UNTAMED

Part Twenty-four

…Apart from those episodes, there are so many others Asaba will never forget. There was one that was bigger than the money lender episode. There was a very big stone at the square which our forefathers had met. Nobody had been able to lift it, even Obuenhi himself could not. It was said to be a gift from the gods and also in it were the spirit of the founding fathers. The stone was said to be a sign that the gods and our ancestors will not abandon us. There were some missionary who came to share rice and clothes to women in the community, so they had lined up at the square but somehow, they started rushing for the remaining goods. Obinna’s mother had fallen on the big stone and had a small cut on her leg. When Obinna heard that his mother was being treated, he ran from wherever he was and came to the market square. People said his mother had told him she was okay but Obinna had been very angry. The next thing people saw was Obinna lifting the stone. Obinna had raised up the gods and our ancestors which we were told could not be raised. He carried the stone and a large crowd followed him. When the news got to us, I ran to see for myself. It was true, Obinna was moving the ancestors, he had carried it all the way to the palace of the Asagba ignoring his mother’s plea. He had dropped it there, immediately the stone touched the ground, he fainted. At first, we thought he was dead until we saw he was still breathing. Obinna had slept for a whole day before he had woken up. Where his skills and natural strength came from became the topic of Asaba. 
Then there was a bigger one. It was related to Mama Sunday who was Ifeoma, Obinna’s mother’s very close friend, then Obinna was seventeen and about to finish secondary school. She lost her husband who was owing a lot of money. Sunday the oldest son was only sixteen, she had twin daughters who were just ten. The bad thing about her debt was the man in question was the older brother of a soldier. Few months after the death of Mama Sunday’s husband, this man came with his soldier brother and three other soldiers to Mama Sunday’s house. They picked the ten year old twins with them. They said their father had used them as collateral. Naturally Obinna was not interested. Anything that did not concern his mother was not interesting. Many people had gathered to beg this man and the soldiers to give Mama Sunday more time. I was among those begging but Obinna had stood there watching. His mother had joined Mama Sunday to hold the hands of the children as the soldiers pulled their other hands. Then the soldiers had pushed the women with force sending them to the ground. They commanded everybody to disappear or they will start whipping with their koboko. But they had touched Obinna’s mother. As people started scurrying away, Obinna blocked their path and suggested a deal. He told them he would like to fight them and they should promise they will released the children if he won. One of the soldiers told him to get out but Obinna called him a coward. Then Obinna’s mother was already begging Obinna to run. You know we men and our ego, nobody will want to be called a coward. That word made one of the soldiers to raise his whip to hit Obinna but Obinna pulled him with his whip, raised him very high without even placing him on his shoulders and slammed the soldier to the ground. Normal people would throw someone’s back to the ground but Obinna threw him face down knocking him out instantly. You know what he said? He shouted next person and boom the remaining three soldiers abandoned the twins and rushed at him. While one punched him with his hands, the others used their koboko, but Obinna fought back using his God given brutal strength. There was no indication to show he was feeling their punch and their koboko. Once he held one, he refused to let go and even with the beating from the other two he held on tight to the neck of his next victim. With one hand holding the neck, he used his other hand to pull the koboko of one of them, used his leg to kick him in his manhood, then he tied his victim’s neck with the whip. The other one with the koboko was about releasing another stroke when Obinna used his hand to prevent the rope from hitting him. With the other one already weak from Obinna’s grip and a koboko already tied to his neck Obinna pushed him with force and pulled the other one closer. As the other man tried to hold the rope in his neck, Obinna suddenly pulled the two towards him and shifted immediately. The two soldiers collided with each other, by then, the one he had hit on his manhood rushed at him with a knife which was his undoing. The knife had sliced Obinna’s arm but Obinna seized his hand at his second attempt and bent it. I heard the sound of the man’s hand break. The scream was like that of a wounded animal, Obinna still lifted him and slammed him on the ground, then the other soldier who did not have rope on his neck tried to hit Obinna but Obinna blocked the punch, raised him up and slammed him on the ground. He then dragged the soldiers and used their koboko to tie them together. He was not through with them, he went further to humiliate them by filling their mouths with sand. The spectators started screaming Ogbuenhi and they carried him high chanting Ogbuenhi but some focused on the soldiers on the ground. While some poured water on them, some packed sand and dirt and threw it on them. Even Oke our fufulele, who could not lift a broomstick joined to pour sand on the soldiers. As they carried him around chanting Ogbuenhi, he collapsed and once again, people thought he was dead. He was rushed immediately to the village hospital where he was revived. If I had not witnessed everything with my eyes I wouldn’t have believed if someone else told me what happened. The soldiers were later carried away by unknown men. The next day, which was Sunday, the Anglican Priest explained that people should not be surprised about what happened because people like Obinna had existed and are still existing. That Sunday, he talked about David's mighty men of valor and I could not believe it that one of them had killed a lion with his bare hands. After his preaching, we stopped arguing about where his strength came from. We all believed the priest’s message and concluded that Obinna was among the people God created with natural strength.
Obinna continued his escapade but his mum through the advice of the priest started pleading with Obinna to join the military and used his strength for good. He refused and also refused to go to the university. The priest tried his best but later gave up. His eyes cleared when one of his delinquents had caused his mum to spend two months in jail after she had confessed she was the one who had set the farm of one of the men asking her hand in marriage on fire. People saw Obinna but the police had seen his mother. After his mother had come out of prison, she had given testimony in church that God had touched Obinna’s heart and he would soon become a soldier. The women had joined her to dance and praise God. 
This is the man you are looking for, the man who without training of any kind did those things I told you of, the ones I didn’t tell you are even more. Now he is much trained and when he combines that with his skills, he is something else. People had been afraid that Obinna would become evil when his mother had died but his military training had helped him to behave. Then he had brought one chubby and beautiful Abigail to show Mama Sunday. Later, she had become his wife, then Lord Nero we all feared had ended the innocent woman’s life thinking that would put fear in Obinna’s heart. If only he knew that she was the person keeping the beast at bay. Obinna had returned to his old self and wiped out the whole clan.”
Ibe had gone too far, there was no way he would let him get away.