Chapter Eleven
Olumide’s mind felt an unusual calm. He felt for the first time since he came home an ability to focus, on the farmer’s cooperative annual festival and the people who seemed determined that farming was that elevated calling designated to them. He thought in their own specific way they had qualities which made them unique. He pictured each one in his mind, trying to imagine seeing them again at the farmer’s council meeting.
Vice Chairman – Yomade Oshinkanlu
He is affectionately referred to as “Baba Olomi”, “father who gives water to drink”, a name he acquired because he unlike other farmers not only grew food or raised live stock, no he had an additional edge, he devoted almost three plots on his land to water conservation using aluminum water tanks to store clean drinking water for resale to his neighbors. His wells were dug to an unusually lengthy depth, allowing a constant flow of soft, better tasting water. And during hunting season his games were equally spectacular, but his frame said a lot him. Almost 6ft, very nimble, he is said on many occasions to have defied the king’s order, and is said to be a man impossible to arrest. When the king’s royal guards were sent to arrest him, they went home empty handed. They reported he was always on either their opposite side behind or ahead of them. Once he seen standing on one of his wells, an attempt to apprehend him there would mean a venture that would have sent the guards to the bottom of the well. Hence when he referred to “not-arrest able” there is total acquiesce or agreement.
Treasurer
Mr. Subulola Ijadola – (“leave the fight for tomorrow”)
The treasurer, a man of immense exuberance. It was once said that he got into an argument with an old friend and the dialogue which started late in the morning did not end until his wife came to tell him “dinner was ready’. Hence no one was eager to enter into argument with the most stubborn man in Ipetu Ijesha; his stubbornness never stopped his crops from yielding brilliantly every year, his tenacity proved to be a valuable asset in tenaciously pruning the soil and managing his farm, that he wasted nothing, seed, manure and waste.
He used everything on his farm to add to his harvest and his farm profit. Although he was no accountant, he was shrewd enough to not let any-thing, not even the smallest “kobo”, (penny) go unaccounted for. He is also reported to be invaluable in creative ideas to increase event funding.
Event Organizer – Wale Oladore
If you place a cup on the event organizers table and you slanted it towards the seat besides him, he would most likely re-adjust it to face himself. If you went to his farm, his ridges were in such a straight line that it appeared to have been each individually cordoned by a straight edge ruler. He is rumored to place all his shoes in a straight line according to color. He had a hair style; an afro with a line right smack in the middle of his head. He never slouched, when he sat or walked, he was in-deed a man of extreme order. He is reputed to have served in the king’s court many years as a military chief and special office for the king’s guards. He remains amongst one of the kings most trusted advisors. His attention to detail works in his favor every time the harvest market sales season arrived.
His stalls was ready first, and his produce were most attractively arranged and organized and event after event after many harvests and the other farmers began to copy him, he always found a way to show them up as a little shoddy or sloppy in the way their stalls were arranged and their produce displayed. Hence when completion time arrived and a prize winning was approved by the farmers’ association for the ‘most attractive and orderly produce display’, everyone in the farmers’ association unanimously concluded that the event organizer was the stall to beat.
Club Announcer – Leke Elemosho
If the secretary was considered sly, the clubs announcer could be considered difficult to explain. A man of many talents he had the ability to speak for long periods of time without break in stride or change to his theme. He has been found on many occasions to be accurate not only in details of speech but in historical quotations.
Always cheerful with a deep slippery accent unmistakably Ijesha, yet with a hint of Ijebu accent. Rumor has it that the Ijebu accent crept involuntarily into his tongue because, although he was a very successful farmer, he is exceptional frugal, and it was nature playing tricks on him, to show him up as a miser. Folklore claimed that one of the natural traits of a genuine Ijebu indigene is extreme frugality.
Never short on anecdotes, you could ask him into a gathering filled hostility and in a short while the temperature would be as though it was summertime. In short he always found a way to ease tensions, but never deviated from speaking only the ‘official truth’ and nothing but the ‘official truth’, whether the ‘official truth’ was fact or fiction or a composition of both!
The Secretary – Egbesanmi Ijadoye
A man as black as charcoal; about 5ft, 9inc; with a deliberate hesitation in his voice, giving an illusion of actual hesitation. A very successful farmer churning out year after year bountiful specialty produce; It is said that he had a secret combination of seeds that produced sweet yams and once you’ve tasted them you will want no other sweet yam from the other farmers and you will be compelled to buy in bulk from him to last all year. He is reputed to be very sly, the first to achieve monopoly contract rights with the kings court for 3 surrounding towns, and it is rumored that he is in secret dialogues with two additional towns. He had a signature cap built specifically for him, it had an elongated top like a drooping sack, which when worn, will naturally tilt to any side you push it to. If he tilted it to the front of it will most certainly touch his nose, if he tilted it backwards’ it will touch his shoulders, if he tilted it sideways it will caress his chin and his shoulders. His associate’s sometime remark that the base of the cap must contain a secret pouch filled with special seeds.
