ONOME'S Tales........Episode 3

 Two weeks later , while Mrs Sylvia was sitting by the poolside sipping a glass of brandy and having a feel of the friendly weather ,she heard her phone ring, it was Mr Adetoye on the line, after exchanging pleasantries, he told Mrs Sylvia that he finally got Onome an admission into the Business Administration department in Unilag, she was so delighted to hear this and promised to get back to Mr. Adetoye ,She immediately called Onome and gave her the good news, Onome  was overwhelmed with joy ,it was like a dream come through for her, Onome was to start her registration process the following week .Clara feeling like someone who has Lagos in her palm started advising Onome about her mode of dressing, their conversation went thus;

Clara: Congrats oh… Madam talk say your admission don commot

Onome: Yes oh, all thanks be to God, I’m so glad

Clara: ehn you go try upgrade your dressing sha, nor go dull yourself for Unilag and this your hair, you go de fix Brazilian weave, just give yourself brain, that’s all.

Onome: Please Clara I am going to study, I am not going for fashion parade, as far as my hair is neatly done and the clothes I put on are clean, I don’t think I have issues with the way I look

Clara: If you say so oh, but me I trust my madam say she go arrange your life, before you fall her hand

Onome: (shakes her head and said to Clara) na u sabi

The following week Mrs Sylvia’s driver Tunde went to drop Onome in Mr. Adetoye’s office so she could start her registration process, during the registration she met a girl called Mimi, a girl who  was born and brought up in  Lagos, She helped Onome with some of the registration processes as she knows her way within the campus, her elder sister Edith graduated from UniLag.

At  about noon , they were both famished and  so they headed to the school cafeteria and had lunch, Onome had a soft drink alongside her food and Mimi decided to do a little bit of alcohol, they were done in about an hour, Mimi’s boyfriend came around in his G-wagon to get her home, so she offered to help Onome get home, but Onome refused insisting that her aunt’s driver would be coming around to get her, they laughed at her calling her names, she could care less about that, but when Mimi insisted , Onome gave her the address since she really doesn’t know her  way around Lagos, they took her home and met her aunt in front of the house on a call, immediately Mrs Sylvia saw Onome come down from the car, she hurriedly went close to the car in anger with her eyes speaking a thousand of words even before she could utter one and finally said;

   ‘Where exactly are you coming from ? Tunde is in your school and can’t find you, you also don’t know how to pick your calls or are you just being silly?’

Onome :(Onome was at this point perplexed and didn’t know which of her questions to answer first)  No aunty , I’m very sorry, my friends offered to take me home, and I didn’t even hear my phone ring, I’m so sorry ma.

At this point , Mimi and her Boyfriend ‘Richie ‘got down from the car and decided to make an apology on Onome’s behalf, but her aunt wouldn’t take any of that , so they got into their car and went away.

Mrs Sylvia : have you ever heard of ritualist?

Onome: Yes ma

Mrs Sylvia : no I don’t think so, do you know them before ? you are being stupid , how can you possibly get into a strange car?

Onome: She’s my friend

Mrs Sylvia : Yea right ! Someone you just met today is your friend , you now have a friend that rides a G-Wagon? Do you think you are in the village? Since you don’t have common sense ,I think I now know how to handle you

                Mrs Sylvia walks away, Clara whispers to Onome through the window in the Kitchen…’come….come’

Clara: how far

Onome: About what? Look I’m not in the mood for anything funny

Clara: Relax! your blood too hot, how far that guy na? (Onome is astounded) that car mehnnnnn…..nor be lie!

Onome: hey, stop getting funny ideas, I don’t know him, it’s the girl I know, and that’s her boyfriend

Clara: all join, if your friend bobo get that kain car, na him be say your own go soon happen

Onome: Clara I don’t understand all of these!

Clara : hmmm, ok , make I speak better English, what I’m trying to say is that ,the guy looks cool, and if that’s his car, he’s is a big boy, my point exactly is that the guy has friends doesn’t he?

Onome : maybe, but  like I said ,I really don’t know him

Clara: Relax! My only advice is that you reason like a Lagos girl

Onome: I am still a village girl, who just got to Lagos to pursue her dreams, so don’t push it

Clara: Na so!( laughs so loud) Village girl wen don de enter G-Wag

Onome: Aunty called it G-Wagon not G-Wag

Clara: all join, as far as G de the matter.

