PVC Hustle (2)
A struggle for an entitlement
"Anybodi wey take this medicine, fear no go catch am, in fact you go dey pray for us"
"Madam , e dey work for anything"the Igbo man will come to your side.
"This your crawcraw wey dey for your body", e fit clear am, e cheap"
"150 naira pere".
At this point, it's like one more sentence will make you come fully undone. Luckily, a fat, light-skinned woman will beckon to him, and you'll be relieved, though still angry at how he called your heat rashes "crawcraw".
It's 12:00am. You will still be leaning on the barb wired fence with your helper.
Two men will join you and your supposed helper and begin a conversation.
"Cruise no dey finish for this country", one of the men will begin.
" Yes o, this country eh",the second man will reply.
81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,88,89,90!
The supervisor will struggle to call out. It will be obvious that his voice is going and you will begin to feel for him.
You will shift your weight to the left leg and the cramps will start building up again.
A groundnut seller will come and stay beside you and she will sell her boiled groundnuts to the hungry crowd. After some time,she will lean on the barb wired fence close to you and crack the shells of her merchandise and throw them in her mouth.
You will begin to wonder if she will not make a loss that way but you will understand that that act is a practical representation of "I no fit kpai".
"Oun pa eyon, oun pa efon(it kills insects, it kills flies)" A man will come close to the barb wired fence to advertise his products-insecticides.
"Peter obi ni ki e digbo fun o",(Peter Obi should be the one you vote for). One of the three men will yell out suddenly like the message is for everyone, not just for his circle.
There will be murmurs around until someone responds, " Tinubu ni ke digbo fun oo" (you should vote for Tinnubu o).
" O ti da gbe”(it's alright) the fair woman who saved you from the "crawcraw" man will say.
And just like that, everyone will begin to talk about who will be the better leader. Poking each other's flaws and good sides and forgetting their present predicament under the scorching sun.
Soon, it will be your turn.
"What is your name?",the NYSC corper will ask.
"Obakinkin Torikogbon", you will reply
She will burst into laughter.You'll be calm and will look at her until she's done.
"But your name is funny," she will defend herself.
You will not say anything but put your thumb on the machine. You will begin to think about all the activities that led to the present moment. The shege and the wahala. Your mind will reply.
You will begin to wonder if it's actually worth it to go through all that to vote for leaders who have failed us in many ways.