It all began in 2020

CHAPTER FOUR😷

CHAPTER FOUR😷

DEBO

It's been my fifth year out of the university. Four years since I served my country, but still I had no job. I had an upper second degree in economics from the University of Lagos, but it's like no firm cares about any of that. I have gone everywhere and even registered in an online accounting class to beautify my resume, but everything had been futile. The most shocking thing I have experienced throughout my four years of looking for a job has been nothing but the fact that graduates of sociology and even electrical engineering are taking up job spaces that were obviously meant for people like me with experiences in financial management. It made me doubt the usefulness of my degree, the usefulness of the 16 years of education I received.

Just like any other day, I was walking the streets with my sagged tie and my rumpled shirts. I didn't even bother putting on a blazer anymore because the heat in Abuja alone was enough to melt a chocolate bar. I had just come back from yet another unsuccessful job interview. Apparently, they were looking for a junior accountant with some sort of experience working in a business organization. I was livid to say the least; how did they expect me to get a job experience if no one was offering me a job in the first place. Just a few months ago, one of my friends invited me over to his wedding. I was ashamed of myself. Here I was, a twenty-seven-year-old graduate still living under the roof of his parents while I had friends starting their own families and buying properties in their name. Every time I lost a job interview, my mum would always sit down to listen to me pour out my heart and my griefs. It was little, but it helped me a lot. She always told me that this time would pass, but it's like I've been stuck in a time warp ever since.

I was headed back home, since there was nothing else for me to do. Every time this happened, I always ensured I went back home to have my bath and watch a movie or something, anything to get my mind of the corruption that exists in the Nigerian Labour Market. I was walking until when a running man bumped into me. First, I was confused, but then I turned back to see some men running after the man who apparently was holding a briefcase. Knowing the way things went in the country, I went to hide behind the bushes while I watched from afar the way the man was tortured. He was kicked and hit with wooden rods, it was a horrible sight to watch to be honest, but at least the man didn't die. They finally left the man alone and took the briefcase with them. When the coast was clear, I went over to meet him. He was bleeding profusely and his nose looked like it was about to fall off.

The man thought I was about to beat him too, so he was scared to approach me, but then I calmed him down and assured him that he was safe with me. I pulled him up and told the man to climb my back. With the way he was bleeding and breathing, it was almost certain he would die any minute. I walked with him on my back and with my folder in my hands until we got to a T-Junction. There, I wove down a cab and placed the man in it before getting in myself.

The driver took us to the nearest hospital and he came down to help me carry the man into the hospital reception. There, some nurses ran off to get a stretcher which they brought in and placed this injured man on. The nurses rushed him to the emergency ward, and I waited patiently for the man to be operated on.

It had been almost four hours since we got to the hospital, and still no report. At that moment, I was scared that I was too late, scared that the man might have lost his life. I know I didn't know the man from anywhere, but I honestly couldn't imagine myself in the same situation without some sort of help. It was the least I could do.

Throughout my stay in the hospital, I was impatient, I stood up, walked over to the reception and back, I even went out to breath some fresh air. I walked around the hospital and I was able to see a woman holding her baby with so much joy written across her face, in the same hospital, I saw a group of people crying, probably because of the loss of a loved one, the sights made me realise just how much I had to be thankful for the life I lived.

I finally came back to the reception and sat down. I knew the operation would take a lot of time, but I just wished somebody, anybody could just come give me some update about the man's wellbeing. While I was waiting, I took out my phone and sent a message to my father that I would be returning home late. He asked me if everything was okay, and I assured him that everything was.

I finally decided to relax and lay my back against the chair, to not think about the injured man and hope for the best, but as I was relaxing and hoping, I fell asleep. I didn't realise how much I had slept off until when a cleaner tapped me on my shoulders to wake me up.

"Make you dey go. Visiting hours don close." she said to me.

I was confused. I wasn't a visitor. I started asking myself many things all at once. What could have happened to the man? Is he dead? Why hasn't anyone come to talk to me about him?

"What of the man I brought here earlier this afternoon. He was rushed to the emergency ward." I quickly pointed out.

"I no sabi anything about that one. My own work here na to clean. You fit go jam those nurses we dey there but na d same thing dey go yarn you. Make you go back house, come back tomorrow."

I really wanted to know how the man was faring and wish him luck, but then looking outside and at my watch, I could see that it was indeed late, and my muscles were sore, an indication that I had stressed myself out too much.

I grabbed my folder and walked out of the hospital, and then my phone started ringing. I grabbed the phone from my folder to see it was my mum that was calling. I picked up the phone and so many questions about my whereabouts were immediately thrown at me. Sure I knew it was late, but I expected her to trust I was an adult and could handle things myself. I knew she was just looking out for me, but sometimes, I wished she didn't always take things too far.

When we were done with the call, I placed my phone back into my folder and untucked the rest of my shirt. There was literally no money on me and that made me remember the kind driver who told me to keep my money as he was just being human. I was relieved to be honest, because I had no money on me as at then, and this my lack of cash, was what made me go hungry throughout my stay in the hospital.

I stretched my arms and prepared for the long journey I had to make, seeing I had no money for transport, and as I was walking on the now empty and dark streets, I was proud of what I did earlier and I knew my mother would be proud too.