(For Dr. Pat Akinbola, Dr. Joe Musa, Mrs. Atinuke "Tina", Alex Nwokolo, Ireti, Mrs. Williams, Alphonso, Peter and all the beautiful and wonderful people of the Summer Holiday Programme of the Education Unit of the National Museum in Lagos, in 1980.)


It was about 29 years ago, but the images were vivid before him as he reflected on his life.
"Tina, tell him to stop frowning whenever he is shouting, he looks ugly whenever he does that" one of the younger teenage girls said.
Tina looked at Abba and shrugged. She knew why he was screaming at them during rehearsals.
He wanted the best acting on stage.
Abba overheard them, but he ignored them. He simply waved them off in dismissal. 
Tina understood him and that was all he cared about.
She was from Holy Child College and he was from St.Gregory's College in the same location in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The two secondary schools belonged to the same Roman Catholic Church in Nigeria and the pupils were regarded as a family. The boys from St. Gregory's College were called the brothers of the girls from Holy Child College.
Tina was playing the role of the leading lady as the wife of Abba in the play. They had a wayward son who was the subject of the drama, The Prodigal.  Abba wrote the play and he had been approved to produce and direct it by the Education Unit of the National Museum in Lagos. The play would be presented at the end of the holiday programme of the Education Unit.
Most of the youths participating in the holiday programme were pupils in secondary schools. They were taught drawing, painting, tie and dye textiel design, etching and printing-making, poetry, drama and music. Peter the young photographer would show them 16 mm Art documentaries in-between their their classes. Most of the tutors and facilitators were young graduates from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who were doing their service at the National Museum and some members of staff coordinated the programme.
Pat Akinbola was a young graduate from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria and Abba knew his younger brother who taught Fine Arts at the St. Gregory's College, Alphonso graduated from the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Ireti graduated from the same YABATECH and the fair and pretty Mrs. William was one of the first female students who studied painting at YABATECH. Joe Musa who was still at ABU was one of the youngest tutors. Some foreigners who were mostly Caucasian also participated in the programme. The holiday programme made the Education Unit a beehive of activities and everybody seemed excited. It was a summer to love.

Abba was among the best pupils in drawing, pastel painting, poetry and drama. The Radio Nigeria came and asked him to write a short radio play for broadcast and he wrote "The Unfaithful Citizen". The play was later broadcast on the Radio Nigeria Network Service. The Education Unit admired Abba and were always excited to introduce him to visitors.

Tina and Abba were very fond of each other and she hardly found any fault in him.
He was funny and witty and once he was not screaming his head off at the rehearsals.
She could defend him whenever the other members of the cast of The Prodigal complained about his harsh tone and contorted face. Two years ago, he was in the cast of the Nigerian version of the South African classic opera Ipi Tombi produced by St. Gregory's College and Holy Child College.

At the end of holiday programme, the Education Unit presented an Art Exhibition of the artworks of the participants and the premiere of The Prodigal  was successful. Alex Nwokolo was the star of the Art Exhibition and Abba was the star of the drama presentation. Henry Atenaga came and interviewed Abba on the play and his poetry for the Times International news magazine of the Daily Times of Nigeria. Pat Akinbola took Abba along to join his cast and crew for the production of the Puppet Drama series for the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Channel Ten on the Victoria Island in Lagos. At 17 he earned his first salary from the NTA. He gave the money to his beloved mother and she blessed him. But he had lost the friendship of his high school sweetheart Tina. He had screamed at her in the presence of her school mates at Holy Child College and they made fun of her. He did not even aplogize. She simply ignored him until four years later.

to b contd. . .

Moyola:

to b contd. . .

Yes.

when?

I am trying to remember the details of the what happened during the following years.

@ orikinla,
anytime i see ur post, i drop whateva am doing, go to my fridge, take 2 glasses of cold home made banana juice, come back to my sofa and have a good visualization of your story.

There is no day i neva yearned for more.
U RE GREAT!

Nice! Can't wait to read the rest of it.

yicob:

@ orikinla,
anytime i see your post, i drop whateva am doing, go to my fridge, take 2 glasses of cold home made banana juice, come back to my sofa and have a good visualization of your story.

There is no day i never yearned for more.
You RE GREAT!

I dey try to practice.
Practice makes perfect.

My grammar is still not perfect.

Summer 1984

Pat Akinbola forgot to introduce the elderly woman to Tina.
She left an hour ago before he remembered.
Tina would have loved to meet Abba's mother.
The poor woman had come to see him for Abba's earnings from the TV Puppet Drama. He gave her what he could give her and said he would give the rest to Abba.
The plight of the poor widow made him feel more compassion for Abba.
The young man had spent all his savings on his father's medical bills, but the old man still died last November and that was not only traumatic for Abba, but dashed his hopes of going to the College of Journalism in London.
"I want to follow in the footsteps of Ben Okri. He went to the College of Journalism and the University of Essex," Abba had told Pat with glints in his starry brown eyes.
That was before his poor father became ill and Abba had to withdraw thousands of naira from his bank to pay for his treatment at a private hospital in Surulere, Lagos. Then his father had to go to another hospital across the River Niger  near their state of origin.

