Cried for the Abandoned Sacrifice

       Cried for the Abandoned Sacrifice

              (a sympathetic short story)

                       

                                By

                      Lene Ododomu

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Because Dimini was born on Monday, so he had the African belief in the law of nature about birth that children born on Monday are raised by a single mother and struggle to achieve what others have achieved. He grew up to know only his mother who goes to the rain forest to fish with her local canoe. Because of her poor background, she couldn't afford to buy a good canoe for fishing, so she manages a canoe that was abandoned by her fellow fisher woman who also helped her with paddle.

Dimini was originally born with the Ijaw blood. His skin is darker than any glancing touch of the sun. His skin sometimes could be described as a starshadow-black with a white colourful eyes.  He was born with an electrifying smile that deceives a thousand of girls in the village. He was born with puffy, pouting lips and they are blossom soft. His hair is dark like a black charcoal and he is elegantly tall with slim body and a charm looking Ijaw boy! He is a dream of many girls in the village. He love playing with friends and because of this he do forget the assignment his mother gives him sometimes. But one thing that he never fail to do is to always remember his background. He doesn't care to hawk fish in the streets after his mother returns from fishing. For her not to be stranded because of bait to fish, he will go to the bush where the villagers digged out baits for fishing and dig for his mother. Sometimes, girls will full the place without a mixture with boys but only him but he never ashamed to stay in their midst to get what he wants for his lovely mother.

Dimini attends a very local primary school but still his brain wasn't affected by the poor environment of his education. He always comes first in class and was promoted from primary 3 to write his common entrance exams. Also, he attends the same local junior secondary school but still was promoted from JSS 2 to write his junior secondary school final exams which he had As in all the  subjects.

             "Dimini, I am so proud of your good performances in school. I know you very well that you came from a very poor background and that was why you were put in a very poor school with low level of teaching, but still you are breaking a record that my children who are in standard schools cannot break. I will support the remaining part of your education, from your current class to the university level. I am proud of you, boy! Keep it up" said the school principal.

Dimini became so happy and was singing from the school to his poor home. When the mother saw him from afar, she started dancing without knowing about cause of his happiness.

        "What could have make my son this happy from school? Because I always know that he comes back home sad because of school fee payment. So let the cat out of the box, let me see him" said the mother who stopped dancing to get his response.

            "Mother, you can't believe what I am about to tell you. Infact, the people of Dougbini won't believe it" replied Dimini.

           "Tell your mother about it, she will believe no matter what" said the mother.

          "OK mother, I will tell you" replied Dimini.

           "That's my son. Your mother is waiting like a farmer waiting for rain" said the mother.

Dimini dropped his school bag and demanded for a cup of water to break the news to the mother which she gives to him immediately and he thanked her.  

        "Mother, guess what...." said Dimini.

        "I am not good at guessing, you know too" replied the mother.

        "OK. Let me not stress you, mother. I passed my junior secondary school final exams in flying colours and my principal awarded me a scholarship to the university level" said Dimini.

The mother jumps up crying with joy but stopped and started steering at Dimini with a very sad look on her face.

          "What's the matter, mother? Are you not suppose to be happy forever?" asked Domini who moves closer to his mother and holds her right hand.

         "How I wished, your father was still alive to see your success because he always wanted you to go to school, but he is now a spirit that we cannot see" replied the mother with tears.

         "At least you are still alive with me. What I know is that father will always be proud of me wherever he is. So stop crying, mother" he comforted the mother.

           " You said so but nobody is rich enough to buy tomorrow, Prof.

 Wole Soyinka once said. What of I joined him after seeing me today?" asked the mother.

          "I am lost, mother" Dimini replied.

           "You will understand my voice when you stopped hearing it, son. Go inside, your favorite meal is served" said the mother.

           "Thank you, mother. But before I take my meal, could you tell me the cause of father's death?" Dimini insisted.

          "It's a very long story, my son" replied the mother.

           "Cut it short, mother so that I will be aware of it also" replied Dimini.

          "Well, your father was a kind hearted man who loved to help other people. He was a powerful local politician of Dougbini village, this village you are living and was born from. He was the party leader of Peoples Choice Party (PCP) which produced the current local government chairman, Dr. Akpodiwoni. The last local government election was very tough and brutal because the opposition party brought violence to destruct the voting process. Meanwhile, your father, being the party leader of ACP,  he confronted the thugs that were brought by Mr. Koluwei, the chairmanship candidate of the opposition party. While trying to stop them from snatching  the ballot boxes, he was shot on the neck and died after he was brought to the hospital, but soldiers came immediately the incident happened, so the thugs couldn't go away with the ballot boxes but ran to save themselves from being arrested by the soldiers" replied the mother.

         "Then what happened after the election?" Dimini asked.

         "Dr. Akpodiwoni won the election and was made the chairman" replied the mother.

