The Brouhaha of Oga Martinsgave us a clear picture of the life of an average hustler in Lagos. Oga Martins fought tooth and nail with seen and unseen forces as he sojourned through the tortuous pathways of a tumultuous life. Occasionally, he had to take out the weeds and thorns of a crooked road as he slowly rose from a vast expanse of grassland to graceland. What awaits him in this new series?
His sojourn through the real estate landscape he found himself was one marred by deceit, betrayal and dishonesty. At some point Oga Martins didn’t have control over his life nor could he determine what would be his lot each passing day, In fact he almost gave up on life itself. Then came a breath of fresh air; a new lease of life which skyrocketed him to stardom.
In this new series, he sits at one of the topmost positions in the hierarchy of a real estate company. Now that fortune finally smiles on him, there are new challenges he must confront if he is to stay afloat. It is no longer about him, he now has a family to cater for, subordinates at his work place to oversee, a job portfolio to contend with and a property to manage at a suburb in Lagos . It seems his new life comes with a lot of responsibilities and somewhat air of uncertainty. It is not just okay to be successful you have to keep striving to be ahead of the pack because the same ladder that you climbed to the top can also throw you off balance to the very ground you emanated from. It is essential you continue to reinvent new ways to stay on top of the game not when there always will be bottlenecks working against you.
This time, Oga Martins has to contend with foes at work, an antagonist in the facility he manages and striking a balance between his work and his family. Will the protagonist be able to steady his kettles of fish? See as events unfold in this new fictional real estate series tagged;Oga Martins and his Kettles of fishes.
Coming soon!

Grgggh! Grrggggh! Grgggh!
The alarm shrilled and Martins woke up with a start, his hand quickly going to the source of the noise. He turned it off, wondering why cheap phones had loud alarms while his eyes focused on the time: 5:30 am! As usual, there was no light but he put on the torch light of his phone, grateful for its multi-functionality as he flew off the bed in a hurry. If he didn’t want to be late for his first day at work, he had to get into the bathroom now or risk not having his bath. ‘He didn’t like the thought of that. Grabbing the pail, which sat under the wooden table and knocking the chair sideways in the process, he dragged his towel from off the door, flung it over his shoulder and ran out of the room.
Martins lived in a compound where there was only one bathroom available for the ten rooms that faced each other in a row of fives and ideally should contain one person each. But, with a seventeen million housing deficit, there were squatters and squatters’ squatters. The rooms were overcrowded and the landlord didn’t care as long as his rent was paid and a certain level of decorum and responsibility was maintained. The fact that a tenant could contact a toilet disease since there were thirty-five users rather than ten was none of his business. He had complained several times for the need to have another bathroom to avoid the queue that usually occurred every morning but nothing had been done about it.
Deji, his roommate had often told him to move out if he didn’t like it but they both knew he couldn’t afford the kind of place he wanted to live in. He however believed things would change soon. Getting a job in a company that specialized in real estate was a plus for him and would open him up to various possibilities. He believed this job could change things for him and make his life better unlike Deji who lived off his girlfriend and often crashed over at her place. He shook his head in wonder as he did every time he thought about his friend. He didn’t know how a man could just be happy doing nothing and just living off others.
The thought of Deji and his weird ways however evaporated as he arrived at the bathroom and saw Iya Nkiru and Temisan already there. He didn’t know when he gave a loud hiss. Temisan cast him a glance, her expression, a mixture of annoyance, concern and curiosity
“Wetin happen?” she asked.
“Nothing! Mama Nkiru, na only you wan baff abi you wan baff your children as well?”
“I go baff my children now. They no go go school?” Mama Nkiru replied as she removed the chewing stick in her mouth and spat out phlegm.
Martins shook his head and turned his face away while Temisan looked at her in disgust. It had been discussed several times not to litter the compound in any way and a section had been designated for brushing of teeth to allow proper flow of water due to the poor drainage system but reiterating that to Mama Nkiru was a waste of time.
She was just one of those women who liked trouble and as a wise man, he knew better than to look for trouble.
“Mama Nkiru you go wash that place?”
“Say wetin?”
“You for go brush for corner now!”
“Abeg Temisan mind your business this morning o! Wetin happen?!”
“This man never come out?!” Rotimi stated rather than asked as he swiped his toothbrush in the air to drain the water, interrupting the conversation between Temisan and Mama Nkiru.
His voice and the sound of water splashing within the closed bathroom door turned Martins thoughts back to the matter at hand. “Who dey inside?”
“Na Chris o!” Rotimi replied
“Hey God! Chris wey go dey baff like woman, spend thirty minutes for inside.”
“Make e sha finish, make I enter!”
Martins looked at Rotimi, a hint of alarm in his voice as he asked, “Na you dey enter?”
“Na me o!”
“Abeg who else dey this queue?”
“Baba Rafia,” Temisan responded
Martins heaved a heavy sigh, shaking his head. He couldn’t continue living like this.

