My mother came to visit me earlier that week. It was really nice to have her around,brought back a lot of memories. Anyway,while she was there,she insisted we go to the market,the one at mile 12. See,i'm a very uncomplicated person. I don't haggle-not because i have an inflated ego, but because,quite simply,it's a waste of time. This is how i shop:I go to the first stall i see,and say,for example;"I wanna buy this yam". "350",the seller says. I bring out my wallet,pay,and collect my yam. I move to the next stall and say;"I wanna buy 250 naira's worth of spinach". The seller wraps it up,i pay,and move to the next stall. They sell tomatoes,and lucky for me,fish. "How much is this fish?",i'd ask,pointing to a pile i like. "450,oga",she replies. I pay her,buy some tomatoes,collect my stuff and go to my car. In under 15 minutes,i've shopped for dinner,and maybe tommorow's lunch. Great,isn't it? My mom was talking about how buying things in bulk was cheaper. That's when she said we should go to mile 12. "I'm not going to the market",i said in protest. "Fair enough. Just drive me there",she said. So i did,gave her money,and when i was about to drive off,she stopped me. "How do you expect me to get back home? Do you want me to start hopping buses with all the load i'll have?". So i stayed. "I might be shopping for a while. You can't just sit in the car all day. It'll be hot and very uncomfortable. Just come with me and help your mother carry some of the foodstuffs",she cajoled. Shopping with my mother was a nightmare. It always is. Two hours later,we were still walking around,thanks to my mom's rather annoying habit of pricing the same thing in like a hundred different places(ok so maybe i'm exaggerating,but not by much). My feet were starting to hurt,my shoes were so soaked(not really soaked,but almost there)with liquid mud, dirty water and other unknown substances that i knew they were gonna be condemned. I sat down for a bit in the onions section. I hadn't been there long when some Hausa dude fell of his high stool

with a thud. His pupils were dilated and he was shaking uncontrollably. He was having an epileptic seizure. I half-expected people to run away from him like he had some contagious disease,so i was pleasantly surprised when a couple of people went to him and helped him up,while someond wedged something in his mouth-presumably to stop him from biting his tongue off. Two women freely offered advice;one of them,a woman of average height,fair in complexion and in native attire suggested that they pour water on him while the other said they should bring garlic and put it in his mouth. After a few minutes,he regained consciousness and was led away by two Hausa dudes. The whole market was a very interesting experience,different shapes and sizes of human beings,rich and poor,young and old, all reduced to the same state,haggling ferociously with the sellers,everyone trying to get a better(by which i mean cheaper)deal,vast throngs of humanity all gathered for a common purpose;buy or sell,the stink of rotting vegetables and the stench of humans drenched in their own sweat,pungent odors of unwashed bodies wafting upwards and offending my delicate sensibilities(haha,yeah right! The only thing offended was my nose),people saturated with the smells emanating from their means of livelihood and slime-slicked skins. Then there werd the various men who pushed wheel barrows full of various food items and others who carried huge sacks of foodstuffs on their shoulders,all yelling;"Kuro!",and if you didn't kuro,well,you'd more than likely be knocked down,and they probably wouldn't even stop to say sorry,afterall,they did shout;"Kuro!",and besides,who had the time to stop? It was a quagmire of humanity,and yet,you just had to appreciate these simple people who chose to work,however menial some might consider their work to be,but their beauty lay in the simple yet elegant dignity of their labour. It was truly a sight to behold. The whole thing made me feel kinda philosophical. Life is pretty much like a market,y'know?

You're constantly weighing options,making choices;give or take,buy or sell,live or die. I learnt that that day.