Long ago in the land of
Bojuri, a small village not far from Ogbomoso, a land of the mischievous and
mysterious, a land of strange happenings. A land where evil is raw, lived Pa
Jimoh and his five children- three boys and two girls.
Pa Jimoh and his family
were a happy one. They associated themselves with the whole neighbourhood and
were loved. Pa Jimoh was a generous hunter and gave proceeds of whatever he
hunted. He could give out his eye to please another.
Pa and Ma Granula in
particular were closer to them and they shared lots of happy moments together.
It was a sight to behold. Their children shuffled between houses to sleep at
nights, eat and even enjoy moonlight tales of the land of Bojuri.
One day, Pa Granula
visited Pa Jimoh and his moody face showed something was wrong.
‘What is the matter?’
asked Pa Jimoh.
‘The landlord asked us
to vacate his house, he gave us a notice of two market days’ replied Pa
Granula.
‘Were you owing him any
rents? You should have told me about it’
‘I wasn’t owing and I
even offered to pay two extra seasons but he was adamant I leave his house’.
The old man wept not
only because he was evacuated from his home of 23 seasons but because of his
friend and neighbour whom he wouldn’t be privileged to see as before.
The day Pa Granula left
the compound, it was like a mourning for Pa Jimoh and his family. By evening,
they braced up themselves and vowed to enjoy the same companionship with the
new neighbour as they did with Pa Granula.
The full moon
reappeared and the new neighbour was yet to arrive. Rumours had it that a very
wealthy man from another village had paid the landlord a large sum of money for
the little apartment, almost ten times the worth. No wonder he had insisted Pa
Granula left and the elders of Bojuri couldn’t understand why he would rent that
place when he could buy it and fears arose on who this mysterious neighbour
was.
Pa Jimoh complained to
the landlord about his treatment of his friend, Pa Granula.
‘You will soon forget
Pa Granula’ said the landlord, ‘this new neighbour would leave a mark in this
village, he promised. Proximity to your
children is the attraction to this particular apartment’
‘Why my children?’
asked Pa Jimoh.
‘Well, he lost all nine
of his children and ever since then he has been a lover of kids. He told me he
enjoys being filled up by children and
promises to show you what true neighbourhood should be’
‘But who is he and
where does he come from? When will he be around so we can throw for him a
welcome party?’ asked Pa Jimoh.
‘He didn’t disclose but
he assured me that he cannot wait to be filled up with your family’
Seven nights passed and
this mysterious neighbour didn’t turn up. ‘He must be a wicked man who just
wants to show his financial power’ concluded some sects in Bojuri but the
landlord didn’t care as long as those tubers of yams kept entering his barns.
One night when
everybody was fast asleep; the neighbour moved in. Activities could be heard
going on in the next house but since he came that late at night, he probably
didn’t want to be disturbed. The next morning, Pa Jimoh made Pap and Akara and
ordered Bisi, his first daughter to deliver the meal to the new neighbour. Bisi
knocked, knocked and knocked but there was no response. Other villagers out of
greed tried to get acquainted with this man but he never opened his door or was
he ever seen.
No comments:
Post a Comment