Four weeks later, Onome was settled in school, she comes home only on weekends , her aunt had made sure she got a hostel accommodation so she can concentrate on her studies and not bother facing the stress that comes with Lagos traffic daily , there were various welcome parties for the new students , Mimi made sure she dragged Onome along to almost all of it, Onome at this point was already losing focus, Mimi got her new clothes as she could not bear the thought of Onome  attending parties with her in her numerous Cinderella gowns.

     After a while Mimi introduced Onome to Richie’s friend called Alex, who works in an oil and gas company in Portharcourt, but was only in Lagos because he had a training to attend for a week, Onome was shy as she never had a male friend, But Mimi went on with the introduction, Mimi was shocked that Onome wasn’t ecstatic when she in the process of introducing Alex made mention of where he works, the point is Onome doesn’t really know what it takes to work in an oil and gas company(financially). Onome and Alex exchanged numbers and the following day had a dinner date,Mimi promised to go along with Onome,but at about 6.30pm the next day, Mimi called Onome that she had to run home as she got an urgent call from her  folks at home, Onome was a bit disappointed and decided to call Alex to tell him she was no longer coming, but No! Alex is one of those guys who wouldn’t take NO for an answer and told Onome that he would be there in fifteen minutes to get her……..they got to a Chinese restaurant somewhere on Awolowo road in Ikoyi…..

Onome's tales.......Episode two

It was sunny when they arrived Lagos. The sound from the cars on the road was deafening , and a mass of commuters were struggling to find a way out of the traffic…. The taxi driver manoeuvred his way until he got to Marina where Onome marveled at the tall buildings that lined the road. “Is it oyinbo people who built theses houses?” she asked Mrs. Sylvia. Mrs Sylvia smiled and said ‘for some, Yes.’ In fifteen minutes, they were home…..Onome was ushered into the house by the maid called Clara, from Akwa Ibom. That evening   while serving dinner, Clara served Onome alcoholic wine; Mrs Sylvia was too busy with her food to notice Clara’s mistake, and Onome feeling like she just had a taste of heaven ate all she was given. when Mrs Sylvia commended her for finishing all she was served, she said ‘ah thank you aunty, you know it is only a visitor who loves you that leaves the plate she was served with empty ‘ ,this gave Mrs Sylvia a good laugh, Onome slept well that night  and found it difficult to get out of bed the following morning., Her aunt had to go check on her to ensure she was okay, and it was then Clara opened up that it was probably the drink she had at dinner yesterday.  Mrs Sylvia was furious and warned Clara not to ever give Onome alcoholic drink until she approved of it.

Two weeks later, Mrs Sylvia was due to take a trip to Dubai. Before travelling she handed over Onome’s O’level results to her friend who works in University of Lagos, Mr. Adetoye, to help with the painstaking admission process. She left for Dubai instructing Onome to heed to Clara’s advice as she was older and more accustomed to Lagos., Onome nodded, and agreed to do all she was instructed to do. Clara who is a beautiful lady had a short temper and stammered. She also had a boyfriend, Titus, who comes to see her when Mrs Sylvia travels. Two days after Mrs Sylvia left for Dubai, Titus came to see Clara, who served him with Mrs Sylvia’s choicest wine and made him a delicacy of his choice. Onome saw Titus and they exchanged pleasantries. She thought he was one of the boys who worked for her aunt, but became suspicious because of the way Clara hosted  him. when she  asked Clara who he was, she told her  he was one of the people working for her aunt at her site .Onome smiled and thought to herself, ‘ I might be a village girl, but I have common sense’.

Mrs Sylvia returned a few days later, Onome was glad as she had a lot to disclose to her aunt.) Clara and Onome helped her unpack  and she afterwards sent Clara to the market to get a few things.,While Clara was away, Onome told her aunt about Titus’s visit.  At the mention of the wine, Mrs Sylvia rushed to the living room, she was furious!When Onome noticed the change of her countenance she immediately knelt down to beseech her not to allow Clara know she told her. Mrs Sylvia told Onome to calm down as she was adult enough to handle the situation without getting Onome involved. She gave Onome some things she got for her and told her to keep an eye on Clara anytime she was out of the house. Onome looked at the clothes her aunt bought for her, they were all revealing. She said ‘thank you ma, but I am not used to wearing such’. Her aunt laughed and asked her not to worry as that’s the way people in Lagos dress. She reluctantly accepted them and went to her room to try them on. An hour later Clara got back from the market and Mrs Sylvia asked her to serve that particular wine during lunch, Clara became jittery knowing very well that her boss will notice the reduction in the wine, she suggested to her boss to try a new wine she got on her birthday recently. Mrs Sylvia insisted on that wine and when Clara brought the wine, she asked her to explain why the it had reduced so much.Clara was scared, she  couldn’t utter a word.  “ Do you now drink Clara?” Mrs. Sylvia asked her. “No ma”…… Clara answered. Mrs Sylvia called out ….O.N.O.M.E…….!

