie, asking where we were and that a hot new artiste had arrived from Accra and we would miss his act if we didn’t hurry…

    A few days later, we returned to Nigeria. Life went on as usual but things were no longer the same. Before we left Accra, I had apologized to Flora about the incident on the beach, blaming it on the booze I had taken. She was quite understanding about it.

    “It’s not your fault. The ambience in that place is something else- it can turn any one’s head,” she stated quietly.

    Deep in my heart though, I knew that was not the case. My actions that day had nothing to do with where we were. She was the problem. It was clear to me now that I was in love with her and after that night on the beach, I just could not get her out of my mind or head. Remembering the sensation of holding her in my arms made me realize that that was where I wanted her to be now and forever. By my side. In other words, I wanted her for keeps.

    And there lay my dilemma. For by this time, I had already got engaged to Nikki and we were already planning our wedding. But how could I marry one woman while in love with another?

    “Dude, you have a serious problem,” my friend, Abel said bluntly, after I had discussed the matter with him.

    “You can say that again. I love Flora, yet engaged to Nikki,” I said.

    “But one thing is clear. You can’t go ahead with this wedding,” he noted.

    I looked at him askiance.

    He continued to speak. “Marriage is a serious affair. It’s not something you jump into when you are not sure like you are right now. Doing so can make you jump out quickly and end up divorced. You are obviously confused now. But let me give you a tip that will help you decide. Which of these women fills your heart with joy at the mere sight of her? Whoever it is, should be your choice.”

    I took his advice and my heart chose Flora. As a result, I intend meeting Nikki soon to call off the wedding. I know she will be hurt but I can no longer deceive myself. Much as I care about her, it’s Flora that I’m in love with. The woman I want to be with, to be part of my life. I don’t know yet what she feels for me but from her reaction to my caresses that night on the beach, it was obvious she liked me.

    I know my family might not be too happy with my decision to call off the wedding or my choice of Flora for that matter. They might have objections to her being a divorcee with two children. But she’s my choice, the one after my heart. For me, its Flora forever.

    And since I don’t care about her past, I don’t think it’s anyone’s business to do so. Or what do you think? I will like readers views on this. Thank you.

     

    Concluded

    Names have been changed to protect the narrator’s identity and other individuals in the story

    Send comments/advice to 08030822400 (sms only), psaduwa@yahoo.com or psaduwa007@gmail.com

  • The accident (3)

    The accident (3)

    She gazed at me in amazement at my words.

    “A what?” she asked.

    “A P.A. Can you work as my personal assistant?” I repeated my question in case she didn’t hear me properly the first time.

    To my surprise, she burst out laughing.

    “What’s so funny? I’m offering you a job and all you can do is laugh?” I queried curtly.

    She shook her head.

    “Don’t get me wrong, Bari,” she stated. “It’s the whole idea that I find funny. I told you earlier that I didn’t finish school so how can I then work as a P.A? I’m sure you work in a very big firm. And having never worked in a corporate environment before, I will feel out of place and maybe make a lot of mistakes…”

    I placed a finger on my lips to shut her up.

    “It’s ok. I understand how you feel. You feel insecure, with little self-confidence because of what you went through. But it’s time you put the past behind you and forged on with life. You are still young so you can have a fresh start. Learn to believe in yourself and there’s nothing you can’t achieve. And I will be there to help you all the way,” I assured her.

    She was silent for a while as she stared down at her hands in her lap.

    Then she looked up at me.

    “Alright, then,” she said quietly. “And thanks so much for your kindness,” she added softly.

    I smiled at her.

    “That’s alright. Just work hard so I don’t regret hiring you,” I said.

    “I will! So when do I start? And what does the job entail?” she asked excitedly.

    Two weeks later, Flora resumed for work at my office. It was an international aid organization that did a lot of projects in the country especially in the rural areas. As a projects director, I had to oversee the various projects we were doing, meet with the beneficiaries and other things. It involved my traveling out of station frequently and I needed someone to co-ordinate all my activities.

    “There was a lady doing the job before but she left recently to join her husband in the US,” I told Flora on her first day at work. She had showed up looking very smart in an ash-colored skirt suit with black shoes to match. She looked even more beautiful than usual.

