Where my story started...

I was born in a family of 3 boys and 5 girls. I am the fourth born. My mother and father are both from the eastern part of Nigeria. My father works for a private company that produces textiles materials. My mother is a trader. She owns a provision store where she sells different sorts of food stuffs such as rice, beans corn guinea corn and other provisions. My family is not that rich but we are very much comfortable.

My elder sister doesn't live with us. She lives with a woman we refer to as her 'baptism mother'. This is because in my church, on the day of dedication of any child born in the church, a male and female who are not related to the child, would stand up and offer to be a 'baptism mother' and 'father' to that child. it was more like a foster parent arrangement. So when my sister was being dedicated as an infant, that particular woman stood up for her. Coincidentally, she and her husband were newly Weds, and were still hoping for their own child.

My elder brother lived with us, until he was forced by my parents to go and learn trade with an uncle. This was because he refused to go to school. My elder brother had a habit of always coming home to complain about his school and also threatening that he would not return back to the school, if he was not taken to a new one.

Sometimes some well meaning neighbours would come to inform my parents of how they see my brother hanging around the neighborhood during school hours. My parents would scold him and warn him against it.

The last day my brother attended anything school was the day he came back and lamented that a snake was killed in his school, and thereby woukd never be going back.

My parents did all they could do as good parents, and when they couldn't convince him enough, they decided to find another thing to get him engage with. Which happened to be TRADE.

Therefore, he was asked to go leave with an uncle Okoro, who dealt in all kinds of leather materials. He owned many shops in Abuja, including houses. He was a very rich man and had many apprentice working under him.

My brother became the youngest among them. He therefore became an apprentice at the age of 14.

Some times, my mother would take me and my younger ones to Abuja to pay them a visit. With time, I noticed that my brother seemed to have settled well.

I loved my uncle's house and sometimes would prefer to spend more days than we had planned to.

my mother got bored of trying to drag me back whenever we visited Abuja, and soon began to make plans to avoid taking me along.

On one occasion, my mother played me a trick to ensure she didnt go with me.

I had earlier gone to play with my friends Kike and Elie, I spent most of my time with them. We were fond of playing games and acting like mothers of dolls. We would use our sweaters to make dolls and then gather small metal containers and begin to cook for them.

I would most times be sent to go and get some food items from my mother's shop in small quantities. I would get things like rice, beans, oil, salt etc. while my friends would go to search for dry wood and matches for the fire.

They couldn't contribute in getting any foodstuffs because, my mother was the one who sold foodstuffs, and also because we usually played at their shop, instead of their home . Their home was far away from the shop.

Their father sold cassetes and CD plates at their shop. Most times he played music that we usually gathered to dance to. Music's from Oliver decoque, sunny Ade, and other hip pop stars.

So on the fateful day, my mother travelled without me, I had gone as usual to play with my friends. My mother had earlier announced that she would be travelling to Abuja to my uncle's house to see my brother. I therefore informed her that I would be going with her, but she had refused and blantly told me that I wont.

I then made up my mind, not to allow her leave without me. I planned to cry down the area if she made that attempt. But alas I was beaten at my game.

I came back home after the day's play with Elie and Kike,, hoping to see my mum at home. I thought she had sheduled the journey for the following day, since I somehow overheard her saying something like that, but to my greatest surprise my mother had travelled without me. My elder sister announced the sad news with a welcome statement of "Kai, they have left this one behind" immediately she saw me strolling back home.

I quickly threw my self on the floor and started weeping. How could my mother do this to me? There was no phone to call, so there was no way to call and beg her to come back and take me too. I cried bitterly screaming at the top of my voice, disturbing almost the neighborhood, but nobody seemed to be bothered. After crying, I then resolved never to leave my house to go play with anyone.

I was angry at kike and Elie, because they had being responsible for my mother leaving without me. I blamed them because if I had not gone to play with them, I would have been at home, and my mother wouldn't have left without my notice.

I cried so much that day, and felt sad afterwards while waiting for the day my mother would finally return back.

I never went back to play with kike and Elie again.

I then decided to make a new friend in school, her name was Hella. She was an Igbo girl. I liked her because she always visited my house, even when I didn't reciprocate it. I had learnt the hard way, not to visit any friend, so I extended it to her.

I had never visited her house before and even when I tried I still didnt. Maybe because it was far, or maybe because she told me, there was a burying place at the back of her house. I cringed, especially when I read stories about ghosts. How did they cope living in that type of house?

She had even gisted me how she once saw her dead brother ghost before. I opened my lips agape in shock. All these scared me to bits and never gave me the courage to visit her, even when she insisted. However she still visited me everyday.

At school we were usually together, we played and gossiped together. She once gossiped about our teacher "Mr Ben" . She told me how she caught him kissing the eldest daughter of our school headmistress.

Although Mr Ben was truly very handsome, and sometimes I couldn't tell why I usually found my self thinking about him. Was it crushing or was there a name for admiring your teacher and daydreaming about him? I never told Hella, because I know she would laugh me to scorn.

My headmistress also had other of her children who attended the same school. One of her daughter mira was in the same class with me. I always envied the way they behaved or how they looked so rich. They never played too much, and they always had so much to eat.

My school was very close to my house, therefore most time I went late, since I would delay leaving the house early, claiming that my school was very close and I would still make it early.

My immediate elder sister, Mmasi also attended the same school. She was in primary six while I was in primary five. My father had probably placed us in that school because of how close and safe, he felt it was to our home.

Not only that, it would also prevent my parents from worrying too much especially in the case of the numerous riot that usually occurred in my area.

Some of these riots usually have parents rushing to school to pick their wards.

One of such occasion, me and my sister were in school one day, when we began to hear screams of " carry your bag and go home" I saw other students rushing out of the school gate while their parents stood impatiently at the gate waiting to take them home.

I noticed It was not yet break time, talk more of closing period so I wondered why everyone was leaving or being asked to go home.

As the panic heightened, my sister and I also left and joined others in trekking back home. Almost immediately, we sighted our mother running towards us, with her wrapper tied on her chest, sweating to come pick us.

I were surprised, but also happy, since I was never a lover of anything school, so I silently wished and prayed that all days, would be like that very day.

And that whatever had caused all students to leave school that early was a welcome idea.

I then questioned my mother, the reason for the pandemonium for leaving school early. She then informed us that, their was a riot going on somewhere not too far from our area, that's why parents had to go pick their children in fear that the issue may escalate to other parts.

That was scary though, because those cult clash, were terrible and might leave many dead.

That was part of the reason, my parents had to change us to the new school, since it was close to home, and it would be easy for us to rush home after school or go to school quickly from home.

However my dislike for school usually made my father very angry which always made him chase me to school with a cane almost everyday.

It was quite embarrassing, but I managed not to be ashamed of it, hoping that one day, father will give me the freedom I needed to leave school.

I was a chronic late comer, even when my school was very near. I would linger at home believing that since the school was not far, I will not be late, until my father would shout, threatening me to leave his house for school.

Sometimes I would refuse to go, complaining that I was too late for school, and that it was almost time for school break. My father would then pick his belt and begin to chase me. Many people were used to seeing me go to school running alongside with my father.

Some would burst into laughter, wondering the kind of human, I was.

I was also very playful too. I played so much with sand and ashes, making holes with them, even using wet clay to make dough.

I was also a good footballer. I loved football so much and had children I usually played it with after school hours. My father named me " drogba" a skilled Chelsea player, because of how skillful I was. He would stand at a distance hailing me whenever he saw me play. I enjoyed the sport and could spend all day playing it.