Did you drink out of this wine in my absence?

Onome answered, “No aunty, I didn’t”

Mrs Sylvia asked Onome to go back to her room. Before she could say a word, Clara went on her knees confessing that she was the one who drank the wine. Irritated to some extent,Mrs Sylvia asked her how she managed to consume such  a large quantity of alcohol as she always took a little when she was offered.

‘Madam, that day I was just tired and didn’t know that I consumed that much’, Clara said

You mean you drank this (showing her the bottle) all alone?, Mrs Sylvia asked.

: Ok, madam the truth is that my cousin came to visit me and I gave him a little, she answered

Really? You now have a cousin in Lagos that I don’t know about? Your parents didn’t tell me that when I took you from Uyo!, Mrs Sylvia responded, getting angrier.

Yes ma I have a cousin in Lagos, Clara responded.

Very well Clara, I will deduct this from your monthly allowance.

Later that evening, Onome decided to act the ‘dumb fox’)while  she and Clara were cleaning the kitchen.,Clara asked Onome if she told her aunt about Titus’s visit, Onome told her she didn’t  and went on to say ‘ of what use is it telling her, you said Titus works for aunty , so I’m sure aunty knows he would be here ‘  Clara smiled  and said to Onome ‘ we could be best of friends you know?

 Onome: (looks away) we already are….

Onome's tales.......Episode One

Episode One.

 

In a village on an island the atmosphere was serene as the trees, tall and lush with foliage, swayed in the gentle breeze and the lovely birds   sang gloriously the tales  of the beauty of our motherland ‘AFRICA’.  The village was home to  a great number of families whose main occupation was fishing.

Amongst these families was the family of Mr and Mrs Freeman, who are blessed with three children, a girl and two boys. Onome, the first girl and child, and the boys IK , and  Cole. Mr Freeman was a very hardworking fisherman; Though he was uneducated and earner so little, he worked so hard to ensure Onome and her brothers were enrolled in school. Mrs Freeman was equally supportive, smoking the fish caught by her husband for sale in the village market. ,The Freeman’s were known  throughout the entire village for their hard work.

A while later  Onome’s father  took ill. With the meagre savings they had he was taken to the hospital, but after two weeks the wicked claws of death snatched Mr Freeman. The entire village came to sympathise with mama Onome and her children, bringing food stuffs and money to help the family.

Life was not the same anymore after the death of Mr. Freeman. The following year, Onome sat for her O ‘level exams and came out with distinctions. For Mrs. Freeman it was a mixture of joy and sadness; she had prayed secretly that Onome would not pass the exams this year so she could have more time to look for funds for her University education, since she already passed the University Matriculation Exams. Onome would cry all day and refuse to eat, knowing that her mother couldn’t afford to fund her education. Mama Onome too became more anxious seeing her daughter in so much pain and developed high blood pressure. She could not bear to lose her only daughter after losing her darling husband. With the help of a few respected villagers like elder John and Godspower  who were invited to speak with Onome, she was able to pacify her only daughter. “One day”, Onome consoled herself, “just one very good day, I, Onome will become a graduate”.

Onome joined her mother in the fish business so as to help  pay her younger brothers’ school fees and also cater for the family’s needs. Mama Onome was glad to see Onome happy again, as with each passing day she blossomed into a lovely young lady.  Soon,  many men in the village started asking for Onome’s hand in marriage, but she refused. She was determined to further her education before getting married, no matter how hard her mother tried to dissuade her.  “You no go marry one now wen your light de shine?”,  Mama Onome asked her daughter when  a rich farmer’s son proposed yet again.  But Onome stood her grounds and refused everyone.

