Subdued (18+)✔️ [A Nigerian Romance]

14~Governors

"We're here sir," Usman said as he turned off the car ignition in the underground parking lot of Governor Oluwadare's residence.

"Usman, give us a few minutes alone," Kachi replied. He had to make sure Rose got the message even though he'd said it before. He waited for the driver to exit the car before turning to her. "I will beg you again. Inside that house are important people, Rose. Please comport yourself. No slip ups."

She sighed and then grabbed her purse. "Its not the first time I'm meeting your parents. You don't have to remind me."

Hoping she'd gotten the message, he nodded and exited the car. He could hear the tap tap of her heels as she slowly followed him towards the garage door guarded by two soldiers. The men said nothing to them as they walked through the door, then it was shut behind them.

"This way sir," a man in a suit and tie said, then led them down a hallway, up a flight of stairs and finally he opened another set of double doors for them. "Enjoy your dinner," he smiled.

"Ah! My boy!" Governor Obiagu cried immediately they walked in. He hastily stood up and walked around the table to envelope Kachi in a hug. The younger man awkwardly patted his back as he looked at the other people present in the room. Why was the old man behaving like this? In a room that held another governor, his first lady and other ministers, why did his father have to make a scene?

"Good evening sir," Kachi greeted as he pulled away. "Good evening, your Excellency, first lady" He bowed his head slightly in a show of respect and nodded at the other politicians present. He could still hear his father gushing on about how beautiful Rose looked that evening.

"He's a carbon copy of you, Maduka," Governor Oluwadare called out to his father. "I hope the traffic wasn't that bad?"

"No sir, it was manageable," Kachi smiled.

"Wonderful, wonderful." He waved at the two empty seats left. It seemed they were the latest people to join them. "Come sit, we're about to start dinner."

"Thank you sir," Rose beamed as she greeted the people present. Kachi pulled out her chair for her and her smile grew impossibly brighter.

Dinner was a rowdy affair punctuated with few beats of silence where he could hear cutleries scrape against plates and the odd chewing noises. The food looked and smelled delicious but Kachi could not taste it. His mind was on why his father had called him out here. He and Rose were the only persons present who had no political roles and as the conversations around him traveled from one political matter to another, he found himself slowly losing his patience.

When Governor Oluwadare pushed his chair backward and invited the guests for a drink in the living area, Kachi finally let out a relieved breath.

"You look good in that suit," his mother said as they made their way out. "lose the frown," she added before intertwining hands with Rose and pulling her away. This left him and his father.

"Why am I here?" Kachi asked when they found a quiet corner to talk.

"Can't you have a drink and relax? You always have to be on top things," Governor Obiagu laughed.

"I have really important things to do so forgive me. Not all of us have the luxury of time to eat and drink as much as they like."

"Fine, I'll go straight to the point. I came up with an idea for an amazing project. We want to start a foundation that gives loan to small and medium enterprises run by the Nigerian youths. So we want to run it through your bank with support from the government."

"Who's we?" Kachi narrowed his eyes.

"Governor Oluwadare and I."

"Why? You're the governor of Anambra State, he's the governor of Lagos State. I don't see how it ties in. Is this going to be something that can be accessed Nationwide or is it limited to your states?"

"For now, Anambra State then as it progresses, we'll add Lagos and others."

Kachi's eyes narrowed even more as he stared at the older man. There had to be a catch because his father was too selfish for this. There was no way Governor Obiagu would travel all this way for a program that would benefit others more than him. "What's the agenda?"

Governor Obiagu huffed. "Agenda? Onyekachi really? Its a project that would benefit the masses. What agenda can I possibly have?"

"Why did you come here and involve the Governor? You could have met me directly to talk this out and its unlike you to involve him when you haven't even started yet."

"Onyekachi, I—"

"I don't have the energy for too much talk. Just tell me what the plan is. You have an end goal in mind, what is it?"

Governor Obiagu looked away and began inspecting the room before sighing. When he spoke again, his voice was lower. "I want to run for president."

Kachi stared at him, stunned for a few seconds before taking a step back. "What?"

"Yes. And it will go smoothly. I can already see myself winning. Everything is in place now."

"I'm sure I didn't hear you well," Kachi sneered. "that was not the agreement. You serve your four years and if you want, you can run again for governor and then that's it. That was the agreement."

"I know what we discussed and that was three years ago. I didn't have the power I had then and I didn't know the right people. Now my path has been cleared for me. This is the perfect time for me."

He couldn't believe this man. After the terrible things they'd had to do to win before and after all the promises that it was the last time, why was he now saying this?

"You already know that I can't be a part of this. If you're willing to carry on, then do so alone. I washed my hands from politics three years ago and for good reason. You're on your own."

"Onyekachi calm down. This won't be like before. We have powerful people backing us this time around—"

"No," Kachi growled, attraction the attention of a few people around them.

"We can't talk about this here. Let's talk tomorrow eh. Tonight was for us to socialize not discuss politics, please."

"I'm leaving."

***

I don't know any politicians personally so take what I'm writing with a grain of salt.

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