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THE FAMILY MEETING THAT WENT WRONG(A must read for everyone)

Obianuju rested her head on her palms as tears streamed down her cheeks. She felt very miserable. She still couldn’t believe that Ifeanyi could still marry a second wife despite all the suffering, pain, humiliation and ostracisement she got on his behalf. Their next door neighbour, Mama Bomboy had hinted at it but she had dismissed her hypothesis as one borne out of jealousy. She slowly picked up a blue checkered handkerchief from the dressing table before her and dabbed her face with it. She imagined what her family members would say especially her father and brothers whenever they eventually got wind of the matter because they had been very critical of their union. They would be happy of course, she thought.
Her father, Mazi Arinze was a business man who had made money by dealing in aluminum sheets ,he was also respected for he held the ozo title, one of the highest traditional titles in the land. He had vehemently opposed the idea of his first daughter marrying a soldier. Obianuju could still remember his face, every muscle contorted by hatred and disgust as he explained the implications of her marrying a soldier.
“All soldiers are beasts, I am telling you. They are all eaters of flesh and murderers. If your elder brother, Kelechi ever becomes a soldier, I shall disown him.”
Obianuju opened her mouth in surprise.Kelechi had sat for the recruitment examination without their father’s knowledge and a storm was raised over the issue. The storm was ended by Kelechi who later studied Agricultural Extension.
Her father continued with a malicious sneer “Yes, for a man who has a soldier as a son has no son, so one who has a soldier for a son-in-law has no son-in-law”
“Papa, Ifeanyi is different o, he is caring , God fearing and he is serving his country ,protecting innocent citizens like you and I from harm”
“Shit should fill your mouth there, idiot. Is that not Ifeanyi standing at my gate to prevent thieves? Where was he when my two big goats got stolen last year? Rubbish, so he has been filling that your head with nonsense, isn’t it”
“I know as a matter of fact Papa”
Then his voice mellowed and sounded like his usual caring, wise and soothing voice “Obianuju, you are my first daughter and I do not wish that you should come to harm .I may not know book but I have seen things, I do not hate Ifeanyi as a person, he might be a good man but a soldier is still a soldier. If you still insist on marrying him then I shall give you my blessing.”
Obianuju was overjoyed her father finally gave in but she couldn’t help but notice the pain and regret in his voice.
That was five years ago when she defended Ifeanyi whenever he was disparaged by any of her family members. Five years ago before the drinking and beatings started. That was before he started coming home smelling like a brewery and whenever she queried him, she received a deafening slap that left her ear buzzing for days. The next morning, he would apologize and say it was a mistake. Soon, he started using his boots on her and she suffered a lot of injuries. Who could she tell? She suffered in silence until Ifeanyi played his trump card- a second wife. It was still like a dream to her when she remembered all the sweet nonsense he had told her before they got married- loving her to the moon and back, his African queen, the love of his life, his moon on a starless night bla bla bla.
She decided to tell her father, he would know what to do.
And she did tell him, Mazi Arinze called a family meeting to which Ifeanyi Williams, Staff Sergeant, special Infantry, 75th Battalion of the Nigerian Armed Forces was invited.

***************
The gathering consisted of Mazi Arinze, His three elder brothers, Papa Nnukwu (his 73 year old father, Obianuju’s grandfather) Obianuju’s two elder brothers and her younger sister. Two titled men were also present .Obianuju was also sitting there quietly avoiding her siblings’ gaze. They had hammered it into her hears the previous night that her present predicament was her own doing. Joshua, who was always complaining about one thing or the other complained about his own commitments which he had to shelve for an issue involving an irresponsible soldier and a silly little girl who scorned her elders’ wisdom.
Two crates of beer and Coca-cola were outside the circle untouched. The whole assembly was waiting for Ifeanyi to arrive so that the meeting could commence. Was he not the subject for which they had gathered? Joshua, Obianuju’s eldest brother had begun to mutter something about someone disrespecting his elders because he was a soldier. Except that, the gathering was quiet, the elderly men had laid their plans the night before.
Attention was shifted to an army jeep which had pulled slowly into the compound; a tall man with a kind and good-natured look came down and walked slowly to the gathering.
Ifeanyi’s cologne filled the gathering as he came nearer, he saluted everyone and gave Obianuju a casual but friendly “hey”.
“Do you know you kept us waiting, ehn?”Joshua asked as he eyed the newcomer with great dislike and disgust.