           "Then why are we suffering after my father sacrificed his own dear life for his success?" asked Dimini.

The mother hesitated to give him a reply and he becomes curious and pressurizes her with the same question.

             "He abandoned us, my son. Anytime I go to his house to beg for his support of your education, he keeps on making promises to support you. The sun was dawn and now it is set, still nothing is fulfilled. I am only trusting God. Just go inside and enjoy your meal, my son." replied the mother.

After the death of Karawei, Dimini's father, Dr. Akpodiwoni promised to take care of his family, especially the education of Dimini will be prioritized, but abandoned his promises. He comes to his village every weekend. He visits almost every house in the village to render them help, including his political enemies, but he never have the thought of visiting his helper's house to at least say a greeting to the wife. One day, when Dimini was selling fish in one of the village streets where he was inspecting projects, he saw him and stopped to greet him and he knows the boy as the son of his late helper but still pretends as if he doesn't know him. Dimini couldn't hold his tears after remembering the story his mother told him of how his late father sacrificed his dear life for this very man. Infact, he continues crying until he gets home.

Few days later, the mother fell sick and was expected to be taken to the hospital, but no enough money to take her to the hospital. Maybe women are simple to access, so Dimini ran to the wife of the chairman to seek for her financial support for his mother's treatment, but the woman ended up making a promise like her husband. Dimini suspected that they had the plan of not helping his family so he decided not to bother them any longer. But the condition of his mother was getting worse. So what will he do? He decided to sell the family land just to buy the life of his dear mother. The worse of selling this family land is that, the chairman who refuses to help him and his poor mother was the one that ended buying the land with low price. Dimini does not have a choice than to sell it and his mother was treated in the hospital and brought home after few days of recovery.

Dimini returns from school, expecting to meet his mother from fishing as usual, but surprised to find out that she was not back. He went to her friend's house to confirm if she was back from fishing because they usually go for fishing together, but met her home. He hurriedly asked the woman while his mother is not back and she told him that she wasn't feeling fine so his mother went alone. The woman became worried too, so she decides to inform men in the village to accompany her to the bush to look for her friend. Gotten to where they usually fish, it was already night. So they started beating rubber as used by Ijaw people to look for a missing person in the bush, but they couldn't get her. Then the friend takes them to where they usually eat before checking their hooks, the fishing traps because the place has a clean water to drink garri with smoke cat fish. Gotten there, they saw the canoe and saw one of her legs tired on one of the seats of the canoe but the remaining part of her body was under the water. Leeches already full her body and fell off when they brought up from the water because they have shocked her blood that they could not clip her.

Dimini started crying like a new born baby when his mother's corpse was brought home and buried immediately. He had nobody to run to for help because all his relatives that his father helped when he was alive abandoned him. The only hope that left for him was his education that the school principal promised to help him. He loves the man even when he has not committed to support him. But still there's something that makes him to hate the man and it is because of him marrying four wives. To him, many of the Ijaw men involved themselves in polygamous family because of ignorant. They usually married four to twenty wives at the same time and produced many children. He studies this their behaviours of marriage and find out that the well educated ones are only involved in monogamous marriage and also have family planning to have a limit of children they will born. Then expecting the principal to have the same character because he is well educated with sound brain, he sees him among the first group whom he considered as illiterates.

Chief Alawei, the school principal had forty children with four wives. Because of the expansion of his family, he builds each of his wives one house to accommodate peace. Others used bamboo to build their wives kitchens, but he builds his with concrete block building. The daughters live with their mothers while the sons live with him in his big apartment. He loves taking dry gin and palmwine, so he always keep five or six bottles in his room and take a cup anytime he feels like.

Dimini started living with Chief Alawei after the death of his mother. He passes his final o'level exams in flying colours and immediately got admission in the university of Lagos to study computer engineering. 

Dimini was made the course representative in his class after he was discovered by one of his lecturers, Prof. Bamidele. Because of his intelligence and brilliance, many students come to him for tutorials and some of them took responsibility of his up keep, so things became easy for him. He also do projects for final year students without a single support of internet to plagiarize and they all have As and Bs in their final grades.

After Dimini graduated from the university with first class upper, another journey of life began for him. Unfortunately, he lost his helper, the principal while in final year of his studies. The journey he was to start he is a journey of getting a job to provide for himself and plan for marriage since he is now a graduate and no longer growing younger. He always loved to marry one of his course mates, Ene, his besty who he loves but doesn't know how to express his feeling to because he is a very shy person. Some of his course mates know the truth that he is dying inside with love for Ene, but couldn't not open it up to her. 