    “This is the kind of work you will be doing…” I said, briefing her on her duties.

    “My secretary, Mary will make arrangements for an office space for you,” I said when I was through. “Do you know how to use a computer?” I asked her as she made to leave my office.

    “Yes, sir. My sister, Janet has one. She taught me how to use it,” she replied.

    “Good,” I stated nodding.

    “And Flora,” I said. “You don’t have to be so formal with me now, because we are in the office. You can continue to call me by my name as you’ve always done.”

    “But I can’t do that, sir. This is an office and it won’t be right if I call my boss by name. It will sound rude,” she noted.

    “Ok. But you will stop being so formal once we are outside these premises, won’t you?” I said.

    She nodded.

    “Alright, then. Go and meet Mary to sort out your office space and see me later,” I stated, turning on the computer on my desk to begin work.

    Nikki

    “So, how are you enjoying your new job? Hope my darling here is not overworking you, giving you too much stress,” stated Nikki to Flora. Nikki was my girlfriend. We had broken up about a year before when she found out about another girl I was seeing also. We had been back together for four months now and she was already talking about our settling down.

    We were at my house having dinner, nearly five months after Flora began work. In that period, she had really impressed me with her capacity for hard work and her eagerness to learn. I had no regrets hiring her but I was curious to know how she felt about working with me.

    “I love the job. And Bari has been very good to me,” she said, turning to smile at me.

    “Ah, don’t be so diplomatic. You can say the truth, call him a slave master or whatever! He won’t fire you!” Nikki said teasingly.

    Flora laughed at that and I joined in too. It was good to see her looking so cheerful and confident, so unlike the girl I first met about six months earlier. It was a Friday and she was dressed casually in a light blue top and pair of jeans. Her long hair was combed up and packed in a knot at the back, a style that suited her well as it showed off her lovely face in all its glory.

    “Yes? You were saying something?” I said, tearing my gaze from Flora to Nikki who was talking about something that happened at her office earlier that day…

    “Flora’s really beautiful,” Nikki commented. It was about an hour later. My driver had taken Flora home and Nikki and I were relaxing in the living room. I sat sipping a drink while she was stretched out on the couch, her head on my lap.

    “And she still looks so fresh. It’s hard to believe she’s been married and even had kids!” she added in a wondering tone.

    I glanced down at her.

    “You talk as if she’s a hundred years old. She’s still young. Just 26 or thereabouts,” I stated.

    “Beauty and brains,” Nikki noted. “You like her, don’t you?” she asked unexpectedly, looking up at me.

    “Of course I do! Like a younger sister,” I replied promptly.

    “But you don’t look at her like a brother would a sister. I see the way your eyes follow her, like that of …,” she began then stopped speaking.

    “What are you talking about? Don’t tell me you are jealous of the poor girl?” I queried.

    “Do you blame me? Look at the way she looks! And she’s with you all day long…” she noted.

    I began to laugh.

    “You think this is a joke?” she said with annoyance, sitting up and glaring at me.

    “You women are all the same! Too jealous! Flora’s just my P.A. I gave her the job because I felt sorry for her maybe because of the circumstances under which we met and her situation with her estranged husband. The poor girl has really suffered. Her life story is really pathetic. So, you have nothing to fear from her or any other woman. Trust me!” I said.

    “You mean that?” she said with an imploring look in her eyes.

    “Yes, my jealous darling!” I said. Then jumping up, I put a Cd in the sound system and soon, the plaintive sound of Enrique Inglesias’ hit tune ‘Hero’ filled the room.

    “Come on, baby! Dance with me!” I said, holding my arms out to her.

    She came then and I held her close to me. As we swayed to the music, her perfume filled my nostrils. But all I could think about was a lady in a blue top and jeans that showed off her rounded hips and a smile that could light up a dark room…

     

    Watch out for the concluding part of this series next week!

     

    Names have been changed to protect the narrator’s identity.