“I am sorry my in-law” Ifeanyi apologized sitting down on the only chair left.
“Better be”
“Our father, I heard you sent for me” said Ifeanyi looking in Mazi Arinze’s direction.
“Yes” Arinze added sharply.
The elderly man began by saying about a dozen sentences in parables, then he moved to the drinking, then the beating. As he recounted each event, he looked at the other elderly men who confirmed that he was still on track by nodding their heads that were grayed with age. Then he moved in for the kill.
“There is this thing that we hear but we thought to ourselves that it cannot be true that our own son could do such a thing. So we have decided to come together to save you stress by hearing at the same time from your mouth” Mazi Arinze paused and looked round the gathering then he continued.
“Ifeanyichukwu, is it or is it not true that you have married a second wife?”
The assembly shifted their gaze from Arinze to Ifeanyi who had not moved a muscle since he came into the gathering.His arms were folded across his chest contrasting with the deep green camouflage T-shirt.
“It is true Mazi” he said, not changing his cool expression.
There were murmurs in the gathering.
“Can you tell us why that is considering the fact that you promised us that you would never marry another woman after Obianuju” it was Papa Nnukwu who spoke now.
“Marrying a second wife is my headache not yours, I can handle my home well. If you will excuse me, I have more pressing issues to attend to” he replied standing to his feet. Obianuju gasped in surprise.
“See you at home” he said casually to his wife.
“How dare you speak to him in such manner?Sit back there you swine!” it was Joshua who spoke now also rising to his feet. Ifeanyi didn’t even spare him a glance but walked in the direction of the jeep. Obianuju was more surprised at Joshua for he had spoken of the issue yester night with great disinterest.Why the sudden zeal?
“Leave him, let him go” Mazi Arinze told Joshua.
Joshua and his siblings except Obianuju had begun to shout after Ifeanyi, saying some nasty things about his mother while the elders told them to be quiet. Joshua was already striding after the soldier .Papa Nnukwu’s mouth was still open in shock, then he spoke.
“Arinze, let him go after him, they are both men”
“Yes!” chorused the rest of the gathering except Obianuju’s father shouting after Joshua to come back and Obianuju herself looking dumbstruck. So, Ifeanyi has added disrespect to the list, she thought faintly….
Joshua was a few feet from Ifeanyi who was already by the jeep, it was hard to tell if he knew Joshua was behind him but made him insignificant by pretending otherwise or he didn’t know.
“Stop there now!” Joshua’s voice boomed
The camouflaged man turned slowly, let out a sigh, then said slowly “Leave me alone”
“And if I don’t?” queried the other man
The soldier smiled in reply. A laugh more sinister than the low voice he used seconds before.
They were now facing each other. The other members of the gathering now stood quietly in the compound watching the scene with bated breath while a small crowd that had formed at the gate chattered excitedly.
Ifeanyi’s hand moved to the door handle but Joshua snatched the hand away roughly before the door was opened. It was a wrong move. A hot slap landed on Joshua’s cheek drawing a shout of indignation from him, then he retaliated. The other members of the family were knocked out of their reverie and rushed towards them.
Ifeanyi gave Joshua a blow on the jaw accompanied with a sound like that of breaking bone. Joshua howled with pain, he was crumpled on the ground clutching his lower jaw; his white shirt now had patches of red.
The shouts of the others mingled with Joshua’s howling and Arinze’s yelling had drawn a sizeable number of people from other houses. Some of them who held androids and tablets they moved from the soldier to the injured man taking pictures, some came nearer the soldier for a better and clearer shot.
Ifeanyi’s hand moved swiftly to the hands of the nearest person, a boy of about fifteen and snatched his device from him and smashed it with a sickening thud on the concrete ground. The crowd exclaimed as they looked at the shards of what was once a phone and recognized the half-eaten apple emblazoned on the back. The other “photographers” yelled in terror as they fled in the direction of the gate pocketing their devices or holding it to their chests as they ran.
Joshua’s brother, Kelechi charged with like an enraged bull at Ifeanyi but several blows sent him to his brother on the ground and a few kicks kept him there.
Papa Nnukwu hobbled nearer on his walking stick, he looked up with disgust at the soldier who towered above his shriveled figure .The soldier smiled. Surely, Ifeanyi won’t beat an old man, his madness had not gotten to that extent, Obianuju thought. She was shaking with rage, surprise and fear, she dared not move nearer. If fire could destroy the tortoise with iron armour , what would it not do to the chicken with a feathered gown?
