Oluwasegun Oke

Consumed by her Euthanasia Written by: Oluwasegun Oke This book is a property of Smashwords and therefore must not be re-edited, copied or used in any way without the prior consent and acknowledgement of the Author. The violation of this copyright is punishable under the law. It’s been twenty five years of long but no foreseeable regrets. One of the prison guards of the famous Panti Maximum Security Prison shouted at Dibamba from a distance. He turned around, wondering if it was another turn of his loyal dog to face the blue days. “Easy with the fangs “God’s son”, we are not all guilty in here”, he replied in the overpopulated, ill-reputed and second to hell prison facility. Luckily, his case had just been reviewed due to the new gubernatorial administrative dispensation. He was only fourteen years old when he was sentenced to life imprisonment, as a result of being traced to the death of a fellow cultist who had previously decided to call it quits with the notorious group. The only child of his parents who love him dearly. He was now re-standing before the same court that had six counts of charges against him in the first place. There was some immensely tense air around the vicinity of the sitting court. He stood there in the defense corner, wondering if he was actually dreaming. “Could it be they wanted to use him as a bait to catch more cultist members”, he thought. 22 hours later, he could barely recognize the street on which he grew up. A lot had changed; the streets had all been tiled and beautiful buildings had been erected everywhere. He got to his father’s Bungalow, and the gate was open. He entered and realized that there was no one at home. This made him wonder why everywhere could have been left untidy and consent free. “Perhaps his mother traveled to her village”, he thought again. He entered his room, and jumped into his bed. It was like a dream, but he is finally free. He got up, and took a family picture of himself and his parents in his hand. This brought up a lot of childhood memories, as the picture was taken on a Christmas day. Then he tried to block the rush of the day he was arrested; he had gone out to buy a coconut in order to eat his Garri, before he was being chased by three police men who tumbled him to the ground and put handcuffs on him. But somehow, he felt he was still in prison. He had missed the jokes of his best friend, “Sallah”. He was a desperately lonely and fearless bloke who got help from Aiye Confraternity. They took advantage of his age and ignorance. “Sallah was right”, he thought, “There is nothing with a beginning, without an end”. Suddenly, he heard some footsteps, and got up to know who it could be. He then ran into his father in the passage of the Bungalow. “Is that you Dibamba?, asked the old man. “Father?” replied Dibamba. “What are you doing here, aren’t you supposed to be in prison?”, remarked the old man. “I was discharged yesterday, you wouldn’t know since you never made any frantic effort to visit me, throughout all those years in prison’, said Dibamba. “By the way, where is mum?”, he asked. “You mother is dead Dibamba; she died two years ago”, the old man replied. “I hope it makes you happy, since she wasted all her money, time and energy trying to take care of you while you were in prison”. “She is dead?!....”Dibamba became dizzy, and squatted on the passage’s floor for a while. “I don’t know why they let you out, you should have been left to rot away for good”, he uttered. “No kangaroo’s tears will bring your poor mother back. You had better fasten up and face the moment. Since your mother died, I had been struggling practically every day. You were just fifteen years old when you were arrested for murder. You used to depend on your mother for food, clothes and shelter. But you are forty years old now, so you definitely need to jettison your stubbornness, and start taking responsibility. I don’t care what you’ve been through in prison; this is the outside world. Unlike there, where government pays for your miserable meals; nothing is free here in the real world. Still sitting on the floor, “where was mum buried?”, he asked with his eyes full of tears. “Are you not listening to me, or are you deaf?”. You are bad luck to me; you took away the most important person in my life. Do you really think I will forgive you for this? Look, I am now 82 years old, with no helper, nothing!. Sincerely speaking, I have had enough of your childish questions. Furthermore, since you are back home, you will be doing my laundry from now on. So I will be saving some money off that”, said the old man, and ventured into his room. At night, Dibamba could not sleep. This was a sharp contrast to when he was still in prison; when sleep was precious. He was trying to process the thought that his poor mother would be gone forever. No wonder she stopped visiting him in prison previously. And maybe it was his fault, he shouldn’t have subjected her to the torture she went through, caring for him in such a sorry state for that long. When he woke up in the morning at 7:30 am, his father had already gone out. Sitting up on the edge of his bed, he felt as if he was being teased once again, to hurry up for breakfast by his prison mates. It brought a brief smile to his face. His stomach felt really empty, so he entered the kitchen to see if there was anything he could eat. But the pots were empty. He came out of the house and saw the busy street of ‘Gumyama’, stretching into the