    Send comments/advice to psaduwa@yahoo.com or psaduwa007@gmail.com

  • The accident (2)

    By this time, the rain had reduced to a slight drizzle and it was nearly sunset. We couldn’t sit in the car all day talking so I started the engine and drove to an eatery not too far away from my home at Ikeja. I ordered for a drink while Flora, who said she was hungry asked for some food.

    “You are sure your head is ok? You are not feeling any pain?” I enquired glancing at her head which was covered in a headscarf.

    “I’m fine. Stop worrying,” she said looking up at the waiter who had brought the food.

    I watched her closely as she ate. She looked up then, saw me looking at her and smiled.

    “Want some?” she asked, offering me a piece of chicken.

    I shook my head.

    “I’m ok. I ate at my friend’s place,” I told her.

    “Is she a girlfriend? she enquired. “I see you are not married,” she added, glancing at my left hand.

    “You are right. I’m still single. But she’s just a friend,” I stated. That was not the whole truth but more about that later…

    “Anyway,” I began. “We are not here to talk about my love life. You were supposed to tell me about your husband,” I pointed out.

    The animated look on her face disappeared then and she sat, staring gloomily into her plate.

    Seeing the sad look on her face and fearing she might start crying again, I said softly:

    “It’s ok if you don’t want to talk about it. I’ll understand.”

    “No. I’m fine,” she stated, looking calmly at me.

    Then after taking a sip of water, she began to speak. And this was her story:

    She was in her second year at the university when her father died. Her mother had passed away some years earlier during childbirth. The baby, Patricia had lived and the bereaved family had tried to raise the little motherless child as best it could. “My dad really tried. He refused to remarry though there were opportunities for him to do so. He said he didn’t want another woman to come and spoil the love and unity in the family. You see, we were a very close-knit family, my siblings- four of us- and our dad. I have an older brother Michael who lives abroad, though we don’t know if he’s still alive as we’ve not heard from him for some years now.”

    After her dad died, she said, things became tough for the family. “Michael and I were at Uni then,” she explained. “Though my elder sister, Janet had left school, she had not started working as she was planning to go for her Masters degree. With our dad’s death, everything was affected- our education, lifestyle and other things. My dad worked as a senior manager in a big manufacturing company and though we were not swimming in money, we were at least comfortable. We had inherited some money from him but that ran out in no time. When things became really tough, we had to seek help from relatives. None was willing to help except for an aunt, one of my mother’s sisters. She had a successful business and was doing quite well.

    “She agreed to pay my school fees and that of Michael who was by then in his third year. She kept to her promise and helped with our education. Among her various businesses was a restaurant. During the holidays, due to my aunty’s promptings, I began helping out there. If I had known, I should have stayed away from that place because of what happened later.”

    At this point, she stopped speaking and took a drink of water.

    “Do you want anything else? Let me order for some soft drinks…” I stated but she shook her head.

    “I’m ok,” she said and began to speak once more.

    The restaurant, she stated was a fairly large one and quite popular. “It was always filled with customers, especially male ones who often came in expensive-looking cars which they parked across the road in an undeveloped plot of land. Initially, I thought they came just for the food which was quite good. It was later I discovered it was for something else as well. A lot of girls worked at the place and most times, some just hung around doing nothing. They would be in one of the rooms in the building, chatting, fixing their make-up or doing their hair. Whenever I told my aunty how they were lazing around doing nothing, she would tell me to ignore them and face my duties. “Just mind your business,” she had told me.

    “I helped with the accounts as my aunt said I was good with figures. Then one night, I had to help out serving the customers as we were short of waitresses. That opened my eyes to the other aspect of the business. After their meals, some of the male customers would leave with a girl or even two and they would not return. I observed this most nights and I began to have my suspicions which were confirmed by one of the girls who worked in the kitchen. “They take the girls out to sleep with them after paying Madam. It has been going on for years,” she whispered to me.

    In other words, my aunt was running a prostitution racket, using the restaurant as a front! I was shocked because I had always seen her as a decent person who would never be involved in something like that. But you could never tell with people. Later, she tried to involve me in her evil deeds. After serving them, some of the customers would ask for me, saying: “Where is that fine girl? Call her for me!”

