Orin iyin, Orin ogo, Orin ayo
Ni a o fi gbe baba ga."
(Songs of praise, songs of glory, songs of joy. That is what we will use to lift God up)

Nothing seemed to be working.
Yet Aunty Yemisi kept singing this song at every church function.
Clothed in flowing white overalls, and with no shoe or slipper on her feet, she was a sight of joy to behold to every parishioner.

Yet, none knew what she was passing through.

No one knew the pressure she faced every time an incoming call came in with the caller ID reading 'Maami'.

Maami's mission had been simple.
The poor woman had faithfully followed the instructions of iwe (book) Habakkuk and had written her vision on plain tables and in clear language.

'Yemisi must bring home a husband this year'

That had been the daily verse which mama read in her version 2.0 Bibeli that was specifically installed in her head.
That was the incense which Edumare perceived daily from one of the forty altars that prayed to him everyday from Iseyin village.
That was the koko (main point) of the iwaasu (message) which was prevalent in the 2 minutes, four seconds calls which aunty Yemisi received from home on a daily basis.

No one in church knew that her finance was in its lowest ebb.

Her business which attracted customers like a lady in her early twenties attracts a throng of suitors, reduced drastically in size due to numerous misfortunes.

First, the mail order, a girl, who she had received from the village to be her sales girl, had turned out to be a cunny weevil that munched on the profits of the shop without pity.
For the little girl joined a daily contribution organization and began to put in a sum of four thousand naira daily from the profit of the store.

Another misfortune which had befell her were the three 'wise' men who came to pay her a visit with their own unique gifts which were different from the biblical gifts.

The first 'wise' man was a thirty year old local gangsta who had a long scar on his wrist which was self inflicted when he broke a beer bottle and its jagged ends cut his wrists.
All because he was cheated of 100 naira during a game of dice which he and his comrades played in an uncompleted building.

He carried with him a golden gift of a short pistol.
One which he waved in aunty Yemisi's face and threatened to bury its children in her face if she dared to scream.

The second 'wise' man was a much familiar face to Yemisi.
For he was a member of the Iyin rere association in church.
An association which prided itself in giving their monies to support the church in every project she embarked upon.

He carried with him the frankincense gift of a short knife.
One which he threatened to makeup her face with if she dared to raise her face from the lying position which they had forced her to adopt.

The third 'wise' man was a mercenary.
One who they had hired from a gang in Ketu and had paid the sum of three thousand naira for his service that night, with a promise to drown him with a crate of Origin beer if the operation proved to be successful.

He had gone along because he needed money to pay off his debt.
A debt of four hundred thousand which he had incurred when he crashed his oga's bus in an accident which he had caused with his own hands.
For he had smoked twenty wraps of marijuana that fateful morning and had been feeling like king Kong on the road.
Much worse, he had been feeling like Sebastian Vettel and Alonso put together and had thought that the Mile 2 road was just another Formula 1 race track.

Not to drag the mat beyond the room, he was locked up and his face peppered with hot slaps from the cell 'Presido'

A rain of slaps dragged his 'highness' from the peaks of wonderland to the depths of Tartarus where tears are a constant occurrence.

This third man carried a Mryyh gift of cutlass with him.
One which he threatened to carve Yemisi open if she dared to show them a false location of her money while harboring the belief that the police would arrive quickly.

Aunty Yemisi harbored no such intent.
As she knew that the Nigerian police were just like dogs which loved to bark immediately after the danger has passed.
The police were like the African gods which threatened fire and brimstone upon the villagers if they did not offer human sacrifices, and then ran away to hide when white men came into those villages with guns and cannons.

No way.
Aunty Yemisi cooperated with the three 'wise' men and they left her unharmed.

Despite all the harm which had befell her, she still praised Jesus on high.
Despite all the icebergs which her ship had hit, she still chose to keep her course straight on the path Edumare set for her.
Despite all the terrors which had plaqued her night and the Freddie's that had haunted her dreams, she still chose to rejoice.

For she knew that the 'gra-gra' of the garage tout would only last for a little while until the alaga - chairman comes.

For she knew that the madness that plaqued the nurses when the doctor is not around will most definately be cured when the doctor comes in.

For she knew that weeping may endure for a night but JOY WOULD COME IN THE MORNING.
#Bashorun

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