When his mother told him how much Pat gave her, Abba sighed and felt like weeping, but he told his mother to use the money for the welfare of the bereaved family. God would provide more supplies for them.
He was at the National Museum the following day and looking so happy that the new participants of the holiday programme did not know that he was mourning.
He was entertaining the children and they were all over him.
Nnembueze sat on his legs and the others formed a crowd around him.
Fidelia and Bimbo were busy in the Art studio. Fidelia wanted to attract the attention of Abba, but he seemed ignorant of her. She was using her delicate hands to mould an object.
"Are you sure you can mould a fist?" Bimbo asked her.
"Watch me," Fidelia replied.
Bimbo grinned and turned her attention to her own interest, making tye and dye textile design.
They were both recent graduates of Queens College in Lagos and joined the holiday programme whilst waiting for their matriculation. Fidelia was  petite and dark skinned and Bimbo was healthily plump and not as dark as Fidelia. Fidelia loved wearing a blouse or shirt and blue denim pants with flat or low heel shoes whilst Bimbo loved wearing gowns or skirts with flat or low heel shoes. They were both attractive, but Abba had his eyes on Scholarstica.

Scholarstica should have been one of the older teens participating in the holiday programme, but she was posing and posturing as a big girl and only escorted her little brother to the programme and would wait for him at the reception of the Education Unit. She was dark and beautiful and dressed well like the typical Aje Butter, a delicate person from an Upper Class family.  She had class and Abba loved everything about her.
He politely told the children with him that he was not going far away and would be back soon. He took the copies of his American Right On  magazine and went to meet Scholarstica at the reception.
She was wearing a white silk gown and black high heel shoes. She sat cross-legged like a young lady of noble class and reading a book. Wow! Abba flashed a smile as he greeted her.
"You prefer to stay here?' Abba asked her.
She nodded politely and continued reading her book.
"Do you read Right On?" He asked and showed her the two copies in his hands.
She looked up and he noticed the interest in her beautiful eyes.
He sat beside her and handed the Right On to her.
They were soon chatting and he was impressed.
She was so chic.

Fidelia had noticed.
She told Bimbo that Abba was definitely interested in the snobbish Scholarstica.
She was ready for the competition.
She continued moulding her object, but her heart was throbbing.
Gosh! She knew she had a crush on Abba.
She put aside her work of Art and went to wash her hands before going to the reception.
She did not see Abba and Scholarstica.
Where have they gone to?
She swore she had seen them a minute ago.
She decided to look for them outside the Education Unit block and saw them talking to an Ice Cream vendor within the premises of the National Museum. Abba was buying the most expensive ice cream cup for Scholarstica.
She backed away and returned to tell Bimbo.

Abba and Scholarstica were now friends and her little brother was now one of the favourite children in Abba's class.
Scholarstica often left him at the Education Unti and would return later with their parents in a Toyata Land Cruiser jeep they always drove. Abba loved to walk them to their jeep and see them leave.
As he had seen them leave one day and was walking back to the Education Unit, Fidelia flashed a smile and winsomely attracted his attention. She led him to where Bimbo and the other young women were.
She was wearing her body hugging blouse and tight blue stretch jeans and low heel shoes. She was looking really pretty and sexy.
She led him to an iron railing and sat on it and deliberately mised her balance so that she would fall and expected Abba to catch her, but he ignored her and she fell on the grass. He and others laughed, because it was a funny sight. She made a face and he gave her a helping hand to stand on her feet. She had his attention till the end of the day's session of the holiday programme and she never let him go. She distracted his attention from Scholarstica and Abba found Fidelia more exciting than Scholarstica.
"My Dad was an ambassador before he died. My mom has been taking care of us since 1972. She is the Manager of the Federal Palace Hotel on Victoria Island and we live in Ikoyi. I have a younger sister and two elder brothers. The oldest is in the US," Fidelia told Abba.
She introduced him to her family when he visited her.
Her house was a fine cottage on Ruxton Street.
Her mother welcomed him and Abba became very close to Fidelia's family.
That was how her romance with Abba began that summer.

Haaaaaaaa, Orikinla, pls don't stop here, continue . . . the suspense is killing, don't stoppppp on us here ooo!!!

zukkie4eva:

Haaaaaaaa, Orikinla, please don't stop here, continue . . . the suspense is killing, don't stoppppp on us here ooo!!!

Thanks for reading.

I will continue gradually.