opposite subways, interlocking the town of Kaga. He then stared at the house of his childhood friend, ‘Lekan’, for a while. He knew his parents would probably scold and rebuke him if he ever dared to interact with him, because of his criminal records. “My father was right”, he thought, because it dawned on him that the outside world was more difficult than he had expected. He decided to take a stroll around and see if he could find some job openings. The third vacancy he saw from afar was for strong men who can carry and offload bags of cements. But the monthly take home was irresistible. He entered the human resources office and sat in the chair facing a stern looking middle age man. “What is your name?, the man asked. He answered. “I would have asked for your resume, but the job we have right now is totally meant for strong labourers. “Many had quit prematurely due to the nature of the job. If this happens to you, there will be no salary. Are you okay with this condition?”, asked the Human Resources manager. Dibamba nodded again. “Alright, take this form, fill it and bring it back tomorrow”. He handed it to him. “Sir, can’t I fill it now and submit it at once?”, he asked. “No, just do as I’ve said; tomorrow will do just fine”. “Thank you sir”, he enthused and left the air conditioned office. He was a few steps away from his residence, before he met ‘Frewa’ on Gumyama Street. “Dibamba!”, she shouted. “I thought you were still in prison, oh my God. Are you okay?”. “I am fine, he replied. “You have really changed; you are a big girl now”, he said. “Yes a big girl, and a mother of four children”, she uttered. So are you going home? I will check on you sometime, okay? Bye. Frewa had always been in love with him. But he would rather waste his time chasing ‘Goraya’, who had no feelings whatsoever for him. When he got home, he found out that he had been a fool concerning choosing Goraya over someone who cares so much about him. He had spent two years this way. He would do the dishes, wash his father’s clothes and iron it all. Frewa – his childhood admirer, would come and pay him a visit. And everywhere would be lighted up with laughter. Having got the job at the big cement depot, he also contributes to the electricity, food and other miscellaneous expenses, upon the request of his father. This makes him feel that he is helping out the Octogenarian in a way. Then, one night, as he got home from work. His father called on his full attention. “There is a pressing matter that I want to discuss with you. May God rest the soul of your late mother in Heaven. I know she is with God. But I just feel that she would have wanted this”, said the old man. Even though she didn’t live very long to witness your being released from jail. “What are you getting at with all this father?”, he interrupted. “Well, you are not getting any younger. At forty two, you should be thinking about starting your own family now. I am not forcing you to do anything, okay? But, I married your mother when I was twenty three years old. You see, we could have had more kids after your birth. But as it turned out, you are our only seed in this cold-hearted world. After your twenty five years behind bars. You mistakenly thought I was heartless for not visiting you there. But how could I? I was profoundly devastated when your life imprisonment’s pronouncement was made. It was the darkest day of my life. The tears I shed back home, must have taken its own course to the depth of the ocean. I am not pushing you to do anything, but you should think about it. You have a fair job; though raising kids may be really rough sometimes. But I will really like to see my grandchildren before I die. Look, I am 84 years old. Most of my childhood friends are dead”. The following day, he was back to work, offloading four trailers of cement bags with his colleague (Jazweel). Although, the work is supposed to be preserved for five laborers, but the Manager of the Company had prevailed on only two workers, in order to save some money (which is against ethics) . The sun was scorching hot, and there was no break as the trailers were lined up for offloading. The matter discussed with Dibamba by his father was taking a toll on him. After the morning’s job, he was sitting at a table in a canteen at noon. His colleague later joined him afterwards. “I have noticed you have not been your usual self since morning. Tell me, what is troubling you?”, asked Jazweel. “I practically foot the bill of over eighty percent of our monthly expenses; You know, my father and I? But last night, he said something that really hit me like a slap. He wanted grandchildren. It made me to really feel like a failure. He is into connecting buyers and sellers; estate agent thing. But as we all know, they don’t rake in deals every day. It is a very vicious circle; he keeps going round and round and round, with nothing to show for months. Most times, he would have to fall back on the little I bring back home. And, it makes me happy, helping out. As fate would have it, finally, I am out of prison, and back with my long forgotten father. As you know my mother is dead. Should I start my own family tree now, and abandon my poor father? For God sake, he his eighty four years old”. Tears began to drip down his face. “Don’t worry Dibamba, eat your food, ehn… You don’t have to complicate things by not eating, you know that our work demands a lot of energy. Don’t worry, we will find something to do about it”, replied