Water and Garri: The Story of a New Nigeria.
I want to share a story of how a total stranger bought me dinner and how the experience shifted my perspective about humanity, and about being a Nigerian in the year 2022.
(I had this encounter towards the end of 2022)
I see hope. I see a beautiful future. I see a ‘new Nigeria’ emerging, even though it seems like we are currently stuck in a mess.
Now to my story — I live in a fetish neighborhood where the indigenous people of this town can decide to invoke the spirit of their gods at will. And it happened that they did so on this fateful night.
A call came through from one of my neighbors who was already at home, informing me that there was ‘Orò’ that night, and that I should sleep over wherever I was at.
I cannot describe in detail how this particular activity usually work, but I know it requires that all inhabitants of the community remain indoors, unfailingly, throughout a given period of time — usually around midnight.
Somehow, the custodians of the oracle decided to commence their proceedings earlier than usual on that night. By the time I got to the bus-stop, the park was unusually empty, the market nearby had also become empty despite that there was ‘NEPA light.’
As it became apparently dangerous to pass through the regular route, I had to follow an unfamiliar one.
As I journeyed home, I kept wondering what I was going to eat with my egusi soup which I had prepared the previous night, since the fufu seller had closed before I could get to her shop which is located inside the community market.
“I will make eba”, I thought. But then I remembered that I drank the last cup of garri a few days earlier. The only option left would be to find a place where they sell garri before I get to my house.
Just a stone’s throw away from my house, I sighted a kiosk which was still open — it belongs to an Hausa man or probably Fulani, I am not sure but I know that people call him ‘Aboki’.
“Aboki, shey garri dey?”, I asked. “Yes, e dey”, he replied. I requested for 2 packs of it while I stretched out my hand to pay him.
All these while, a young man who was sitting on a bench in front of Aboki’s kiosk was smoking a stick of cigarette.
As I was about to hand over the 200 Naira note I had on me to the shop owner, the young man whom I had presumed to be an ‘egbon adugbo’ said “bro, let me support with this one na”, as he extended his right hand to Aboki.
“No wahala bros! Aboki, abeg give him the change”, I said as I was about to pay my street tax to the man of the hour.
To my surprise, this young man with a deep ‘agbero-like’ voice and a huge scar on his face replied me saying, “I mean I want to support you with this 100 Naira in my hand. I understand the struggle, bro.”
He felt that I must be broke to be buying garri for dinner. “No be so oh!” But I accepted the gift with thanks even though I had a lot of money on me that night.
I was too bewildered by the gesture to turn it down. I became persuaded that there are more kind-hearted humans in Nigeria than the media report. To even think that a supposed ‘Lagos street guy’ who was blowing smoke from both his mouth and nostrils would be the hero of a Good Samaritan story.
Fast forward to March 2023, somebody’s reason for not wanting a Peter Obi presidency is only that the value of the American Dollar will most likely drop against the Naira. And this would mean that he wouldn’t be able to exchange the proceeds of his cyber scams for a huge local currency.
“Different strokes for different folks”, they say. But if there is one thing I am certain about, it is that the Nigeria of our dreams is nearer now than when we first envisioned it.
We cannot have a noble country if the leaders are corrupt, and the average follower is decent.
Yet, I believe that it will even get worse if we have a few decent leaders with majority of the followers wallowing in corruption.
We all have the responsibility on our hands to lead the life of the Nigeria we dream of, be it leader or follower.
If you find this story compelling, please do not forget to share it with at least one person, and also please do not forget to clap for it 50 times. Yes, 50 times.
Thank you for taking your time to read. Muah!(blows kiss).
