James got fed up with his life in Nigeria.He got fed up with the
injustice which had just stared at his face, so he decided to
return to South Africa permanently.
Mrs.Omotayo didn’t want
him to leave because he had impacted a
lot into the life of her
children. During the short duration of
time he spent coming to
our house, the children of my guardian
felt as if they had a
father, though they were already matured
—Laide sixteen and
Biodun eighteen.
“I will return to my students in South
Africa and keep on
helping them,” James said, weeping. It
was then I knew that all
he was doing in South Africa was
teaching—teaching the deaf
and dumb as well as the blind.
When my uncle was leaving me, he
hugged me and said,
“Rose, you earned me a living. You Are
Able! WE ARE ABLE!”
“How did I earn you a living, sir?” I asked
him because I was
surprised.
“Because what you taught me many
years back was exactly
what I was using to earn a living in
South Africa. I got to South
Africa in search of a job—I couldn’t get
any for six months. The
only job available was a teaching job in
the special school. I
looked at myself and felt pity for myself
because I thought I
was abased, but then I remembered how
you taught me the
sign language. I put in for the job and
got it. Of recent I became
a principal in the school, earning much
money. I left all to come
to Nigeria just to see you—not even
Toyosi, but, but…” my
uncle began to weep again.
When James was leaving, Biodun and
Laide held tight to him
and didn’t want him to leave.
“Stay with us, sir,” the cried. “Why do you
want to leave us?”
“Leave him alone, let him go,” Mrs
Omotayo said, trying to
caution her children.
“No, we won’t!” they kept on saying.
“Where are you going
to?”
“I am returning to South Africa?” he told
them.
“You can’t leave!” they protested. “What
are you going there to
do?”
“To get myself another wife,” he said and
my aunty nodded in
support. I shook my head. My aunty is
compromising, I
thought. Why is she supporting him in
this when actually she
was the one trumpeting up and down
that it is one-man, one-
wife till death do them part?
Biodun and Laide asked him to get
married to their mother. It
was shocking to everyone, including Mrs
Omotayo who burst
into laughter. Eventually, James had his
way and began to take
his leave. I wept as I watched James
leave.
Later in the day, my aunty came up with
a funny news. She
said that a plane travelling to South
Africa from Nigeria was
grounded halfway due to a fight in the
plane. The three people
involved in the fight, according to the
news, had been sent back
to Nigeria. Not long, we discovered that
it was a fight between
James and his elder brother, John who
was fleeing Nigeria to
South Africa in order to seek refuge.
Little did my father know
that his younger brother would catch up
with him in there.
As soon as Mr. Joe the justice heard the
news, he swung into
action immediately, taking Moses with
him anywhere he went.
My father had already been imprisoned
with Toyosi who were
both fleeing Nigeria together. Now all
that was left of us was to
know who exactly they connived with to
get my mother out of
the prison earlier and ultimately where
she was presently.
To Be Continue