The secretary finished elementary school 4th in the entire school and received the highest credits for soil and seed care, and civic studies in the entire town. His father insisted he finished elementary school despite his early grasp of farm management and mature work ethic.
Walking confidently with his shoulders and chest out high, with measured steps that seemed to confirm to himself that he owned the very earth he walked, or that he controlled the very air that flowed through the flowing ‘Agbada’ (men’s gown) which he wore this glorious day, arriving for the farmers conference, spotting one of his signature caps, today he had pulled it towards his right ear and it gently caressed his ear touching his neckline as he floated into the room. His shoes were spotlessly polished and sparkled in the sunlight.
The farmer’s council began; Olumide was introduced although he needed no such introduction, to them or from them. This was his first ever meeting with the council, as they began discussing the annual festival, he saw they had not changed over the past year, it was as though he had left a class room with unceasing activities; only to return to meet the activities continuing with all the students in their places. He accepted his role in the festival as a ‘special committee member’, required to review plan for a special soccer, to select the teams and it’s members, to meet and discuss with members of each opposing team, to determine whether they will be available, to propose the type of awards for the event, to discuss the cost of such awards.
He was selected they claimed because he was a valuable member of their community, much liked and the unanimous choice with highest potential, they believed, they concluded that he would produce an extremely successful event.
Olumide had not seen or spoken to any of his teammates or old classmates since early September of 1957. Now summer was almost over he remembered the lost match between his school and the Ifewara modern school. His team had been eager to play in the last series of matches before the end of school term and graduation. There were so much track and field events happening after final exams, between graduation, county championships, and his entry into the country’s senior athletic track events that the entire season was a blur.
His coach had claimed they would need all the skills they were acquiring after graduation and that a football match or an athletic event and all the training on and off the field will ultimately pay off on the field and in life after school. He thought for a moment how had allowed himself to be distracted and carried in a different direction, immediately after graduation.
What would have happened to his aspirations or goals had he decided not to go through with that failed plan, or in hindsight very fool-hardy plan. ‘Where would his friends be now? He wondered..
The sun was beginning to shine through the curtains and the house was beginning to heat up. He began to get ready trying to remember where his team members lived. He went into the shed and rolled out his bike, jumped on it and began gradually pedaling down the narrow street. H e almost stumbled on the pavement in front of his uncle’s house; he kept pedaling until he entered the street before ‘ori-ade’ street heading towards the market square. He decided that since he had not heard from any of his old class mates in almost a year or more, hell find his best friend and together they could try finding the others. He was he could not have lost touch and could make his search quicker and less time consuming.
He was actually enjoying this mornings ride, little sweats was beginning to trickle down his back, and he turned left to ‘ilogbo’ street, the street had not changed in any way except the roads were a little quiet, and children most of them were in school or on the farm or the open market with their parents. A few shirtless children playing in the yards, he packed his bike on the wall and called out to his friend, no one answered, he waited for a minute and called out again, he heard some rustling and heavy footsteps. Baderu Oredoba, his friend’s mother Mrs. Ireti Oredoba a towering matron came to the door.
Quickly recognizing Olumide, and now almost totally overwhelmed by a flurry of emotions suddenly rushing upon her seemingly from nowhere. She remembered the sadness they had all felt when his mother died and the dejection they when they heard he had run away from home. Poor Mr. Ajigbotinu, they had seen him struggle with the looses, it had affected the volume and the quality of his produce. But here was Olumide, she masked all those flurry of thoughts and emotions with such a big smile, so wide that even she forgot about them momentarily, ‘Olumide! Oma to jo meta, kilowa se ti oo fi yoju siwa lati joo yii? Baba re nko? (Olu, it has certainly been a while, why have you not visited us for such a long time? Are you well? Welcome! Is your father well?) Olu who was not expecting to find her at home smiled and said ‘Ema binu pe, mi o tii waa kii yin’, Alafia ni mo wa, Alafia ni baba mii wa, nje Kayode wa ni le? (Do not be upset that I have not come to visit in a while, I am well and my father is in good health. Is Baderu home? “O lo si ile Kayode, ohun ati Baderu lojoo loo, oye ki o pada de ni bii wakati kan, ounje wa, kilo fe je? (‘he is visiting Kayode, he went with Baderu, he should be back in about an hour, would you like to eat something?) ‘Mo mo ile Kayode ati Baderu, maa kuku lobaa nibe, ebi otii pa mi, mo jeun laaro yi’ ( ‘I know where they live, I will go find them there, I ate this morning before I left home mama I don’t need anything to eat right now’) ‘Odara, maa gbagbe lati waa ki wa laipe. (‘That’s all right don’t forget to come visit us soon’) Olumide’s first visit to one of his friends had proven to be a positive one; he relaxed a little as hopped on his bike and began pedaling to Baderu’s house. From Baderu’s house it should take another 4.5minutes to pedals since it would have taken him at least 15minutes if he had gone directly from home. he got to Kayode’s house and found Baderu and Daramola outside the house, they looked up as his bike kicked down the road from their seats on the pavement in front of the house they both got up as if they were not sure if to believe it was really him.
