Episode 3
There was a giant screen in the TV studio.
After the commercial break, the image of an old house appeared on the screen. It looked like some village house from the 19th Century – rusted corrugated iron sheets, sun-dried bricks that showed age and the effects of harsh weather, and a tree in the middle of the compound that looked a million years old.
All eyes were on Ola.
After a few pleasantries from the Talk Show host, she had the floor. Clearing her throat, Ola began.
Twenty-three years ago, in a dusty village in the outskirts of the now Lagos Metropolis, Jegede and his wife had a baby girl. Newborn babies are ever a source of joy and celebration anywhere in this world. Ola’s birth was no different. Welcoming newborns in Africa is always about cooking, eating, singing, dancing, and celebrating. So the same ceremony was performed for Ola, and she was named. Her father worked in a wood factory in the city, and her mother lived with her grandmother, Ola’s great granny, in this same house on the giant studio screen.
After the celebration of the newborn, Jegede left for the city early the following morning, accompanied by his wife. She was going to buy provisions for the family, especially the newborn. Family members who had attended the naming ceremony of Ola were still in the compound. Smoke rose to the sky as some pots were still simmering on the fire with food for relatives and well-wishers who could not make it to the ceremony the previous day. A few village musicians with incredible vocal acrobatics and dexterous playing of the talking drums performed a few tunes to the delight of the older women who wriggled their frail bodies as they reminisced over their youthful days.
Then, Jegede’s cousin Lamide arrived with the shocking news. A passenger vehicle had collided with a fast-moving train at a railway crossing along Otta Road. All passengers died. The fast-moving train was traveling to the inner city from the neighboring Ogun State.
Ola’s parents died in the crash.
(to be continued)
Ola was and is an avid reader. What about you? What have you been reading lately? Editors all over the world suggest books that matter to those who wish to improve their lives. Here is one of such books. Click here.
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