Like destiny works, group anonymous was held after their final year exams and one of his mates who noticed his love for Ene writes........"That Demini is dying inside of love for Ene because he is a shy person, he couldn't open it up to her. Must he die all because he is shy to confess his love for her? If it were I, I can't die ooo instead I will confess it to her. But that Ene self knows but she dey pretend. Ene wetin dey zuzu..... don't frustrate the life of our dear course rep na. I rest my case".

He started laughing when he read the anonymous message in their school group. He sees this as a way which destiny works, so he decided to make the confession to her. But before then he forwarded the message to her, asking her if she was the person that composed the message which she says no and started laughing at the message. She agreed to his request of wanting her to be his girlfriend.

Destiny still brought Dimini back to the chairman to beg for his help for job. Dimini had visited all the offices in Lagos with his first class certificate which many of them ignored him because he doesn't have what they wanted him to bring. Many demanded for huge amount of money before giving him the job which he could not afford. Some promised to help him but in later discovery, they changed their words because he had first class and might end up becoming their bosses. While others employed ladies because those ones pleased them with sexual advancement.

Dimini remembered the story he read about the origin of corruption in Africa and the novel title is Devil on the Cross by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o. He becomes very angry and found Africa hopeless after he discovered from the story that Africans were infected with corruption because of their callous and ambitious behaviours. There was nothing like corruption that demand for money before getting what a person  wants in office so far he or she is qualified. He narrated from the story that when the Europeans were ruling Africans, the African elites who are the neo-colonialists complained that they have being oppressed by the Europeans, therefore seek for freedom from these people. What then the African leaders did? They crucified the Europeans on the cross who are referred to as the devil. This was better explained in the story that they chased the Europeans out of their countries in form of independence just like this saying 'Ghana must go'. What did these leaders do after sending them away? They returned to them and begged to wear their cloth and return to their own people, showed them and asked them to worship them the same way they worshipped the strangers. This was best explained that the African leaders copied the mentality of the Europeans and started using it on their own people that's why bribery is everywhere in the country and best leaders cannot be selected in the political offices because bad leaders buy the choices of the people. Then he becomes more angry by seen a character of his people who sell their happiness for a day survival. These same people cried over bad leadership in the country and thinking that they will make a right choice to elect good leader in office, but when the time for election to make the right choice comes, they will end up still selling their votes. He wondered within himself that since he cannot get a job with his first class certificate, he will end up becoming a yahoo boy or doing anything that will survive him.

While returning from a job interview where he was rejected, a company where his local government chairman ownes in Lagos, he meets his university old friend called Ade who dropped out of school because of his unseriousness with studies. Ade was an occult member on campus that intimidate lecturers and students. He was a member of Black Cat Confraternity. Whenever there is a cult clash, the Black Cat Confraternity will be  found involved. They have a symbol of a black skull with two crossed bones underneath and often tattoo this symbol on their bodies. As members of a confraternity or cult, they are recognizable

by their clothing: They wear black pants, a long-sleeved black and white shirt, black coat with the cat insignia on the front and back, and a black beret with a red ribbon tied around it. Members are also known to use charms which is called "fetish rituals" to gain supernatural power and protection

from rival members and police. 

Their initiation ceremonies take place in forests or in cemeteries, usually around a bonfire, and involve dancing, singing, drug taking, the drinking of human blood and the rape of women. They usually initiate new members on Saturdays at midnight. According to them it is calls the "test of

manhood," which involves being flogged, kicked, and hit with belts and sticks while stripped to the pants, before being taken to the "island", or initiation site. The initiates take an oath of secrecy around a bonfire and put on their fraternity clothes; they are then given a new name and made

to sign a membership scroll and provide their thumbprint in blood. Drinking, dancing, drug taking, and drumming

begin when the new members are presented to the larger group and end in the early hours of the morning with a procession called (the jolly by the Black Cat) to the new members' lodgings. When Dimini was told of everything about these things while interacting with Ade in their school days, he told him that the place he came from forbids it. The oracle in his village will kill the person instantly, especially one that drinks human blood.

Because Ade was disgraced by one of his female lecturer in class, he decides to punish her. He arranged some of his gang members to ambush her while returning from office. They took her to an uncompleted building and rapped her. Because she could not live with the shame, she decided to commit suicide by drinking six snipers which cut off all her intestines and killed her instantly. Ade was arrested after investigation was made and traced him as the culprit. Then he was brought to court and released after the judge was said to be bribed with huge amount of money by his gang members. 

Remembering how Ade was released because of bribing the judge and some police officers, Dimini becomes more confident of becoming successful by any means. He remembered vividly that Ade was expelled from school not because of his bad ways of life but because of his poor performance to build his CGPA but now he is better than him in everything.

When Ade saw him, he started laughing and with electrifying smile on his face, he asked Dimini why  is he a poor boy in the street walking like a homeless madam.

              "E no easy my brother. Nigeria hard like stone" replied Dimini.

             "Wetin make am had na?" Ade asked with mimicking voice.