Jazweel. He ordered his food with a wave of hand and started chewing pieces of bread and beans like a starved chimpanzee. Dibamba’s spirit was raised a bit by those comforting words. For some reasons, he felt his friend was right. No amount of self-pity can bring about the needed financial freedom. They later left the canteen to supply customers, waiting outside for some hundreds of bags of cements. The business was always looking up, but he was at the cross road of his life. Nothing about the job was funny and meaningful anymore as it used to be. So he called the attention of Jazweel. “You mentioned something about a plan for a better pay some time ago. This job is beginning to look like a rat race, he concluded. “It was a business a friend introduced me to; it is for people with high hopes. You start small and win big, just by having some starting capital and wild land”, opined his friend. “I don’t understand”, replied Dibamba. “Don’t worry, we will visit the place later. But we need to get back to work now”. The pain was gradually dwindling down, and he was alive again. “We will go there very soon”, he kept repeating it in his mind, to boost his morale, while working. Seven hours later, they were both at the Fish ponds. They asked questions pertaining to maintenance, overheard cost and profits from the business enterprise. The following day at work, Dibamba made his opinion known to his colleague. “To be sincere with you, I think the business is a goldmine. I’ve noticed you don’t buy your favourite food anymore, because you are saving some money. But I am thinking about setting up my own Fish ponds business as well. We have more than two virgin plot of land in front of our house laying fallow. I will discuss it with my father for approval. A month later, he had done enough to build eight fish ponds and purchase bag of feeds for his already ordered fingerlings. But he continued working at the Cement Company, because he needed to pay off all the money he had borrowed from his fellow workers. He then put up a vacancy post for a fish pond attendant in front of his residence. After two days, he received over two hundred applications. His room was filled up with brown and white envelops, he was going through everything when he heard a knock on the entrance gate. It was on a Saturday morning. He got up to see who it was. But the applicant he saw was a female. “I am sure you know that this is a male job?”, uttered Dibamba. “I really need a job, please. I will do anything”, replied the beautiful lady. “I don’t want to promise you anything, but you can drop your application”, he responded. There was something about her, she reminds him so much of Goraya (his childhood love). He smiled to himself, relishing the little moment just spent with her. He wanted more than that, and he knew what to do so as to make her his forever love. The following day (Sunday), he called the number in her letter. She picked up, explaining that she was getting ready to go to Church. He insisted she come over after the closing hour, but she wondered why the matter could not wait till Monday. Now she turned out to be fifteen years younger than Dibamba. He remembered his father’s advice, it made him to be surer than ever that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Her name is Seleena, she lives just two streets away from his residence. They became even closer when she was employed and started working at the fish ponds’ site. One year later, he sensed the mind-boggling fact that something was wrong with their relationship; It was merely platonic, but he didn’t want that to be the case for too long. Thus one day, after returning home from work, he bared his mind to her concerning their incessant spates of scuffles. She then opened up and told him that she is asexual. He was confused at first, and wanted to know more about her, but that he would do whatever it takes to respect and fight for her love. She then explained further, that she has never been attracted to the opposite sex. He was shocked and confused. He almost parted his mouth to ask if she was a lesbian. But she broke it to him that she has never had sex with any man before, because of her lack of concern and feelings towards men. To this, Dibamba solemnly promised to stand by her and ensure that they both get through the ordeal together. But he couldn’t leave her to his thought, so he suddenly approached and hugged her abruptly. No doubt, it was the most awkward show of affection from him. She stood still, right there in his arms. “I thought I had lost you forever, Seleena. I don’t know what I would have done without you”, he confessed. After two years of running the eight fish ponds together, she finally agreed to start a family with Dibamba. He realized very early in the relationship, that he was starting another elaborate and expensive phase of his life. She had changed his psyche overnight. For instance, she insisted they plaster and paint the outside walls of the three rooms’ bungalow, which cost forty five thousand Naira. She then turned their rooms inside out without their consents, because according to her, “they breed mosquitoes”. Nevertheless, her weird sense of rights and wrongs doesn’t matter after all. Being a hardworking man, he was contended with the sincere thoughts of his new destiny. At 86 years old, his father became ill and was transferred from an Orthodox Medical Practitioner to the district University Teaching Hospital. Within a spate of two days, he was