*Where was the benin kingdom located in pre colonial Nigeria map?*
I asked my SS1 students.

*In the north next to Ilorinn*. The first student answered.

*Noo.*
As I pointed to Joy my best student to save the day.

*Ancient benin kingdom with the oba as its head was located in the south western region of Nigeria with Kano as its borders*
Joy replied with a fulfilling smile plastered on her face.

*Jesuu..*
I had surely carried my sacrifice beyond the crossroads.

With bare singlet on my back and bare hands,
I had volunteered to destroy the Hornets nest.

I should never have come to teach today.

Should have just gone to ibom Tropicana to watch Jupiter Ascending.

Lord knows I needed it.

Marking the SS1 history and Economics scripts the previous night had my head in aches.

Worse still,
Papa at the family house had declared that day a fast
Thus the kitchen under lock and key.

*Mfono ntoro o*
I shouted at the children.
Exiting the class towards Lady J's biology class.

Perhaps I would find a little joy.

Standing before the class in exquisite gown,
I could tell she was not doing great as well.

For three unruly students had decided she was target practice for their squeezed papers.

Whilst sitting by the window,
The sun flies came.

Ibom demonic agents that left bu
mps across your smooth skin.
Angry at their arrival, I raced to the corpers lodge.

'Sosogho Abasi'
Patrick had cooked afang soup today.

With great joy,
Eba materialised within three minutes
.
Lading the soup to the plate,
I noticed the presence of periwinkles.

The Ayaya ibom people, I loved.
The Ayaya ibom culture, I fancied.

That moment was the exception.

For eating became a chore.
Stopping every three seconds to remove hard shells from my mouth.

That week went terribly for me.

A falling out with the CLO left me waiting seven hours to sign attendance at the secretariat.

A fall out with the sisters coordinator left the president insisting that the 6am to 6pm fasting continue for the whole week.

A fall out with the Uncle left me with Toilet duties for four consecutive days

A fall out with the principal left our monthly clearance papers unsigned till the last day.

A fall out with the Area Inspector left me in blisters having been told to clear the bushes around.

Valentines day came.
Love was in the air.

My chance at impressing Ola had come.

At Uyo,
The golden necklace was bought.

From Oron,
The pink shoes were sent.

From Ikot Ekpene,
The earrings came.

At Nung Udoe,
The gifts were wrapped.

At Eket beach,
The gifts were given.

*Oshe kosi*
Ola said
A wonderful smile lightening up her face.

Her voice,
Flooded my heart with a glowing warmth.
Ignited the embers of inner joy in my being.
Instigated the need to spend my whole 19,800 on her alone.

Who could blame me?

A beautiful lady like her would always be admired by all.

An appreciative lady with great character like her would always be lounged-for by the best people.

A friend had brought Origin along.
At last I tasted the much talked about drink.

Another friend rode a horse
At last, I enjoyed the feeling of mid air floating while in top speed.

The beach we all entered,
The salty waters we all tasted.
The ocean tidal waves we all battled.

And victorious we emerged,

Like little kids,
Giggling all the way.
Sharing bouts of unrestrained laughs.
Racing around while engaging in mock games.

This was spirit of ethnic cooperation
And we were its joyful examples.

Within seconds, disaster struck.
Within minutes, chaos abounded all around.

The meek ocean had showed its ugly side.
The salty waters had claimed another victim.

Victor was his name
Kosi is my name.

The letter B was his batch.

The adjectives *macho, intimidating* described his physique.
The adjectives *thin, slim* describes my physique.

The word *none* described his body alcohol content.
The number *32* may have been an accurate description of my body alcoholic content.

The number *7* details the *minutes* he spent in the waters before drowning.
The number *2* details the *hours* I spent in the waters while playing.

The word *near* described his distance from the shoreline.
The words *Very far* described my distance from any form of help.

For the the alcohol in me had evoked a daring *do or die* feeling in me.

Going with the statistics,
I was to be carried away by the waters.

Going with the state of mind,
I would have been lying comatose the next week.

Going by the depths we had both reached.
My family should have been the recipient of #500,000 earmarked as consolation fee.

I knew then that God was faithful.

For on Hells pathway I would have trudged.
Being sped up to eternal damnation by the whips of demons.

For I was not a saint then.
And my name was not in the book of life.

I gave glory to Him,
Who saved me even up till today.

I was twenty two years and this was my encounter with God
#BASHORUN

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