Chapter 7

I heard something like the opening of a box, the silence. I guessed Kehinde had a look at the book. I dropped the novel and turned on the bed, waiting desperately for sleep to come.

It did not come. Instead, I was forced to listen to Kehinde and my landlady once more. My landlady was screaming simultaneously with the sound of the bed as the springs moved up and down. The bed continued to move up and down until I heard a wild yell from my landlady, "Hold me'. She screamed. Then everything wass quiet again.

She broke the silence. 'I want you to marry me. You will have anything you want . I will buy a Mercedes car for you.' I thought my ears deceived me. My land lady was a women of fifty. For all

I know, Kehinde was a teenager. I could not imagine that she could harbour such an idea which would be practically impossible in this country. Infact, the custom here is that the woman must be younger than the man she marries. So strong is the custom that many people do not even want to marry a woman of exactly the same age as themselves because they would prefer the woman to be younger. Now my landlady was turning the custom upside down by her absurd request.

"My parents will not agree' Kehinde said bluntly. My landlady burst into laughter. Do you think you will marry me in the conventional way?" She asked and went on to explain to him her own idea of the marriage. Kehinde was to tell his parents that he wouldn't marry until after a decade from that night; then he would get the job of a manager

to my landlady's fashion store, and come to live in the room which I was to vacate. Living in that room, he would perform the duties of a husband to my landlady. In short, he would be married to her for ten years before he would, marry the real woman that would be his permanent wife. If you need a motor bike for your use in school this

term I would get it for you.

I will sponsor your wedding when you want to marry,' she said. Kehinde agreed to the idea and all was silent.

I had heard people say very often that old women marry teenagers in Lagos. I had thought that this was due to unemployment or some form of idleness on the part of the teenagers. But this particular one baffled me. This teenager was a student who has not yet faced any problems of unemployment if unemployment is really the cause of this trend. The other thing that baffled

me was that I had understood that a woman does not have interest in a male extremely younger than her. I understood that it is men who preferred younger women. But my landlady had

turned the whole thing upside down.

I took my bath at 5.30 a.m. By 7.00 a.m. I was fully prepared for my long journey to Maiduguri, having packed my two shirts into a paper bag. I locked my door and went to my landlady to inform her that I was leaving for Maiduguri and to handover her keys to her. You are ready to go now?" She asked. I told her I was fully ready. 'Safe journey and God's guidance,' she said. I

thanked her for giving me seventy naira free of charge, and resisted the temptation to protest to her for calling me an armed robber.

I took a taxi to Sango Motor park where I discovered that there was no direct transport to Maiduguri. I had to take a Kano taxi. I paid N21 which was the fare from Ibadan to Kano. We

took off at about 7.30 a.m. We were about six passengers in the vehicle. Our driver was the most peace-loving man I had met since I came out of prison. He was so peace-loving that I found this very irritating at times.

If a woman told him to pack the car so that she could get water from her flask, he simply obliged. If an idle man requested that he packed the car so that he (the idle man) could go out and smoke his cigarette, he will obey without argument. If we passed through a mountainous country and a

passenger wanted the car stopped so that he could take a close look at the landscape, the driver complied. One man who had refused the driver a piece of kolanut when the latter requested it from him was to end up requesting cigarettes from the driver. The driver did not refuse to give him the cigarette although I had wanted him to refuse because the man had earlier refused to part with a piece of kola.

One of the most unreasonable requests was made by a female passenger when we came to one village near Mokwa. This particular female passenger requested the driver to park the car so that he could come down and go inside the village to inform one of her relations that she was travelling to Kano. So unreasonable was her demand that I joined the other passengers in protesting against it. But the vehemence of these female passengers in her wish, Which was later to be accompanied by her violent weeping and protestation forced all of us to become silent when the driver packed the car.

As soon as the car stopped, the weeping stopped, She jumped out and disappeared into the village.

we nearly concluded that she was no longer going to return. This was because we waited for her 4/1 hour without any sign of her. We could have gone on the supposition that she was no longer going to return, but we discovered that her box was still in the car.

when we saw her returning with an old man who we guess that must be the relation, many angry passenger decided that on her return she should be given a thorough beating.