Thorns In My Boot

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.