The Independence Walk

"Bring another round for the table", Shina yelled signalling the barman at the other end of the bar, even as Temi shook her head slightly in that way girlfriends do when their boyfriends were being obnoxious. It didn't make a difference in the fact that they loved them anyway.

Temilade could excuse him for being loud - it wasn't uncharacteristic of him, but she could excuse him today. Today marked the end of his youth service and meant that he'd been formally thrust into Nigeria's workforce. Which wasn't to be celebrated, if truth be told as Temi herself had been actively searching for a job since finishing her service the year before, to no avail.

But Shina was a petroleum engineer and the big oil firm he'd interned at during his service year had decided to retain him. It was an extra topping on the cake that the pay was really good. It wasn't every day a Nigerian youth landed a job so easily— Temi really could excuse his loudness.

After seven years in the university for what was a five-year course on paper; spending the first two weeks of his service in the Northern part of the country— thereby worrying his family and making him the main prayer point even though he assured them he was alright and a year of wearing the white tee and khakis and having people in his area refer to him as 'Mr Coppa', Shina was glad to be done. He'd promised himself this week of merriment whenever he became an office man.

The bar was loud and crowded, but the barman had heard Shina because he promptly arrived at their table with chilled bottles of beer.

Shina thumped the barman's back, laughing heartily, "Good guy! Sharp guy!" He waved his hand around the table, gesturing to both he and his girlfriend's friends who'd also come celebrate with them. "Share it round. Share it round. After this round, you'll bring, make we dey go"

Shina turned to Temilade, his brows raised in question. She nodded silently, quite grateful. Last year, when she'd completed her own NYSC, Shina had kept the party going till past midnight. She was pleasantly surprised he was willing to call it quits at just nine-thirty.

"Make I bring another round of isi-ewu or goat pepper soup for una?" the barman asked Shina.

"You wan make I finish all my money for here abi. We don already buy all your canteen finish. Get behind me satan!" Shina joked pointing at the bowls of soup they'd consumed littering the table.

He pushed a bottle to Temilade, "Drink now."

"You know I don't like alcohol," she stated. He knew she wasn't a big fan of alcohol and he always teased her about it. 'Everyone should drink away their worries' was Shina's slogan. He also always goaded her to drink whenever they went out.

"It's just stout baby. See even Feyisara is gulping the gulder like a man."

"Feyisara is gulping the gulder like herself. " She rolled her eyes at him. If he teased her about her holier-than-thou attitude to alcohol then she corrected him about his once-in-a-while sexist statements.

"Amen," Feyisara, Shina's best friend's girlfriend shouted.

Temilade turned to glare at her because the girl was going through her beers at a flash-like rate. Feyisara drank like a fish and hardly got noticeably drunk or hungover. Her boyfriend Muyiwa was like Temi. He nursed his beers like babies and could make one beer last for an entire night out. Anything over two bottles and he started misbehaving. Shina had once joked that God had switched Feyisara and Muyiwa's private parts. A joke that Muyiwa made him pay for.

Thirty minutes later, their party of six was ready to leave. Stella— who had been Shina's coursemate and had also just concluded her NYSC— stopped them as they made to leave.