Four months later, Onome’s second cousin Ego came to the village for her  traditional marriage. She lived in Lagos. The wedding  was such a huge event! Ego’s mother was a successful business woman who shuttled between Nigeria, Dubai and Italy. Onome was in her elements during the wedding, running around to make sure that everyone was satisfied. This pleased Mrs Sylvia and she asked Mama Onome if she could take Onome with her to Lagos so she could continue with her education. Mama Onome was delighted! This was  a huge relief to her, immediately she called Onome and asked her what she felt about Mama Ego’s proposal. “ Mama, na wa o!”, Onome retorted. “Wetin I think? Right now I nor de think, in fact I nor fit think, I don already reach Lagos as you see me so oh!” Mother and daughter embraced and wept tears of joy; Onome’s dream of going back to school was finally coming to pass.

Two days later Onome was packed and ready to go to Lagos. But alas,  she was going to fly – she had never entered a plane before! She became so nervous and begged to travel by road. “You will be fine, Onome. I will be by your side”, Mrs Sylvia assured her. But Onome was not convinced.  Ego had to threaten her, “If you travel by road you will not return to school”, before the poor village girl agreed to go to the airport with Mrs Sylvia.They arrived Lagos in an hour ……

Introducing ONOME'S Tales....

Hello everyone,

Its been a while, sure you are all doing great, for people who sent me mails to check on me, i say THANK YOU!. Y'all should get ready as a new storyline is due to be out this week.....Oh yes its going to be interesting, its titled DIARIES OF ONOME......../


Watch out for this space!!!

Corper Kofo.....episode 25

Yomi has been avoiding my call, sms….he’s just been so quiet on me. Every attempt to reach him has proved abortive. I was at sahad stores last Thursday and I ran into an old friend of mine by name Didi.

Kofo: hallo dearie

Didi: woah Kofo, hi, how have you been? Missed you greatly, you are not looking bad for a corper oh *smiles*

Kofo: thanks dear, so what brings you to Abuja?

Didi: here to see a friend, sup with OUR YOMI (yea, she emphasized the ‘our yomi’)

Kofo: he’s fine

Didi: well I was at oniru last week for a function and I saw Yomi with a lady, he was all over the lady, and it was obvious there was a lot than makes the eye, I am sorry, but I just felt you deserve to know what your man has been up to, Kofo you deserve to know the truth.

Kofo: Thanks dear, on the other hand I think I deserve what Yomi is doing to me

Didi: how do you mean?

At this point I broke into tears quietly, Didi helped me downstairs where we got a taxi that took us to a close by eatery in area 11, we sat and talked, I told her everything, she blamed me and actually told me I was at fault. So she collected Yomi’s mobile number and dialled using her phone immediately, as soon as the call went through ,a lady picked the phone and told Didi to call back that Yomi was in the shower, Didi and I put 1 and 1 together to make 11 not 2 this time. 15minutes later I called Yomi using my phone and surprisingly he picked the call, and the conversation went thus;

Kofo, hello baby

Yomi; yea sup

Kofo: Yomi I know I have hurt you real bad, and I sincerely apologise for everything

Yomi: why are you apologising, has Mr. Osita abandoned you?

Kofo: baby you abandoned me, and it really makes me feel empty.

Yomi: Kofo you had a lot of time to make things right but you chose not to, you instead preferred to invest that time in Mr. Osita, so it’s cool. It’s really difficult trying to move on, I am trying and I advise you to do same.

…..Ends call!

The following week, the office approved a one week off duty for me to prepare for my POP, so I took the opportunity to travel to Lagos, on getting to Lagos I explained the whole issue to my parents who of course knows Yomi very well, condemned me for my actions, my dad was particularly disgusted by my actions and told me he wasn’t even going to talk to Yomi about anything and that I deserved all that Yomi is throwing at me. I immediately realised this is my cross and I had to bear it alone, I went to Yomi’s house, I couldn’t utter a word I broke into tears  and we just stood there staring at each other, Yomi’s mum noticed the tensed atmosphere and came by to talk to us both, so we sat and Yomi told his own part of the story ,when the mother asked if I had anything contrary to what Yomi has said I said ‘ No ma, I take responsibility for everything, it’s my fault and I sincerely apologise for everything’ She was kind of impressed and pleaded with Yomi to accept my apologies and left the two of us to talk, Yomi was still very angry at me that day, so I left .

