JAPA Part II
A Nigerian Survival Story
Read Part I here
Tobi fainted to the ground at that moment and Kwame hissed. They didn’t have to kill anyone if Tobi had obeyed simple instructions. Their job was to get Tobi to London without public sentiments which the Journalist would have provided. Headlines like “Governor sends his children abroad amidst election insecurity” would have reduced his chances of winning the governorship election the second time.
“How on earth did ‘Get the Governor’s son to London’ become ‘Kill the Governor’s Journalist enemy?’” These gave Kwame headaches and caused him to rage at his VIP client who had turned the once innocent travel gang into a murder gang. Blade, who had only been used whenever someone needed to get injured had turned machete.
“Ah, Maame!” Kwame lamented as he dismantled the camera that had somehow gotten into his hands.
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Tobi woke up with a dizzy head. He sat up in the dank rice storage and looked down at his clothes. His white round neck was stained with mud and something else that had a dark-red colour. He smelt it and realized that it was blood. The different colours made it look like a bizarre adire.
He tried remembering the events that led to his being in the rice storage but only remembered hearing someone calling for his mother. Tobi stood up after a few trials and tried forgetting the headache he felt. He dusted off the dirt on his jeans but couldn’t do much about the mud on his sneakers.
After observing the activities going on in what he concluded to be a warehouse, he stood up to make his escape. He walked around for some time and then realized that he was on the ground floor. He was already crossing the dusty open space that overlooked the exit when someone called to him.
“Oga!”
Tobi froze on the spot but turned around to face the direction of the voice. A flash of how he’d made a fool of himself while with Kwame’s gang passed in his memory and he decided to put on an act.
“How many guys do you need to carry the bags?” The girl who had called was now closer and he could see that she had multicoloured layers of makeup on her face.
Tobi looked beyond her and saw some bare-chested muscled guys look at him hungrily. They looked ready for whatever anyone who paid them would have them do.
“Errm, I’m just on my way to bring my car,” Tobi lied. The girl’s face looked blank.
“I parked it quite far away from here only to realize that…” He looked around the warehouse. “You know, It’s my first time here,” He said and smiled at her even though she still didn’t look convinced. He dug his hands into his pockets and hoped that he had some money there. Thankfully, five 1,000 naira notes got pulled out and he handed them over to her. “For you and the guys.” The girl thanked him and the guys hailed him as he walked through the exit.
For the first time after several minutes of tension, he was able to take a deep breath. He had wandered far away from the uncompleted warehouse but had to start running when he heard footsteps behind him. He ran for a while until he couldn’t anymore as he wasn’t used to much running. He raised both hands in surrender as the footsteps became closer.
Surprisingly, the person also collapsed steps away from him.
“Were you kidnapped too?”
That question made the situation sensible. After deciding to pool their resources, they started their journey, hoping to get to an express road soon. The sky became darker until the two dragged their tired bodies to an uncompleted building, hoping it was safe. After finding a comfortable spot to rest, Tobi took off his shirt which now stank. However, the two guys had to hold their breath for a while when they heard someone whistling in the distance. Then a torch shone in their direction and when they looked up, a man was smiling at them and then threw them small nylon and left. It took them some minutes before they realized that the small nylon contained two meat pies that they devoured hungrily.
Tobi and the guy slept through the night despite the swarms of mosquitoes that came around to feast on their blood. Tobi woke up very early in the morning and went outside to urinate but started screaming out his lungs. His friend had to come and silence him by putting his hands over his mouth. But when the friend looked at the ground on which they stood, he realized that their feet were messed up in the blood. The poor guy vomited the contents of his last meal on the spot.
Tobi and his friend had to match the blood once again to leave the uncompleted house and walked briskly while at it. On their way out, they heard a girl crying. Compassion welled in their hearts and they proceeded to rescue the girl. They had finished untying her and were about to leave when the guy that threw them snacks the previous day entered the room.