Episode Two
Martins glanced at his wristwatch.
8:45 a.m.!
He was late!
Alarm raced through him as he half-ran half-walked into the building that housed his new office. The thought brought a smile to his face. He now had an office he could resume to, not the menial jobs he had done for years now. As an HND holder, getting a job in the saturated labor market was next to impossible especially with so many B.Sc graduates but by some stroke of favor, he had been picked for this job. He couldn’t remember doing or saying anything exceptional. After going for numerous interviews and writing various tests, you get to the point where you just go through the motions, where you do it because you don’t want to be accused of inaction, where you do it because you don’t want to feel like a failure incapable of making your dreams a reality but all of that had changed the moment he got the call to resume. There was a new spring to his legs and he felt a light-headedness he had not felt in a long time. He wouldn’t call himself a religious man who believed in prophecies but he knew his life had changed forever. Although the pay wasn’t breathtaking, it would solve some of his problems and if he planned his life well, he might find himself living the way he had always dreamed.
But before then, there was work to be done. He adjusted his tie, took a deep breath and opened the door to Realty Point Limited. He stopped short when he saw the reception empty. Today was not the day for the receptionist to be absent. He needed somebody to usher him to his department so he could settle in fast. He was late enough already and further delays wouldn’t help his case. He couldn’t afford to lose this job because of his tardiness. Of course, it wasn’t his fault considering his housing situation and the gigantic traffic he encountered on his way there but employers didn’t care about that. They were not interested in your personal problems, just your ability to deliver on the job assigned to you.
He stood, debating whether to go in or wait for someone to come out when a smartly dressed lady with a lovely smile delivered him out of his dilemma. “Good morning. How may I help you?”
“Errr…. Good morning. My name is Martins. I’m the new…”
“Business and Marketing Executive,” she finished with a smile. “Ada already asked of you this morning. Second door to your left.”
“Thank you,” Martins murmured as he moved, heaving a deep sigh. He didn’t know who Ada was but hoped she would be as friendly as the lady he just finished talking to.
She wasn’t! The moment he walked in and introduced himself, she attacked him.
“Why are you late?” she queried, unsmiling
“There… there was traffic,” he stammered, intimidated by her stare.
“There’s traffic everywhere, that’s why you leave home early.”
Martins stared at her, incapable of giving a proper and adequate response. He had a feeling it would be pointless to explain he had been up as early as 5:30 a.m. and had done everything within his power to get there before 8:00 a.m. Her attitude gave credence to what he already knew: employers didn’t care about your problems, just get your job done.
“I’m sorry,” he found himself saying. Of course he didn’t mean it but instinct told him it was better to show remorse to the small, slim looking woman with the oval face, big round eyes and full curvy lips than to justify his actions. And he trusted his instincts when it came to women. He had his own share of women, and with five sisters, he could safely trust his instinct.
“Don’t be sorry, don’t come late again.”
“Yes ma”
“You are expected to be here before eight. By eight o’clock we do our morning confession and it’s compulsory”
“Yes ma” he replied, wondering what ‘confession’ meant.
“And don’t call me ma, my name is Ada,” she stated as she picked some papers from her table and stood up from her seat. ”We are all on first name basis.”
“Including the MD?”
For the life of him, he didn’t know why he had asked that. It seemed the question had just popped out of his mouth and the look she gave him told him he shouldn’t have asked. He was surprised when she replied.
“No! To all of us, he is Mr Debo. We have a departmental meeting now.”
Martins nodded as he watched her walk out of her office to the outer area where the other executives sat. The woman was a classic! His first day at work and she had succeeded in making him feel stupid. He wondered what the remaining days of the month would look like. He sure hoped it would be better.
He settled for a nearby seat as he drew a huge breath of relief. The air-conditioned office gave him a soothing welcome to a new life – one which he hopes will be better than the hell he faces in his house with co-tenants.
As the daydream continued to flow in his head, Martins began to tilt his head slightly towards his shoulder, eyes closing slowly till he fell asleep.

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