Iya Basira was the first to notice it. She noticed that whenever Damola, an eight year old boy, came into her restaurant and she gave him free food, she would make large sales that very day. She decided to test her theory.

One day, she didn’t give the boy free food and she noticed that she made little profits. Since then she began to give him free food and in two months, she became a rich woman.

Iya Basira wondered why the boy’s mother wasn’t so lucky with a boy like that. What she didn’t know was that Damola was an unwanted child. The guy who impregnated Damola’s mother ran away when he was born. Damola’s mother became a prostitute and she didn’t have time for the boy. If the mother had had time for the boy, she would have become the richest woman in the world. If the father had waited and taken care of the boy, he would have been made the chief of his town.

Iya Basira made plans to adopt the boy. When her daughters, Basira and Iyabo asked her why, she told them the secret of her success and told them to never tell anyone else. Basira told her boyfriend, Yusuf, and told him never to tell anyone else. Iyabo told her boyfriend, Kunle, and told him never to tell anyone else.

Yusuf told his father, who was a barber while Kunle told his mother, who was a trader. Yusuf’s father and Kunle’s mother decided to test the theory. Yusuf’s father called Demola into his shop one morning and gave him a 200 naira note to buy anything he wanted. That very day, Yusuf’s father made a profit of 20,000 naira. The next day, Kunle’s mother gave Damola a tin of Bournvita and that day, she almost sold everything in her shop as customers lined up to buy many things.

That was when the war began. Iya Basira, Yusuf’s father and Kunle’s mother began to give Damola many gifts and they made more money. They began to fight over whom Damola should visit. The fight was so terrible that Yusuf’s father hired some thugs to wreck Iya Basira’s and Kunle’s Mother’s shops. Iya Basira visited a Babalawo to wreak havoc on her opponents’ lives while Kunle’s mother also hired thugs to destroy her opponents.

Meanwhile, Damola’s mother wondered why her child always got many gifts.

***

The Babalawo that Iya Basira gave the contract to came through and evil spirits wreaked havoc on Yusuf’s father and Kunle’s mother. Yusuf’s father’s shop was destroyed by the government because they wanted to create a larger road. The landlord who owned Iya Kunle’s land on which her shop stood decided to turn it into a farm, so he gave Iya Kunle a Quit Notice.

However, before Iya Kunle could find another shop, the thugs that Yusuf’s father hired, destroyed the shop and burned it down. The thugs also destroyed Iya Basira’s restaurant. So, the three had no shops and became desperate.

Meanwhile, Damola’s mother warned him never to accept anything from anybody, and being a good boy, the boy was obedient. Iya Basira, Yusuf’s father and Iya Kunle tried their best to give the boy gifts but he never accepted them.

Iya Basira stepped up her plan to adopt Damola. She visited Damola’s mother and told her to give up the boy for proper care. Damola’s mother didn’t really have time for the boy but she didn’t want people to think she was a bad mother so she refused. Yusuf’s father and Iya Kunle tried to enroll the boy into a private school, something they never did for their own children, buy still, Damola’s mother refused. She kept wondering why people were suddenly nice to her and her son.

A notorious armed robber was planning to rob a bank and needed all the luck he could get. When he heard about Damola from Yusuf, he decided to test the theory too. So, he kidnapped Damola and took him to his fellow robbers…

***

The armed robber, Tade, introduced Damola to his fellow armed robbers. While Damola was kept in another room, Tade explained everything about Damola to his mates. His mates didn’t believe him, thinking the boy could get them caught if they took him along. They later agreed that since they were taking two buses for the operation, Damola would have to go with Tade’s bus.

When Damola’s mother got home that night, she didn’t see her son, but she didn’t really care. She guessed he was in one of the neighbors’ home and she didn’t even have money to feed him anyway. She prepared herself for the night’s work. She prayed to get a rich man that night who would take her to his house and give her lots of money. She put on her sexiest dress and went out.

The next morning, Tade bought new shirts and trousers for Damola and when the boy refused, Tade lied that he was his mother’s friend; Damola collected the gifts. He also wondered why people were being nice to him. Tade told him that they were going to visit a bank and that he should not be scared of whatever he saw.

The robbers took two brown buses and drove to a popular bank. As Tade and his men walked into the bank, the drivers of each bus stayed in the bus, and Damola stayed in the bus too. They stole a lot of money and wounded the security guards. As they ran to their buses, the police arrived. The drivers of the buses drove away and the police vans pursued them.

The other bus was in front while Tade and Damola’s bus was behind but a curious thing happened. As the policemen opened fire on Tade and Damola’s bus, the bullets flew past the bus as if guided by an unseen power and smashed into the bus in front. The driver was killed instantly and the uncontrolled bus careened into a shop. It caught fire and exploded instantly. The explosion obstructed the police vans and Tade and Damola’s van was able to escape.

When the survivors got home, they were shocked and unable to do anything for a long time. Tade sent Damola home and threatened him not to tell anyone about what had happened. The remaining robbers each planned to kill his mates and use Damola for his own personal robberies. They managed to kill one another but Tade escaped.

Tade told Yusuf’s father about what had happened. They both concluded that as long they anyone was nice to Damola, such person would have good luck in anything he or she does, whether legal or illegal. Both men were ambitious and they planned to do anything necessary to make Damola their personal property.

To be continued...

Very interesting story. You can write o. I have enjoyed reading this so far.
Please continue.