Oga Martins - Season 1 - Episode 15

5 years ago

Oga Martins - Season 1 - Episode 15

The day was gradually breaking as Martins
stood beside Deji who sat down on the
pavement looking tired after one of the
longest two hours of their lives. If the
circumstances were different, he probably
would have laughed at the soot that
covered some parts of his face but there
was nothing funny about the situation.

Some of the women wailed while the men
held their head in despair. Thankfully, no life
had been lost but he couldn’t say the same
for their properties. They had managed to
salvage what they could but ‘the fire had
spread quickly considering the house was
old and hadn’t gone through any major
maintenance for years. A grotesque shape
of the house was what was left and they
either sat or stood around it in despair,
tired from putting out the fire.

The gathering was a solemn one and
nobody said a word, except a few people
from neighboring compounds who came
around to commiserate with them. They
were each lost in their thoughts, probably
thinking of what to do next. It seemed
speaking would usher them into the reality
they now faced: they were homeless, so
they kept quiet, not willing to deal with the
truth just yet even though it stared them in
the face. Martins however was somewhat
insulated from the shock of being rendered
homeless suddenly since he was already
threatened by the possibility. Now he didn’t
have a choice than to look for a place to
stay. He heaved a deep sigh wondering
how he was going to raise the money
especially in so short a time. His thoughts
were interrupted by the cute innocent voice
of Fatimoh, Mama Ruka’s last child who sat
beside her mother, her arms on her laps.

“Mami, ebi n pa mi!”
Everyone turned to look in their direction,
waiting for Mama Ruka’s response.

Although Martins wasn’t very proficient at
speaking Yoruba, he had an ear for the
language. The girl had simply told her
mother she was hungry. He watched as the
cute little child with chubby cheeks stared
up at her mother, waiting for her to
respond. Unfortunately, Mama Ruka was
too consumed with grief to attend to her
daughter’s needs. They had lost virtually
everything and were left with only the
clothes on their back, a travelling box
containing only God knows what and the
generator on which her husband sat on.
“Mami, ebi n pa mi!” Fatimoh prodded
again, her brows furrowed with what he
would call a frown if she were an adult.

Since she was a little child, it looked like she
wanted to cry.

Mama Ruka burst into tears, activating her
daughter’s tear gland as well. Fatimoh
wailed suddenly, frightened by her mother’s
reaction. A neighbor quickly picked up the
girl and pacified her but it was to no avail.

The girl kept weeping and the more she
wept, the more Mama Ruka wept. The
neighbor decided to take her home and
feed her, suggesting that the familiar faces
of her siblings and other children who had
been moved away from the compound
during the fire outbreak would also have a
calming effect on her.

Although Mama Ruka’s response was
alarming, it was understandable. How did
she begin to explain to her little baby that
they had no food, that things would most
likely be difficult for a while, that life as they
knew it would change until they were able
to get back on their feet? Children were
supposed to be shielded from such things,
having no worries or responsibilities but in
an economy like Nigeria’s and in a world
were nothing was fair, there was no
avoiding it.

Matins sighed again, feeling sober from his
thoughts and was about to sit down beside
Deji when, Mama Nkiru stood up from
where she sat and marched straight to
Temisan who was being comforted by
Comfort. As if watching an action movie,
she pushed Comfort aside unceremoniously
and landed Temisan a slap. It was Temisan’s
cry of pain that loosened their immobility
but before they could get to them, Mama
Nkiru had landed the girl another slap and
Temisan had reacted by grabbing her buba
and biting her. Temisan’s teeth were still
stuck in Mama Nkiru’s arm when they tried
to separate the two women.

“Ye! Ye! Ye!” Mama Nkiru cried out in pain
as they managed to pry Temisan off her.
“Do you want to bite her arm off?” Chris
demanded in exasperation, glaring at
Temisan

“Don’t look at me like that o! Don’t look at
me like that!” Temisan stated in a defensive
tone. You did not ask her why she slapped
me?! Why would she slap me?! What did I
do?” she cried out, venting at Mama Nkiru
who was examining the mark she left on
her arm. “I’m not Comfort that you think
you can just beat o!” she addressed Mama
Nkiru as she folded her arms across her
chest in a defensive stance
“Are you not the one that started the fire?!”
Mama Nkiru accused, her voice filled with
anger and bitterness

“Who started the fire?!” They all turned at
the sound of the Landlord’s voice as he
stormed into the compound. “Ori iya mi o!”
he stated as he stared at what was left of
his house. “Who burnt down my house?”
he demanded in anger as he stared at his
tenants.