Summer 1984


II

Nike came for the rehearsals straight from Aunty Ayo Secondary School. She was in her school uniform. A knee lenth gown with stripes of green and blue colour. She was tall and slim and soft-spoken. The cast and crew of the TV Puppet Drama rehearsed under the tree in front of Block A of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) on Victoria Island in Lagos.
Mary Akpan the fair and pretty clerk from the Accounts Unit of the National Museum was part of the cast and Abba's romantic interest. After the rehearsals for the day, they all left for their respective homes. Abba, Mary Akpan, Nike and some other members of the crew always took the popular Lagos State Transport Service (LSTS) buses and they took one of them at the NTA Bus Stop opposite Adrao International School. They had to take the bus going to the Tafawa Balewa Square where they took another bus going to Yaba on the Lagos mainland. Mary Akpan said she could stand akimbo without falling whilst the bus was in motion and the others watched in amusement as she did so. They laughed when she nearly tripped when the bus skidded suddenly as it got to CMS Bus Stop.
"You will fall and break your teeth," said Joe as they laughed at Mary Akpan.
Abba was ready to hold her from falling and she knew he would do anything to save her from embarrassment. She was his sweetheart.
Mary Akpan chuckled and sat down beside Abba who smiled at her.
Joe smirked and Nike giggled.
When the bus got to the Round About Bus Stop by the Yaba College of Technology, Abba alighted and Nike followed him.
Mary Akpan and Joe were going farther and would get off at the Yaba Bus Stop terminus of the LSTS.
"Take care. We will see tomorrow," Abba said to Mary and Joe waving his raised right hand.
"Alright!" Mary and Joe replied.
Joe said something to Mary in their native mother tongue of the Efik.
Abba did not hear it as the bus sped away.
He turned to Nike.
"Where are you going to?" Abba asked.
He knew she was not living nearby.
She lived in Mushin, a suburb that was not far away from Yaba.
"I want to know your home," Nike replied with a cheerful smile.
"You are welcome," he replied.
"I am going to spend the night with you," she said.
Abba smirked. She must be joking.
"I mean it," she said.
He paused and regarded her for a while.
She nodded affirmatively.
Abba knew what she wanted.
He was not ready to sleep with her.
"If you want to spend the night with me, where are you going to sleep? On the roof?"
"What of your bed?"
"I have no bed of my own. I share a small bed with my elder brother."
Nike looked at him and knew that Abba was not excited to take her to his place for the night.
She sighed and shrugged.
She took another way to Mushin and Abba walked to Morocco, his neighbourhood in Shomolu.
Morocco was not far away and he loved walking home from the Round About Bus Stop.
As he strolled, he was thinking of how he would have made love to Nike if he had allowed her to pass the night at his place.
Wow! But he had never had sex since he was born and he was not ready to do so. Not by having casual sex with Nike.

Orikinla:

Wow! Abba flashed a smile as he greeted her.
"You prefer to stay here?' Abba asked her.
She nodded politely and continued reading her book.
"Do you read Right On?" He asked and showed her the two copies in his hands.
She looked up and he noticed the interest in her beautiful eyes.
He sat beside her and handed the Right On to her.
They were soon chatting and he was impressed.
She was so chic.

Bro. . . . . . .as if you knew the magazine would do the magic




She led him to an iron railing and sat on it and deliberately mised her balance so that she would fall and expected Abba to catch her, but he ignored her and she fell on the grass.

Haba, thats wickedness

Orikinla you re Great!

Thank you sir.
I hope to improve.

yicob:



Orikinla you re Great!

Yicob,
The babe lured him away from his heart's desire and that was the only way to show her that he was not impressed.
The romance continued till 1992.

It actually happened.

The babe is presently a Bravo Award winning Art Teacher in the US.
She is a single mother of a cute daughter who is as beautiful as the mom and was happy to meet Abba when she followed her mom to Nigeria three years ago.

Hope Abba was not the Father of the Lovely, Dazzling and Beautiful Daughter?

I wish I could see the daughter (kidding)

No, Abba did not sleep with Fidelia.
The father of the girl is an American.

I continue this prose narrative later.

I was in a bank when the militants launched a surprise attack on Bonny Island under heavy downpor about three hours ago. I returned home with cold.

Orikinla!!

u gat skillz brov!!

u have any published wrk?

@ Orikinla,

hope you re in a save place sha?


@ moyola,

hes got more than published works!

No Abba was not the dad of the daughter of Fidelia.
The father is bona fide American.

I have just returned from church under heavy military escort in Finima on Bonny Island.
The Nigerian Army and Mobile Police were on patrol in four jeeps.
They had a bloody clash with the militants last Friday when four soldiers and two civilians had gunshot wounds. Two women and a fisherman were reported killed by stray bullets at the seaside on Bonny Island.

Taaaaaaaaaaaaaa, which kinda area is that?

I am returning to Lagos fast.

bonny camp in lagos?