He got to them in time to see the questions on their faces gradually replaced by friendly smiles now that they saw it was really Olumide, he was equally glad he found them. They were curious to know where he had been through the past year. He confirmed some of their rumors, he had been in Lagos, he returned almost a week ago, and no he does not want to talk about the details, Baderu his best friend, still upset he was not informed of the sudden departure but eager to forgive knowing how close he was to his mother and how her death must have been devastating for him, did not press him further for details. Since most of his friends were farmers children with a common dilemma of choice, to work with their parents or abandon the family farm and find a different occupation. They knew each one of them may have made the same decision Olumide had made, hence they showed a common feeling of acceptance. After informing them of the dates of the farmer’s conference and his new role, Olumide quickly began to itemize the requirements for the events for which he would be responsible.
He requested information on the name in his list, for the two teams who will be competing in the festival. As he said the players names, he listened to them rattle off updates on each name called, regarding their location and the possibility their being available for the match. Also he asked for suggestions on the disk journeys and the going rate for a days outing. They narrowed the disk jockey names to three and gave the task of calling on them to Daramola while Olumide and Baderu set out to find the 26 members of the two soccer teams to get them to agree to playing at the festival.
Gradually Olumide drifted to sleep, the sun rose gently boldly piercing through the few lingering traces of darkness, washing the skyline with brilliant rays of light showering the trees with warmth, asserting itself, here, there and everywhere it found an available space, crevice or void space, gently pushing, now kicking, NO forcefully telling the moon time is up!
Olumide woke up to a bright day, he squinted as he swung out of bed, his feet firmly planted on the floor a like a million other early risers that glorious day. This morning was different from the night before, he sat for a while recollecting his experience from the day before. Thinking now about his tasks for this day, he got on his feet and opened the window, pushing it out towards the yard, the farm dry air washed over his face, now he was awake. Putting on a light cream long sleeve shirt, he went about getting ready for this afternoons meeting to plan for Saturdays game.
Mr. Ajigbotinu was to meet with the full membership of the festival committee at noon, Olumide asked to be excused and for him to be informed of the results of the meeting at the end of the day. He told his father he had to get two teams ready for Saturday morning. Mr. Ajigbotinu’s thoughts were totally occupied, hence he had no time to query Olumide or object to his absence at the very first reconvening of the celebration committee. “Odara, maa ja fara, a o sit un ma rira too ba pada dele lale yii (Very well do not delay, we shall talk again tonight when we return.
Olumide stepped out into the bright sunlight the street greeting him with a gust of dusty wind as a truck lumbered down the road, he held his breath for a while, then pushed his bike out, hopped on his seat and pedaled down towards Ilogbo Street.
He weaved through the bumpy roads avoiding pebbles and pot-holes, until he got onto ilogbo rd and his pace picked up along with a smoother road and much faster traffic, he pedaled for a while in long strides as he maintained his place in traffic and exited onto afolayan street where Baderu lived. He saw the brown reddish mud and the spiked wooden fence, the gate almost out of its hinge, he came to a halt jumping off the bike and parking it on the side of the fence in one motion without any sign of being in a hurry. He called out to Baderu who responded: ‘Come through the gate to the yard behind the house, and I will be out soon’, Daramola came out after a while calling out to Olumide “You are the first one here, the others should start getting here soon, Daramola was concerned that he was yet to get the result of the placement exam, he took along with many other students who had studied very hard, to enter the vocational boys school Ipetu, they had expected the results to be out within 2 weeks but the results had not yet been released four weeks after, this was now the end of the fifth week and the results weren’t available yet. Olumide listened reluctantly inputting a comment here and there and trying his best to appear supremely attentive and eventually he said, “I hope the results are released soon” The vocation school entrance exam was an esteemed goal for many students who wanted to advance their learning.