Papa Nnukwu raised his walking stick slowly and with the speed of lightning smashed the left rear window of the Jeep. The action drew a gasp from the rest while Ifeanyi remained unruffled. He calmly collected the offending stick from Papa Nnukwu who was now looking at him defiantly then he walked to the house. The crowd waited wondering his next move .His intent became known when he moved to the glass and aluminum window. Mazi Arinze yelled in anger “I shall call the police! My life work!”
The first window became smithereens ,Mazi Arinze tried to charge at the vandal but was held down by the remaining members of his family that were not attending to his two sons who were now unconscious. Papa Nnukwu stood mouth agape looking at the unfolding events. Mazi Arinze’s yells had now grown into a whimper as several windows were now history. The people who held him suddenly noticed he had gone limp and quiet, and then they discovered what happened-Mazi Arinze had fainted!
The soldier walked to his jeep, those in his path fled while those near the car disappeared and reappeared at a reasonable distance. The crowd of onlookers was consoling a man crumpled on the ground in great sorrow, he owned the phone with the half-eaten apple, his son had taken it without his consent to a battlefront that led to the untimely destruction of the phone. The boy himself was held by sympathizers, he could hardly move for he had been beaten beyond recognition by his father and he was shouting something incoherently as tears streamed down his face.
“Hey, Papa said that is my school fees that I have wasted.Eewo, I am done for. Somebody, help me, I want to write WAEC!
People looked at the main road and suddenly broke into a run as the wailing of sirens and the shouts of “Police” filled the air. A battered van came into view and five policemen emerged, two of them were in muftis while another two carried guns.
“Wetin happen? Who call police?”
“Officer, na we” replied one of the invited elders on behalf of the family.
“Wetin do them?” asked one of the armed policemen pointing his weapon in the direction of the figures laid out on a mat that were being fanned by three young women.
“Na im” answered Papa Nnukwu pointing at the jeep.
The policemen looked in the indicated direction at Ifeanyi who was now standing beside the vehicle beholding the spectacle with visible interest and defiance. Papa Nnukwu related the events that had happened including the beatings Ifeanyi gave Obianuju to the policemen craftily leaving out the part where he smashed the jeep’s window.
“Oga, well done o. How work?” the policemen waved gaily at the soldier who waved in reply and then drove away .
“Officer, he don go!” cried some of them.
‘Shut up, idiots” barked one of the ones in mufti quite unnecessarily.
“Enter the van now, they wan make I arrest sojo” shouted the policeman who appeared to be the leader.
“Sir?” queried Papa Nnukwu
“You hear me correct well well” the policeman replied
Within the twinkle of an eye Papa Nnukwu,Obianuju and the two elders had been shepherded into the van. Mazi Arinze’s limp form and that of his younger son, Kelechi were already in the van too, it remained Joshua’s.
One of the policemen went to the spot of the meeting and carried the crate of unopened beer and soft drinks.
“Disturbing public peace under the influence of alcohol, ehn? People wey their head no correct” he said grinning stupidly from ear to ear as he came nearer with his booty.
“Exhibit A” he added.
The whole group could not talk for they had never seen such a turning of tables.
“Assault on an officer of the law, a soldier” he said again.
“Oga, he was….”
“Shut up dia, idiot, teaching me my job?See him head like eba wey don spoil” he cut short the fellow who had attempted to offer an explanation.
“Bring that one dia” the leader said indicating Joshua
Two of the policemen moved towards the unconscious form of Joshua.
“Oga , this one don stiff o ,he be like say en don die” one of the policemen said with alarm and the occupants of the van burst into tears and shouts of “Obianuju’s husband has killed him o”.Obianuju was also crying silently in a corner of the van.Blood ,they say is thicker than water.
“Shut up” barked the policemen moving nearer the corpse.
The five policemen huddled over Joshua’s rigid body trying to revive him .It happened in an instant. The “body” stood up , knocking two policemen over in the process and dashed like greased lightning towards the direction of the gate.
Before the policemen could recover from the shock of the ressurection , another figure darted out of the van limping towards the same direction .It was Papa Nnukwu. In a jiffy, the van emptied itself while the policemen gazed in petrified stupidity at the figures fleeing into the sunset.
©Iloh Onyekachi