Story of a Survivor - Season 1 - Episode 47

5 years ago

Story of a Survivor - Season 1 - Episode 47

What? He exclaimed; what a talent you have got; mummy called me “Iyawo mi” (My Wife) for the first time that night. Don’t worry my daughter she said; we shall come to that igbo land and eat Akpu and bitter leaf soup.

We went to Church on Sunday; mummy, cladded in one of her new dresses went out for every alter call, every offering and donations; she represented dancing and displaying as she went to the Alter each time. After the Church service,
five of Mummy’s friends came to the House with Fabrics to sew designs of my choice for them.

They each paid eight hundred naira to mummy.

Mummy had told them that I sew for three
thousand naira each in Enugu but she could
persuade me to sew for them at eight hundred naira only.

In two days their Clothes were ready,
but as they came for collection, they brought
more fabrics and more women with fabrics to
sew. It was captain that eventually told Mummy that I did not come to Ife to work but to rest.

He told her not to bring any more Clients to me.

Mummy finally brought twenty thousand naira to me as amount realized from the Clothed I
sewed.

I told her to keep the Money but Captain snatched the money from her as she was about to hid it in her wrapper; he shared the money into two and gave her one part. I later saw the second half in my Purse.

We had spent over one week at Ife, I cruised the ancient town in Company of captain and his friends, such a town with ancient civilization, most of the houses were Bungalows, with brown rusty roofing sheets. They live a communal life
style with houses clustered together, only few
modern houses were fenced.

The people are very polite, the number of people I greeted so far surpassed the whole greetings I have uttered in my entire life, and my knee cap was bruised and aching.

The Idowu family is a big and popular
one, and all the places we went, they could smell a stranger from a mile.

An elderly woman once saw me and asked if it
true that the Igbos eat human beings.

I told her it was an old fable, but Captain told her something in Yoruba and the Women fled
shouting Mogbe! Mogbe! (I am in trouble!) I
asked him what he told her and he said he told
her to be watchful of me that I had told him that her arms look appetizing.

I laughed my heart out.

Another Woman asked me if it is true that the
igbos eat stone and do not drink water after the meal.

I told her that it is a matter of choice, just
like the yoruba’s love their Amala soft, the igbos like their fufu hard.

I told her I personally do not
like to eat too hard food.

Someone also asked me to explain why the igbos love money too much, she said a rich dead igbo man could be brought back to life if new naira notes are taken to his nose!

I laughed my hearts out at all their
theories of the igbo people.

The problem is that most of them have not
travelled to the east. There were so many old
people in Ife, walking aimlessly about visiting
relations and spreading rumour round the town.

They have first hand information at hand and
have ideas to contribute to every subject they
hear people discussing. They would stare at me inquiringly till I would retreat into the house
because I do not understand the Yoruba
language so as to avoid imminent questions from them.

Dupe came around on our tenth day in Ife, no
one was at home except me and Granny, and I
guess she must have known that I was at home alone with Granny.

I knew it was her immediately she stepped into the House. I was cleaning the
sitting room then, she sauntered towards me and eyed me from head to toe, she hissed and went into the kitchen, and she came out and went to
other rooms calling out Ayo’s name. She went again into the Kitchen and came out with a plate of steaming hot Jollof rice I had just cooked; she went to the dining and started to eat. I left the
sitting room and went to sweeping the Balcony.