Dimini laughs because he knows that Ade asked him a rhetorical question.

               "I no suppose dey tell you na because you know already" replied Dimini.

            "I gat you bro. You no go jakpa because we are the hope of this country" said Ade.   

              "Guy na you know that one ooo. Country that a first class graduate like me could not get a job because I don't have connection or money to do bribe? Me I go jakpa oo if there is a means. This country don suffer me na. Just take a good look at me"............. showing him the stain of his shirt, "because I have been moving from one office to another but still I couldn't get what I want because I don't have colanut to feed the gods" replied Dimini.

         "That's Nigeria for you bro. What I want to tell you is that there is no need to go out of this our dear country. Having you present with us in this country can change one or two things for  her betterment. I will teach you how you will become successful without running out of the country" said Ade.

          "Aha baba, show me the way na" replied Dimini.

          "Not yet. I will credit you five million naira to take care of yourself for now till the time comes" said Ade.

          "Aha, you mean it?" asked Dimini with curious voice.

            "Yes, just send me your account details" replied Ade.

Dimini surprised to see that Ade credited him the five million immediately he gets home. His account was blocked because the money entered the account was above the maximum amount the account suppose to carry because it was a student account until he went to the bank to upgrade it before it was opened for him to withdraw part of the money, but mysteriously he becomes sick. He went to hospital for medical check up, but nothing was detected from him. He had to treat himself with the money till the money got finished.

Dimini went back to Ade to explain the whole thing to him but surprised to get Ade's response that he will continues to waste any money he gives to him to solve problems except he involves himself to know the root of the money and plant his. Because Dimini was so desperate because of his past experiences in life, he accepted to be part of whatever thing that produces the money. However, Ade brought him to a dwarf in Benin where he was asked to pick one of a covered small stones. Unluckily, the one he picks demanded him to be sleeping with corpses to get rich. The more he sleeps with the corpses in a month, the more his  money comes to him everyday. He accepted it because he was left with no option and also desperate.

Dimini became a billionaire overnight and started building houses everywhere. He was happy for becoming what he has becomes but still sad of a fact that he is forbidden to get married and build a house for his dear parents whom he always wanted to make proud.

Dimini arranged mortuary attendants in all the states in Nigeria and paying them millions of naira every month just to sleep with the corpses that produce him money. He makes this arrangement so that if he is in another part of where he permanently lives, he cannot be stranded to get a corpse to sleep with and they must be fresh corpses that are newly deposited in the mortuary. He lives the most sinful life which against the gods of his land by sleeping with different types of women and licking their private parts. Any woman that he licks on private part cannot survive but start by seeing blood and worms till she dies. Sometimes after making sleeping with the woman, a big python will appear in the room and swallowed her and after that his cupboard will be loaded with dollars that he cannot count. Also, contract calls will keep on coming and he will be the one to decline some because the load was too much on him.

During the time of his village festival which is celebrated on every 28th of September to mark their victory with their enemies in war, and it is usually celebrated to honor the oracle called Eru, the god of war and justice, he visited home for the festival and spends millions of money. The Eru forbids sinners. It is a primordial god that was believed to be ascended from heaven. The Eru forbids what God also forbids. It forbids killing of innocent people, oppressing people, stealing and licking woman's private part and breast. Anyone that is found committed these sins, will confess and ask for forgiveness and cleansing will be made on the person. If it has not put eyes on the person, the person can still live a sinful life but it won't spare once it discovered the person.

After Dimini visited home for the festival, he returns to Lagos but could not get himself any longer because he became terribly sick. He went to his master to find out the cause, but surprised to find out that the dwarf died in his strine with blood all over his body. He becomes so scared and ran home. He called Ade but his number was not connecting until he saw a post on facebook that announced the death of Ade. He died on a ghastly accident while returning from his brother's wedding which he was warned not to attend. 

Dimini's sickness became worse and he could not renew his wealth, so his incomes started crumbing everyday. He went to the hospital to do check but nothing was detected out of him to tell the cause of his illness. He becomes very lean like a piece of broom and HIV patient. When the elders of his village visited him they discovered  that the oracle has visited him, so he need to confess and undergone cleansing. So they brought him to the village to do the confession.

Dimini became so angry when he sees Dr. Akpodiwoni, the chairman that caused part of his wayward life. He joined his late mother to cry for the sacrifice of his late father for the success of this man, but he ends up abandoning them which caused him to commit the sin that brought him into this present condition. 

It is believed that the oracle gives time for the sinner to make confession, and failure to meet up with the time will end the life of the person. The elders begged Dimini to make his confession for the oracle's forgiveness, but he refused, instead cries everyday. When the expected time of the confession past, he now starts to confess but ended up not listened by the oracle. He died after the confession, and according to the tradition of the land he was instructed to be buried in the evil forest.