Baderu and Olumide often made fun of students who could not wait to be done with school, “Perhaps what they lack in knowledge they’ll make up for in children, ‘Perhaps’ continued Baderu laughing uncontrollably, “Perhaps they’ll stop at thirteen children’, since his own parents had seven children, and he often complained lightheartedly that they ate all the food before he could get any, hence he is thin like a pencil’, Perhaps the hunger in their household from in-adequate food will force the children to plan early to fend for themselves by going to school, learning a vocation and escaping a cycle of destitution.
Baderu asked Olumide if he wanted a drink and he responded “No, perhaps after the meeting with the guys and they’ve completed the respective team selection list, they all can have a drink? ‘Besides, said Olumide, I am trying to never allow myself to be so happy that I loose focus’. The first group of players finally began arriving in threes, and twos and some by themselves. Olumide raised his voice telling the guys how thankful he is that they responded to his invitation and saying he was very happy to see them again after almost a year, he had a critical piece of information and wanted them to take this information seriously. He had received a confirmed promise from the vocational boys school, that 4 full school scholarships and two half scholarships will be awarded immediately after the competition.
“Since we have short notice I have paired you based on the jersey’s you already have and that means you have played together before’. The committee will have a gift for each player after the competition in addition to the scholarships; ‘You will have food at the festival, I hope you will arrive on time for the warm up on Friday, at 4 pm’. ‘I will try to get coach Olalekan to help; I am really glad to see you guys, if you want let’s meet at soji’s bar when you leave here, and yes the drinks are on the council’. In conclusion he wanted them to have a really good game, have a lot of fun playing the game they love. As he spoke he handed each one a hand written note with each of their names, the teams they have been assigned to and the position they will play.
The yard now numbered almost 23, as he handed the note to the last player, he asked if anyone had a questions before he continued. Baderu the forward defense said, “Do you know who does the selection? No I do not, but I am sure it would on recommendation from the farmer’s cooperative council”. As they both Baderu and Olumide got on their bike, Olumide told Baderu about the second list and said he hopes the second list comes out by Friday, so he can apply for the scholarship. Daramola’s girl is pregnant, if he gets a scholarship he would have gotten out of a huge jam. If he does not get to vocational school, he would be set back at least six years, he may never be able to get any more schooling’. Olumide really felt equally surprised and enlightened; Daramola had been completely intense when he talked about the scholarship’.
“At the bar Olumide told ‘Soji’ ‘give them any drinks they want, and I will pay for them’. Pausing for a while he ordered ‘Ipekere (fried unripe plantain) with malt, it was almost 6pm when Olumide got home. Mr. Ogunbeshin announced that her visit to the girls special education school on Thursday “I got a call’, says Mr. Ogunbeshin ‘from inspector Latman to get the girl, I will leave early in the morning and on my way back I will stop over at the girls special vocational school’. I want you to focus on the competition, and make a success of it, I am depending on you. This year’s event will be better because of the soccer match and your input’.
“Oh, I see when will you be back? ‘I will try to return the same day’. Said Mr. Ogunbeshin, ‘My greetings to Tinuke’, responded Olumide
Mr. Ogunbeshin squinted as the first rays of sunlight starred directly into his eyes, shifting his right hand away from the steering, momentarily grabbing the wheel with his left hand he pulled down his overhead visor, shielding the distraction and refocusing on the road and holding firmly to the wheel as he glanced at the dashboard, he increased speed to his limit 65 ph, As the outlines of the village receded into the background behind him. He would be talking to inspector Latman and inspector Clive in a few hours. The city was now completely awake and teeming with school kids on the way to school, workers heading to the bus stations or to local businesses, or factories.
The time on the dashboard read 9.27 am, he had been on the road slightly over three hours. He was now less than six minutes away from the police administrative offices, he exited onto the Ibepo expressway briefly, staying to the far right lane as he rapidly got close to the Ajeki and Awofa Intersection, watching over his shoulder for exiting and emerging traffic increasing and decreasing speed, noticing many nuances of this newly awakened town; their apparent love for speed and the seeming deliberate attempt for everyone to occupy the first spot alone, he scratched his head briefly thinking “perhaps it’s the time of day, finally he exited about a mile after Ibepo road, driving slowly past a property that looked much like a depot, he saw the tall masts of the Nigerian Police force and that of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; their bright colors flapping rapidly in the morning wind. They were planted in a circular bed of grass in front of the building. This building was slightly larger than that from which he had picked up his son; the building painted in light brown, a solid concrete building with gleaming white lines at its base, it’s tall large windows had wide ocean green shutters. Several cars parked each side; he picked a spot and went in, heading to the front desk attendant.
