IN 1992, in the month of April to be precise, my landlord’s daughter was wedding and the lots fell on us the tenants to show support; not necessarily in the area of money, but to support morally. We were involved in the buying of the cows, sending reminders to the invited guests, making sure that those who bought aso ebi paid promptly for them. Baba Landlord , as we fondly called our landlord, openly acknowledged my contribution. It was worth it because I turned myself to the errand boy. The landlord and his wife had been so good to all the tenants, and we felt it was the right time to show my own appreciation.
On the day of the wedding, we were all gaily dressed. High Chief Apelua, my landlord’s closest friend, jokingly told who cared to listen,how I had looked like a king in the waiting in my buba and sooro with fila elenusonu to match. Some well-to-do men in the neighbourhood put down their vehicles to support the ones on the ground. So, the issue of not partaking because of mobility or cash crunch was not there.
We got to the church and the service was going on. Suddenly, I got up to ease myself at the back of the church where there were up to twenty toilet rooms. My mind said no. I moved a bit to the right side of the church. There was a girl of about eight years who was plucking flower alongside her brother. I opened my wallet and told the boy to go and buy me cold drink; he wanted to go with the sister. I persuaded him to go alone.
Before he came back, I was already having my way over the little child, even the shouts ” leave me alone” didn’t dissuade me from going further. May be her brother came back and saw us ; went to call adults. The touch of a hard stick on my head jolted me into the reality. Somebody out of fury must have done that. Blood welled through my body. The much-talked-about dress that made me look like a king was in tatter. My expensive suede shoes were thrown into the bush.
Many came again to look at the mad man that could do such to a minor in the house of the Lord. All eyes were on me! I could see the landlord coming towards where I was held down like a prisoner. He wanted to move forward to plead on my behalf, but I heard the wife saying on top of her voice “Daddy Viola, don’t go near this rapist. Do you ever know him? Answer me, we don’t know him”.
They went back as the wife held his hand. So also were many faces that we came together in same bus in the morning, singing joyful songs. Now, I was on my own. Na so life be.
As I was being taken away by the leader of the Boys Brigade, the clergyman intervened.
“Kindly bring him closer here,” he said as he looked at me scornfully.
“No sir, if it is to shield him…..”One of the boys said.
“Not to shield him from youths. But just release him to me while you all go back to the church,” the clergyman said again ,using one hand to clean his face.
“No ! No! No!” The crowd erupted in shouts.
“ Daddy, we can’t release him to you. We are going to do the Law of Moses here today. If he could be so stupid to come to the Lord’s house for an abominable act, it is of high hope that we should go and dump him inside Olokunrun River, on the way to Igogo,” a woman with beads on her two hands said. She was wearing an expensive blue lace with white iborun on it.
It seemed she had an influence on the clergyman and the entire church. Her orders too were carried out with much respect. Later, I got to know she was the brains behind all the key projects in the church. She was highly influential and the vicarage newly built for the church was singlehandedly donated to the church by her.
Aaaaa!, I was beaten like a Northerner’s cow that refused to go to the Southern part of the country. This folks were brutal to me. They stopped at a kiosk near the Mesirinye shrine, bought ground pepper and sprinkled on my manhood and some of the open wounds. It gave me a sharp pain that peppered me beyond control. I cried in pain and they burst into laughter.
By the time we got to the Olokunrun River and saw the crocodiles openly swimming there, I was afraid. I wept aloud ! . I looked into their faces for the first time and begged them.
“My people, please forgive me. I have suffered too much in your hands; please, let me go home in shame. I am really sorry; I don’t really know what came over me”. I begged them while prostrating.
“If you like, crawl; we are going to give you to the crocodile alive. They will like that your stupid organ that won’t stay in a place. Say your last prayer…..,” one skinny lady wearing eyeglasses told me without any feeling for me.
I burst out again weeping and rolling on the floor.
“Please, give me the last chance. I didn’t do it intentionally. I won’t do it again. This is genuine. Have mercy on me. Pleaseeeee!” I looked into no one in particular.
As I said this, one man in red suit whispered something into the Boys Brigade leader. Moments later, about six leaders moved to the riverbank left side to discuss. Later on, they came back and spoke in their native language. They started dispersing one by one.
But some spat on me, some hissed, some threw pebbles and some kids as young as that girl I raped came closer to touch my John Thomas with cane. Do you blame them? Never!
By the time they left, I was too weak to get up. My clothes were already torn and burnt by them. Nothing on me. I slept off and it was the voice of my landlord that woke me the following morning at the riverside.
Mr. Michael, how do you feel,” he asked as he bent down to lift me up.
“Daddy, I am ……..” I wanted to speak in order to explain myself.
“This is not the best time to talk. We must not be seen here by the town people,” he said and lifted me up
“’Daddy, please let him munch this meat pie so that he can use his medicine,” a light skinned lady that came with them, said as she put down the basket in her hand down.
They wore a new dress for me briskly, gave me medicine to eat and later gave me the pain killers to swallow.
“We will still need to take him to Dr. Moody for treatment because we don’t know if there are some internal bleedings,” the man at the wheel said.
My landlord was quiet all the way home. He was disappointed and heartbroken. He only nodded to all the questions his people were asking from him as we drove by. He will look at me, my bruises and then into the sky. He never said anything and I didn’t know his mind.
My intuition told me he was either taking me to the police, or take me to the end of the town, where he must have packed all my belongings; but they were never to be so!
We drove home and he took me to my apartment where I met his wife and other adults waiting for me. Immediately I saw them, I prostrated to apologise and wept again openly. I felt so bad. One of them beckoned to me to get up, but I refused. At the end , they carried me up. It was the first time my landlord would open up his mind.
“Mr. Michael, I am very much confused. I don’t really know how to start my words. I don’t also know what to really say despite the fact that there are many things looming large in my brain. You really disappointed us all; I, for one. I never knew you could do such a thing. Have you been doing it before? Was this the first time? Why? What really lured you to do such a thing? Another thing is the fact that it is the day of your god daughter’s wedding. This is too bad,” he said as he got up to whisper something into his wife’s ear.
The wife got up. She later came back with a sheet of paper. It was the police report on the girl. It was given to me to read, but instead of doing so; I burst out into tears again! It was so shriek that some of them joined me.
To be continued
