Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 19
FEBRUARY 10TH 1994, we were in Court and
the only new development was that the Lady
that was raped in the Konwea’s family was
in Court to testify to the incident of the night
the Car was stolen and their Father
murdered. She testified that I was not
among the Rapist, so the case was once
again adjourned till the 19th of June to
allow for further investigation.
Baba Miko was also in Court, he had been in
Abakaliki for about two weeks when my
Mother was brought to a Psychiatric
Hospital, we had not seen for a while and I
was happy seeing him but he was sad at my
situation.
This time around, the Police had closed in on
Mr. Chike and were only waiting for him to
make a wrong move.
On our way back to the prison and by
special arrangement, we drove to the
Psychiatric wing of the University teaching
Hospital in Abakaliki to see my mother.
I was so sad after the visit that I became
depressed and I fell sick, I was hospitalized
at the prison hospital for three days.
My mother was far gone! Immediately I saw
her in her ward, I had expected her to react
positively on sighting me but she looked
past me into oblivion, it was as if I was not
there. Her stare was stone cold and pale, she
was very thin that I could see her entire
skeletal system through her tight skin, apart
from being psychologically unstable, she
was equally ill, she was on drip, and her eyes
were sunken, expressionless and bland.
Mama was dying slowly. I broke down in
tears at her sorry sight. Every one tried to
console me; I was taken out of the ward
and later brought back when I got control
of myself. I sat on her bed and carried her
gently onto my Lap, I pulled her close and
held her firmly for some minutes, I recited
our family eulogy into her ears while pulling
on her graying hair, isang into her ears, her
favourite tunes. I was permitted to detach
the drip from her arm so I could carry her
about in my arms; I kept talking to her as I
rocked her walking around the hall called
Ward 6. I kept talking to her and begging
her to stay with me, I told her my plans for
her, I told her I was not dead, I was alive
and healthy.
It was barrister Amaka that noticed the
tears running down my mother’s cheek! I
could not see it as a result of the tears in my
own eyes. The nurses were happy that she
eventually reacted emotionally; they said it
was a good sign. Baba Miko knelt down and
started thanking God for the fact that my
mother could cry; it meant that she was
coming back. He kept saying that he knew I
was her cure.
Baba Miko had come to Abakaliki with all the
money he had, he said he sleeps anywhere
in the Hospital premises but most times he
slept with the security guards at the
hospital, he said he wakes up early in the
mornings and wash up any car parked in
the premises then he hangs around and
greet the Owners when they want to drive
away, that had guaranteed his daily bread
since he came to Abakaliki. I promised to
send him some money to rent a temporal
apartment and for upkeep. I sent it through
Oga Inside.
After my recovery from the hospital, mama
became my obsession. It was risky for me
and Oga inside as he constantly smuggled
me to the hospital at least three nights in a
week to attend to my Mother.
There was this night I had told Oga Inside to
get his Wife to prepare bean cake using
palm oil and pap using wheat so we could
take to my Mother who had not tasted food
for a long time, that was why she had been
on drip since she came to Abakaliki. I carried
her as usual when I got to the hospital, I
then told her I had prepared Akara elepo
(Bean cake prepared with palm Oil) and Eko
olokababa (Pap made of wheat) for her, I
then took a ball of Akara to her mouth, to
the astonishment of every one watching,
she opened her mouth and gnawed weakly
at the ball, there was shouts of joy from the
nurses, the other patients in the room
started shouting and screaming too and
some of them had to be sedated to keep
them calm again. Baba mike fell on the floor
and started rolling about, he was shouting
Jesu oseun! Jesun oseun o! (Thank you
Jesus).
Mama finished a big ball of Akara and took
eight table spoons full of Pap before
vomiting everything on my body; she also
urinated and excreted on me. The Doctor
said I should not panic as it was very normal
for her system to react that way, he said
they would continually be trying to feed her
with the delicacy.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
June came and passed and we did not go to
Court due to strike action in the nations
Judiciary, all Court cases were postponed
indefinitely.
I continued to do my business; I sometimes
add Sardines or Geisha to my Stock. Some
rich inmates buy Garri and Geisha to
prepare cold Eba with Geisha as soup. I
stopped smoking Kpoli every night, I
smoked once in a while and that was only
when Oga Inside was not on night duty.
Through the rest of 1994 I kept visiting
mama nicodemously. Her condition kept
improving except for her inability to talk. She
moved her eyes and followed movements,
she could blink her eyes and she tried to
smile however wryly.
On the first of January 1995,at night as
usual with Oga Inside; I sat mama down by
her bed and I plaited her hair for her, she
needed to look good on near year day. I
ended up plaiting the hair of six other
inmates that became uncontrollable when
they saw me plaiting mama’s hair, they came
and sat by my side and started to loosen
their hair in readiness for their turn. One of
the nurses brought out a mirror and gave to
mama after her hair was done, though it
was forbidden to allow the Patients access
to mirrors. For the first time mama laughed
out, the sound of her laughter was strange
but it was laughter all the same. Baba Miko
performed his jubilation drama again.
Baba Miko! He is actually not a blood relation
of ours in any way. I was drawn to him
because he had always been close to me
and my mother, he was the only listening
ear we had and he was always trying to
assist us in any way he could. I have never
known him to be married, but I know his
kinsmen. For him to have abandoned his
brick laying work back home and come to
Abakaliki with my mother to live like a
beggar and wait on her to recover is what
beats my imagination. I knew there was
something I did not know between the two.
But time would tell, I need him where he is
now since I could not be there twenty four
hours, and I was grateful to him.
1995 and 96 passed without a court
appearance due to incessant strike actions
in the country. Some developments also took
place around me within the two years.
Barrister Amaka was promoted and
transferred to Abuja Supreme Court. But
before her departure, she had introduced a
certain Barrister Efe to me as her colleague
and my new counsel. I loved the man
instantly because of his warri accent. He was
very warm and jovial.
Barrister Amaka did something that I did
not understand until much later; she told me
she had altered my date of birth as recorded
in my file, she also showed me a sworn
affidavit of age declaration in my name, I
was borne on the 6th of September 1972,
but the new age read 1974, she had
reduced my age by two. She said I should
not forget my new age hence forth. I
thanked her even though I did not know the
reason. She promised to be following up my
case from Abuja and that I should have
confidence in Barrister Efe. I believed her.
Her Father retired from the Government and
set up him private chamber in Awka the
capital of Anambra state, his state of origin.
My main man Oga Inside also went on
voluntary retirement after having spent
twenty five years in Prison service, he
handed me over to Oga Frank, another
Warder before he left. He paid me all he
owed me and he was still coming to see me
once in a while. Oga Inside invested his
gratuity in Rice farming. He opened a Rice
mill at Ezamgbo and he bought a twenty
hectare of land for Rice farming alone. He
told me that Local Rice is well sought after
by fast food joints for preparing Ofada rice,
he further explained that the exportation of
Local Rice was also on the increase because
of the nutritional value. He also said I was
welcome to come and work with him after I
must have been released. Mr. Luke Umahi!
That is his real name and he hailed from
Ohaozara local government of the then
Enugu state but is today Ebonyi state. It is
only few of us that got to know his real
name. He is a man I cannot forget, I am for
ever indebted to that man.
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