stabilized. Then the doctor recommended an operation that would cost 1.5 Million Naira. Meanwhile, his wife had just been delivered of a bouncing baby boy. This made him extremely happy. Now both the mother and her baby are back home after being discharged from Hospital. He told his wife about his father’s condition and what the doctor said. “What is the name of this strange ailment?”, asked Seleena. “He didn’t specify”, replied Dibamba. “This is all a sham”, she concluded, cuddling her baby. “Anyway, your father is over 86 years old now, isn’t he? Why don’t you just let him return to his ancestors in peace? Or do you intend to sell this house? This is the only thing we have left. Think about it, you don’t want us to end up on the street, just because you are weak”. “I am not weak!”, Dibamba interrupted her. He is my father, the only family I have left. When I was sick back in the days, he sold his precious Motorcycle to pay for my hospital bills. Now, His wife interrupted him too. “So you want to do the same by being irrational? Go ahead, sell everything we’ve worked hard to build together”. Their noise was so much that the little baby in her arms began to cry profoundly. He wanted to call the doctor and ask how his father was doing, but couldn’t. The clock was ticking, and there was nothing he could do to pay up. He dipped his hand in his pocket, brought out some change, headed to buy his father’s some meal, and left for the hospital. The doctor re-asserted his previous comment, which was that his father is in dire need of a corrective surgery. It must be carried out before a week, in which two days had been expended. He alighted from a commercial bus to beat the heavy traffic, when he was on his way back home, when he suddenly ran into a friend (Frank) from his secondary school days, who was in the back seat of a Range Rover. “Isn’t that Dibamba…hey Dibamba!!”. He looked over his shoulder and saw him. They exchanged some hysterical greetings in the electric atmosphere. He then invited him out for more of their old school-hours’ camaraderie. Now they are sitting at a table in a popular bar. “You look worried, are you okay?”, asked his friend. With tears in his eyes, he explained all he had been going through, and how he is contemplating selling his father’s house so as to restore his good health. “Too bad… but my brother is a doctor based in Israel; maybe he could help. I could call him if you want”. “I appreciate your offer, but I don’t want to bore you with my personal problems. Was that your car parked outside?”, with a stern look on his face. “Yes, I am a Managing Director now. I run a Local Content Oil and Gas Exploration Company. You must have heard of KleinHunt Co-operation. Our trailers ply this route very often. “So, you are a Billionaire now”, concluded Dibamba, with his mouth wild opened. Consequently he shouted, “Hey, my friend is a Billionaire!! The people in the bar were beginning to direct their unsolicited attention towards the two. “Dibamba, you’ve not changed at all. Look at you”, he drank out of his cup of beer again. “Your mind seems clean my friend, but these people I can’t vouch for, come on, and stop calling me a Billionaire”. “But that is what you are”, Dibamba enthused. “Please, I must confess at this point that I need your help. The Doctor insisted that…that a corrective surgery of 1.5 million Naira must be carried out on my poor father. Please, help me. I will pay you back unfailingly in a couple of months. “Money, my friend is universal, and truth is real. Do you want to know the truth?”. Dibamba shook his head in acknowledgement. “We are friends; we should be able to help each other. But I need to test your loyalty, because that is what is most paramount to me. I didn’t get to this stage of my life by chance. Now I want you to listen very attentively. We can’t discuss everything here, take my Business card, and call me in two days. I would have prepared a space for you in a branch of my Conglomerate. And oh sorry, you can take this token for transport and all”. He handed a brown envelop over to him. As for your father’s Surgical Operation, I will arrange for him to be transferred to my company’s personal Hospital. We have some good specialists there. Are you okay with that?”. Tears began to form again in Dibamba’s eyes. “Come on, what are friends for”, uttered Frank. When he got home, he started reaching out to his wife inside in an enthusiastic tone, but she was nowhere to be found. So he hurriedly went to her best friend’s house to inquire about her whereabouts. He was told his wife had left with his newly born baby. Perplexed, he called her phone number, but no one picked. At this point, he was sure she must be at her auntie’s place. After being stuck in traffic for two hours, he was eventually at her hide out; banging on the door. “I know you are in there Seleena, come out now!”