    “They made all kinds of offers- lots of money, trips abroad, any car of my choice. But I wasn’t interested and I made it clear to them. When it came to my aunty’s notice that I was rejecting her customers, she was not happy. She accused me of being stubborn and trying to ruin her business. “Mind you, its from this business that I pay your school fees and that of your siblings. So, you better cooperate or you will have to look for another sponsor,” she threatened me. I still refused the men’s advances.

    But something happened one day to change all that. There was this man who was really persistent. Larry was his name and he was a regular customer who came nearly everyday. The more he pestered me, the more I turned him down. Then one day, I heard he gave a very large sum of money to my aunt so he could have me. My aunt told me I either complied or she would no longer have anything to do with our education. I was more concerned about my brother who was already in his final year then. What if he was forced to drop out of school due to lack of sponsorship at that stage in his education? It would be my fault. I could never forgive myself for that. So, because of my aunty’s threats and maybe my age then- I was just 18- I succumbed. I began to date Larry and to be fair to him, he treated me well at the beginning. He was a rich businessman and was unmarried. Larry became responsible for my education and upkeep. The only condition was that I was not to date any other person as long as we were together as he loved me too much to share me with any other man.

    About six months later, I found out I was pregnant and when I told Larry, he said we should get married. I was against it as I was still in school and I felt my education would be disrupted if I had a baby. But he assured me that I could always return to school after the baby was born. My aunt and even my sister Janet said the same thing. “School will always be there but good men like Larry are hard to find,” they told me. I took their advice and married Larry. I had my daughter Ivy soon after that. And before I could think of returning to school, I was pregnant again with my second child.

    I had to put my education on hold so I could take care of my children. Besides, by this time, I was having problems in my marriage. Larry, to my shock changed from the loving, caring man I dated. He began to drink heavily, often came home late and would beat me without provocation. I tried to reason with him but it was no use. There was a night he beat me so hard, I became unconscious and it was the neighbours who had to take me to the hospital.

    When I recovered and returned home, I found another woman in the house. Larry threw me out, stating he had married someone else who would give him sons as I had only female children in my womb! I had to move in with my sister with my children.

    He took everything away including the car he bought for me, though we had been together for eight years.

    “That was six months ago. He doesn’t even care about the children’s welfare or their education. That morning of the accident, I had gone to see him at home concerning Ivy’s school fees as she attends an expensive private school. He chased me out, saying he didn’t have money to train ‘those brats’ as he called his own kids. I was really upset. I just walked along the road not really seeing where I was going, thinking about my life and how badly things had turned out for me when you hit me.”

    She stopped speaking then and just sat staring glumly down at the table. I felt really sorry for her after listening to her tale. ‘What kind of man would do this to a beautiful lady like this, his own wife?’ I thought as I gazed at her.

    “It’s really sad that such things happened to you at such a young age,” I told her softly, reaching across the table to take her hand in mine.

    She looked up then and shrugged.

    “That’s life. Full of ups and downs,” she noted. “My main concern now are my children. I’ve been looking for a job so I can earn some money to take care of them. But it’s been tough as they always ask for qualifications and I didn’t finish school; I dropped out because of my children.”

    I thought about what she said.

    “If it’s a job you want, I have something in mind. Can you…?

    To be continued

    What did Bari say to Flora concerning her job search? Details next Saturday!

    Send comments to psaduwa@yahoo.com or psaduwa007@gmail.com

  • Toddler, four others killed in accident in Ogun

    A toddler and three others were killed in an accident along the Abeokuta-Siun-Sagamu expressway on Saturday.

    Other victims of the accident were said to be people travelling to Sagamu, Remo area of Ogun state, for a wedding.

    The accident occurred at the Onipepeye stretch of the road and involved a Primeria car marked LAGOS LSD 770 BZ and a Space Wagon with registration LAGOS GGE CD0 CQ.

    It was gathered that three persons died on the spot while two others died on the way while being taken to the hospital.

    ‎The driver of the Primeria car reportedly lost control, skidded off his lane and crashed into the Space Wagon coming in the opposite direction.

    No fewer than 10 other persons were injured and were also taken to hospital by the operatives of the state’s men traffic management unit.