Chapter One

A HUMBLE BEGINNING

The Cock crowed to announce another new day. At No.17, Bakuru Street, Off Badiya Street, Ijora, an old man was sleep-walking out of his house to the street. He looked to his left hand side, and then to his right hand side. There was nothing. He did not expect to see anything at all. He looked all the same. In his twenty years sojourn in this pride of Lagos slums, he had come to expect nothing. Especially at this ungodly hour. He was scantily dressed in a loosely tied wrapper. The wrapper had seen many better days. With his right hand he held a piece of white native chalk and kolanut. On the other hand, he clenched a bottle, half fllled with Akpeteshi and one uganasie. He took another look again. To and fro. He still did not notice anything strange except papa Ufuoma's "mad dog," down the street, barking as usual, at nothing in particular. He walked a little turther from his dar compund, just to be sure there was nobody there. ?Which time these people go remember say we dey live for here and give us light?" He wondered. As the thought crossed his mind he looked yet again down the street. This time he concentrated his attention on a particular house. "Wetin be the use say Baba Moruf na him be the Chief Supervisor for NEPA if he no fit do am make we dey get small light at all? Anyway, that na him office. One day dem go bring am come my own too and I go tell them say no vacancy yet. I go corne put am for waiting list."

Having so decided he smiled to himself and put down all the items he was carrying on the ground, except the white chalk. He looked up to the beautiflil early morning skies and smiled away his sorrows and bitterness with nature. He looked older than his age. His face and body had all grown wrinkles, yet there was some traces of handsomeness on his face. He was once a handsome young man. He could have had any woman his heart desired. He only had to ask. But, that was in those days.

He raised the chalk up to the skies as he continued to smile. "Osanobua, Ogheneme, Orunmila, Me Nyazino, I don come again." As he called them one after the other, he continued to turn and twist his arm in the air, while he peeled off particles of the chalk into the air. "Na dat my pickin Onome. Yes, na him. As I don promise una before, make una just help me to put am for the better school for this country. Hmmn hmmm.' His smile became even broader. "I go sabotage una, one time. Make una just try me this time. Na me dey promise una. Make una never vex too much say una give am to me with him brothers and sisters and since then I never once come sabotage una as I promise. Una put am for school, and I still never do as I talk. Make una no worry. This time go different well, well. I go really really sabotage una this time. Just try me first. Try me this time and see."

He went on to salute his gods for their sustained kindness to him. He offered them all kolanuts and then akpeteshi. After taking his fair share of these, he went into his house.

The house is a large single room, demarcated with a curtain at the middle to give the erroneous impression that it was a double room. The chairs were always pilled up every night to make room for the children to sleep with their mats on the floor. In this part of the room there was a set of very old chairs which had been piled on top of each other in a corner of the room. Beside them, there was a bold sticker that declared, "I am God's miracle , believe me." He looked down for a second as he slowly and carefully picked his way to the other side of the room. "Na these ones be my hope for tomorrow," he mused softly to himself, "and na Onome go show them the road."

He opened the curtain and crossed to the other side. Just as he had expected, she was up. As usual, she was kneeling down lacing the altar she had insisted that the Reverend father must come to enthrone one day. Yes, one day. As soon as she can afford a crate of soft drinks and a packet of Cabin biscuits.

Without saying a word to her, he turned to the 'pot' that was lying at the opposite side of her. It was almost filled with water. The front side of the 'pot' was smeared all over with animal blood. Sacrificial animal blood. He carried up the jerry can beside it. The jerry can was filled with sea water. As he poured this water into the pot he recited the necessary incantation.

"Pale! Pale!! Pale!!! The one whey you do for outside never do you? which day na him you go stop all this devil work for this house Eh, Pale?"

He continued to recite his incantation as if she had nol spoken. When he had finished, and chewed the necessary kola, and drank his share of akpeteshi he turned. Raising his hands and face to the air he shouted, "Ogheneme, Ofone!?

"Mama Onome, so you call my work devil work? If my gods don hear this thing wey you talk eh! If dem vex and because of am no let Onome go the good school for this country eh. Or if dem no let am go for oyibo land go chop oyinbo wintch eh, Ofone. Mama Onome, I say Ofone e don finish." As he said this, he began to turn away from her.

"So you think say na all that akpeteshi wey you dey drink go carry my pickin go the better school? Make I tell you, na the Living God wey I dey serve na him go carry my pickin go oyinbo land."

The argument continued for a while until the children who had grown accustomed to such quarrels had to get up to go and prepare for school.

Just before the children left for their school which was just around the corner, their mother left for the market where she sells tomatoes, pepper and onions.

On his way to the cemetery where he worked as a grave digger, Pale could not get himself to forget the morning's incident. "So this wintch woman dey look me for outside eh?" He wondered aloud. "One day I go degrade am for that house." Na that day she go know sey name be the oga wey dey for the house."

            *            *            *

Moruf was waiting for Onome at their school gate when he arrived there with his younger ones. The headmaster wants to see him, he told him, grinning mischievously. Onome did not reply nor did he go immediately. He thought over the headmaster's invitation for some time. when he concluded that he had not done anything wrong, he went to the headmaster's office, in response to the call.

"My boy, you are in primary six now, aren't you?" He asked without looking up from the papers on his table. In his mind he was wondering at the trend of the discussion. "Of course I am in primary six. But, he knows," Onome thought to himself. "Forms for the common entrance examination will be closing today. why have you not bought yours? Or do you not want to go to school anymore?"

"I want to go to school, Sir; my parents even want me to go to a very good school, but..."

At this point the headmaster looked up. He gave him the benefit of a painful and searching look that seemed to go right through his body, to his soul. "But?"

Onome who was still standing, turned his face down. He did not know why the headmaster had chosen to torture him like that.