CHAPTER 4

Mama had no choice but to take me to Oga Sule the cobbler to learn the art of shoemaking. Since I was expelled from the only means of education at Shagbo, I just had to be up to something other than education that’s if I still had anything reasonable I wanted to do with my life.

Oga Sule as he was fondly called was also known as Dr shoe. This was because he was highly recognized to be expertise with any form of footwear. He boasted he had a PhD in shoemaking from the University of oxford UK. He was tall, dark-skinned and handsome. And seemed his shoemaking profession has gotten him heights of good fortune. he had a very big shop at the centre of the Shagbo market where lots of apprentices and workers learnt from him. He was regarded to be the most successful in shagbo market and he was given a chieftaincy title. I’ve heard somewhere that Oga Sule can no longer perform his duty as a man. That is he cannot procreate, but he was fortunate to have given birth to a bouncing baby boy before the diagnose. This little boy he had regarded as the only treasure of his life but the unfortunate me would always sour the joy of everyone.

I was alone in Oga Sule’s big shop one day the other apprentices had been given a break to go to their respective homes to have lunch and a rest. Oga Sule’s wife Rofia came into the shop, well dressed in her all covering hijab, she also backed Sule’s only child. Chukka, how are you now’’ she greeted. “Aunty Rofia I am great oo, I’m just bored, I’m the only one in the shop all the rest had gone on break, mama is not at home that’s why, I would have gone too’’ I replied. “Oh, that’s okay, please I would love to quickly keep my son with you I want to go and see the Taffeta clothes weaver to settle some debts, I would be back very soon’’ she handed her baby over to me, “such an handsome boy”. I played with his chubby cheeks and flanged him to and fro but he slept off few minutes after his mother left. I laid him in a secluded small room in the shop and went on with my work. But this hunger disturbing me is not making me comfortable; I decided to cook a cup of rice on the gas stove in the shop. Everything set, my food was on the fire. Along the line, while I was cooking, I remembered Dozie telling me yesterday he won 200 doing Surebet. Wow, he was so fortunate oo. And luckily for me, I had N25 left in my pocket. This N25 can give birth to children’’ I thought of with a smile on my face. I thought of what to do, Sule’s son was fast asleep and my rice was just on fire. Both can remain locked in the shop while I go meet Dozie at the Surebet shop. Such a nice idea! Glory be to God, that day. Like I thought earlier, my N25 gave birth to children. With just N25 and Dozie’s guidance , I won N1OOO. Such glamour. I finally made mama proud. That could feed us for a whole week! The joy in my heart knew no bound only to be short lived and quenched when I approached Shagbo market.

A huge cloud of smoke rose over the entire market area as could see it several kilometers away. “What happened? was someone burning bush’’? I reasoned. The heat and flame intensified as I approached only to discover the whole market was on fire. Oh my God!! and Shagbo community had no fire service. I started to cry but blood came out when I remembered I had left Oga Sule’s only son locked inside the shop. I increased my pace, "I would do anything possible today, even if I would enter the fire." The gas cooker I left in the shop for too long was what caused the inferno. I came nearer but it was too late. The fire was already too much that I could not stand 10 meters from it because of its outrageous heat. I kept my hand on my head screaming modaran, modaran! (I’m in trouble) 

The N25 I thought would give birth to many children had definitely killed thousands of unknown children in the shops and the only child someone could have. Oga Sule

It was a sad night at Shagbo market. Countless burnt corpses were pulled out of the market. The great agony I caused was unexplainable. I can’t imagine the debt the traders whose goods got burnt would face now. The great Shagbo market had turned into a deserted graveyard. I got to know that Rofia came back to the shop but I later got to know that Rofia died alongside with her baby because the shop was locked and no one was there to open it when the fire started raging. Anyway, nobody got to know I was the root of the tragedy in Shagbo, because people knowing would only cause greater predicament. They would stone me alive, banish my family and clear any traces of my history on earth. I left Oga Sule in the cold, all he had; his wife, his only child, his shop. I sent him back to square 1. I later got to know Sule ran mad because of the depression he had to face. My badluck had cost lives and property and even ran a man mad….. Who can help me?

Can you??????????????