. He could hear some indiscreet words in the background, probably from both parties. “Go away, you will never have my child”, responded his wife. “I will make it up to you, please. I’ve got good news. “Yes, you’ve got another victim entangled in your net”, she uttered. “No, just here me out please, open the door”. Auntie Bimbo, convince her, please”. After about seven minutes of hostility, they decided to open the front door for him. He narrated coming across his secondary school’s friend who had become a Billionaire, and how his is willing to help. “You see, I told you he is a good man”, opined her auntie. “Can I carry the baby for a while?”, asked Dibamba. She obliged, so they soon became a bigger and happier family. The following day, he called Frank and was asked to come over to a popular hotel. “You remember I asked you to come along with your passport photograph. “Here”, Dibamba handed it over to him. “Good, now you will be given your first assignment by next week; are you okay with that?”, he asked. Dibamba shook his head in agreement. Meanwhile, his father had been re-admitted at the new Private Hospital his friend recommended. He decided to stop working at the Cement Company, since he had now secured a better and more promising job at the Oil and Gas Conglomerate. After the long week ran out, he headed to his friend’s place, so as to seal the lucrative job. Instead, he was given an international passport and a ticket. “First, you will be travelling to New York in two days”. “Really?”, Dibamba exclaimed, filled with joy and overwhelmed by his friend’s offer. He latter arrived in New York, and was approached by two men in suites, who helped him to the already reserved hotel accommodation. Carried away by the prospect of his new affluent lifestyle, he concluded that things will never be the same. His friend called the gentlemen, putting him through, and latter had a word with him on phone. But things took another turn, when they started dismantling the artifacts in the luggage he brought from Lagos, Nigeria. He noticed the white substance concealed inside. This made him curious and shocked. “What’s this I’m seeing?”, he probed. But the two men paid him no attention. “It’s good”, one of them affirmed after tasting it. “You guys should tell me what is going on right now”. He got back to Nigeria, angry and depressed. He went straight to his friend’s house. “I am disappointed in you Frank; for God sake we were friends. “ For God sake you’ve made 25 million Naira”, his friend interrupted. And please, just leave God where is his up there, looking down on you. Where was he when your father needed an urgent surgery? Don’t you want to be rich, with fleet of cars and a mansion like mine? Well, it is too late to back out now; there is no going back, or else your father will see his grave”. “Are you threatening me?”, Dibamba queried. “No my friend, you still have a consignment to deliver in four days. This is a traffic-oriented business, meanwhile you may go back home and relax; I am sure it’s been a rough trip for you”. He needed someone to purge his innocence to, but his wife was not there. Instead, she sat him down, gave him a massage, and told him to wait for what’s coming: she had prepared a very expensive meal with some refreshment. She urged him not to allow anybody else to take his place at his friend’s Oil Company. He had never seen her that happy before, so he decided to keep the new cocaine dealership a secret. He delivered more wraps of cocaine in Paris as planned by his new Boss-friend. While in France, he took a nap and daydreamed that his dead mother appeared to him with tears in her eyes. He woke up, not knowing what to do. “It was just a dream”, he thought. After this, he made ten more deliveries to India, London, Brazil, Germany, Australia and Canada. By this time, he had become more relaxed and accustomed to the so-called “Devoutly Astute Merchant-Lifestyle”. He bought a new house in Victoria Island and six expensive cars; Including a Porsche. His father who had been discharged two months previously, asked him how he got all the wealth overnight, but he said nothing. He had developed a carefree sense, being a completely arrogant personality now. Ten minutes later, his boss called him up. Another deal had been reached, he will soon fly out to Malaysia (A country where Drug Trafficking attracts a death sentence). He landed in Malaysia successfully, and sealed up the deal. That was where he met Frank’s former cohort, with whom he started the Illicit Business some years back. His name is Mohammed. But they had split about two years earlier, due to Frank’s insubordination, greediness and acute rebelliousness. Frank didn’t know that his former ally was among the duo that picked up Dibamba at the airport. He narrated to him how Frank almost killed him because he wanted the cocaine proceeds of their brainchild all to himself. When Dibamba got back to Nigeria, he thought about starting his own franchise too and earn more. So, he called it quits with his boss (Frank) without his consent, and started selling cocaine on his own, using the contacts he had known during their working relationship. But perhaps, he should have vacated his new abode, because assassins stormed his residence in just two months of breaking away and shot him twelve times, leaving him in a pool of blood. Miraculously, he cheated death. He was now recuperating in a hospital bed, with a heart full of fear. After two days, he was allowed to see visitors. “They have performed a successful operation on you my son; you will be just fine”, said his 86 years old father. He was alive, but it didn’t last long. He suffered a cardiac arrest due to complications and died at 11:30 PM (four days after his recovery). A Post Mortem was ordered by the Police, and was found that he had been given a lethal injection by possibly one of the nurses at the Hospital. She was latter apprehended, charged with first degree murder. She confessed to have been given some cash up front and promised seven million Naira to carry out the dastardly act by an unknown man.