The following day I was there again to plead with Yomi (this cross is a huge trunk of wood), He eventually accepted my apologies with the effort of his dad who was around to put in a few words for me. It was a huge relief to get my man back, woah; I will never get on Yomi’s nerves again…..Never!

Two day s later, Dotun (Yomi’s brother) organised a surprise dinner for Yomi and I, initially I thought it was just Yomi and I who were there, never knew a few friends and family were around, but were seated quite a distance from us, after dinner ,Yomi went on his kneels holding a ring and said these words;

Kofo Daniels, you have been a soul mate, it took us like forever to get to this point, at a point you left me and made me feel so empty, please do not leave me again, come and let’s build a home together, be the mother of my kids and be my wife, Kofo MARRY ME

Kofo: YES YES YES I WILL MARRY YOU

We hugged and Yomi kissed me passionately and then I heard people clapping, when I turned I saw our families and friends. It felt so amazing to get to this point, I am indeed glad and relieved.

The proper introduction is on the 15^th of June, 2013.

Yes Kofo is going to be saying I DO soon.

Thank you all for keeping up with Corper Kofo.

……..The end/

Corper Kofo....episode 24

I finally resumed work after my recovery..trust Mr. Osita to have butterflies in his stomach on seeing me, and he went ;

Mr. Osita: Hey

Kofo: Good morning Sir

Mr Osita: you're strong now?

Kofo: yes sir

then he whispered " i missed you " i just smiled.about an hour later he rushed downstairs and asked the customer service lady to call me, that we had to go to central area to see a client  and I'm like for God's sake i just got here today ,can't he make do with any other retail banking staff???? Well i didn't have a choice, i left with him ,i had actually taught it was just a client we were going to see but it ended up being three clients, well it was a tough day at about 1.30pm we were on our way back to the office , when he suggested we stopped by at Grandsquare, i objected but he insisted, so we did stop by to get snacks, oooohhh trust me i love my ice cream to have a lil bit  of whisky flavour(for all of you who do Grandsquare ice cream,sure you would know what i am talking about) so on our way out i was so carried away by my ice cream( the sun was showing off that day) that i almost slipped off the stairs and oops Mr. Osita grabbed me immediately (yea he did grab me in the awkward places) i was a bit embarrassed but yea well it did save me from falling, two minutes later Yomi's call came in and he started ranting;

 'where are you? and why the hell is he grabbing you that way'?
Kofo: Yomi,good afternoon

Yomi: whats good about an afternoon when a man is grabbing you in the most awkward places?

 Kofo: what is your problem? so you have people monitoring my activities now? would you have prefered i fell?

Yomi: Yes ,its better you fall than that idiot grabbing you.

Kofo: Yomi you're taking this too far

Yomi: oh really? ok picture this, you seeing me grab a lady with one hand on her chest and the other slightly above her ass

Kofo: Yomi you are pathetic!

Yomi: and you  are stupid to think that i worry too much

Kofo: i shouldn't be having this discussion with you, good day!

Mr. Osita seeing how i have been shouting , came closer and asked if i was alright .....of course i said yes.
On getting into the car istarted suspecting  Mr. Osita's driver (micheal),otherwise who would have done this BS, this got me thinking all day like WTH is this .
 On getting home, big mummy was waiting for me,she was really pissed ( having spoken with Yomi i guess) and immediately i got in i greeted ,the response i got was unusual,so i understood what was happening, she started by asking when last i spoke with Yomi, i told her i did today, and she said how did your discussion go? i said bad.....and she goes;

Big mummy : why would you allow a man grab  you in such a manner

Kofo: for Christ sakes... i was about falling and he helped me, it could have been another man who did,  but Yomi is so vexed because its Mr. Osita

Big mummy: Kofo you have to be careful, in a space of one month you have gotten on that boy's nerves like hpow many times?

Kofo: Big mummy  i wasn't counting

Big Mummy: oloshi ni ye oooo, is it something to be proud of?

Kofo: mabinu ma(I'm sorry ma/don't be angry)

Big mummy: you should really be careful, because you will be done with your NYSC in less than two months and we would want to eat yam(like their is no yam in the house to eat)

Kofo: yes ma.


........corper kofo continues....
A big thank you to all those who sent me mails yesterday , you all made my birthday wonderful, may you all have cause to celebrate in your lives.