Written by Bosede Rose Williams


Oh, how the strong have fallen! A true life story

Someone once asked me: Bose, you always look so strong and seem to face life as if it is that easy; has there been any time in your life that you felt so freaked out, a time you felt so weak and it seems your legs can not sustain you anymore; has there ever been a worst time in your life?
Wow! Is there anyone who is complete? Even Samson, the strongest man has his moment of weakness and Solomon, the wisest & richest had his weak period; the hardest heart has it day of melting. Only God is complete and only Him is undependable – He depends on no one nor does he rely on any one for anything and since I aint no God, I suppose I had my moments of weakness, I have my bad days and I have had even the worst days……..
But If I say my worst days are those days you ate only once in a day not because you are keeping fit but because you got no choice OR those days you have no option than to eat the leftovers from your friends’ table OR is it the days you hawk the street and was been molested & abuse sexually OR the day you were nearly raped by people you trusted or the days you needed help and your helpers demanded sex before help or the days you borrow your g/frd cloth to attend a party and in the front of your admirers your friend told you not to stain her cloth or the day you needed as little as N20 and you were asked to dance like an entertainer before you could be considered or the days your parents were humiliated before you and you are so powerless to defend them just because you are a nobody …… many a days but yet, ARE THESE NOT ALL THE NORMAL TALES OF A TYPICAL NIGERIAN GIRL BORN IN THE GHETTO WITH A PAKO SPOON IN HER MOUTH?
If on the other hand I say the worst day is the day your ex invited you to his village to meet his parent not knowing you were attending his traditional wedding or was it the day another ex choose your best friend over you …….. BUT STILL, WON’T YOU SAY THESE ARE THE NORMAL CRY OF A FEMALE SPECIE.
Some will still view the worst day as the day you went for an interview, the interview turned out to be unsuccessful, you were robbed of everything on your way and then you trekked some long kilometers to your friend’s house where you think you can find solace, only to be told you were not welcome cos her husband may not like it and then you have to beg a truck to find you way back home …. BUT THESE ARE THE NORMAL’S A TYPICAL JOB SEEKER FACE EVERY TIME.
You know all these and many more are my bad days, I mean real bad days but still, these are days you look back to and all you do is count your blessings because they have made you stronger and have helped you strive for a brighter future. Nevertheless, there are some stories best left untold not because they were your worst or because they were too painful to tell but because they look so irritating and stupid; because you are scared of how your listeners will rate you; you don’t want to tell because your character in the story portrays you as a fool but then aren’t there some experiences that we have to be naïve, be fool in other for us to grow in wisdom? Aren’t there some stories we ought to share for others to learn?
Well, I am not sharing this today because I am still hurt/painful about the event; not for me to generate sympathy from my readers or is it because I want to release another Jenifer’s diary; just sharing it because I wanted to laugh out my tears once again and to let the characters in that story know the impact of their role in that scene of my life…. enjoy.

Oh, how the strong have fallen! (Part 1)

I think it will be proper to introduce the two chief characters of that day; how I met them and their role in the script I’m about to narrate. I called them the two T’s (Taiye & Tayo).
Let start with Taiye;
Taiyelolu ejire
Ẹ̀jìrẹ́ ará ìṣokún.
Ẹdúnjobí
Ọmọ ẹdun tíí ṣeré orí igi
Ọ́-bẹ́-kẹ́ṣé-bẹ́-kàṣà,
Ó fẹsẹ̀ méjèèjì bẹ sílé alákìísa;
Ó salákìísà donígba aṣọ.
Gbajúmọ̀ ọmọ tíí gbàkúnlẹ̀ ìyá,
Tíí gbàdọ̀bálẹ̀ lọ́wọ́ baba tó bí í lọ́mọ.
Wínrinwínrin lójú orogún
Ejìwọ̀rọ̀ lojú ìyá ẹ̀

So who is he & how do we meet?
There was a time in my life that I love writing. Yea, I write anything writable; poems, novels, film script, just anything my mind inspires me to write. I remembered the Heart magazine then, how I do send my scripts for consideration in their novel - True life story but the more I tried the more I got zero response and this began to make me feel ‘not good enough’ but there was this novel that was released and the storyline was mine but the author was different so I stop sending but a friend advised me not to give up but to go personally to Lagos and look for a producer but since I don’t know anyone, I shun it.

In 2008, there was this Muyiwa Ademola’s film I was watching & I copied the numbers of the producer & editor but then each time I tried calling the producer (Muyiwa), his number is busy so I decided to call the editor (Taiye) and we discussed and you told me to visit Ibadan so I can meet Authe (as you fondly call Muyiwa) one on one.

Which day/month was it, can’t remembered but then you scheduled a meeting for us (myself & Authe) but unfortunately for me, the day I came was the day Muyiwa had to traveled to Lagos for an urgent meeting but nevertheless, we met (for the first time) and you make me feel at home and very comfortable. You showed me the environs, introduced me to some of your available colleagues in the film industry, you went through my scripts & you were not like others that will enviously criticized, you commend me for writing something professional even when I never attended a script-writing school, you corrected & encouraged me, you went further to teach me some basics on film editing.

Taiwo, you really make that day to fulfilled & adventurous for me; you didn’t make my coming to Ibadan be a waste and that mark the beginning of our friendship. When the dark came, you asked me to feel free to spend the night if I have no accommodation but I told you I have made arrangement not knowing I will meet disappointment & almost be roofless if not for the good family of Ajala’s…who sheltered me from the cold & mosquitoes …. But then, it is not the worst day.

Okay, now let’s journey to the genesis of my meeting with the 2nd T – Tayo.
How do I meet Tayo? Is it on facebook, twitter, tagged, messenger, skpe – nope! If not any one of these, then HOW?
Like I say earlier, once upon a time in my life, I love writing but not only writing, I love texting and anyone who knows me well will second to this assertion. You know I’m this kind of crazy & naughty girl back then that I always want to put every fiction into experience to see how possible it can be in reality. If I am writing a script & I write something about a girl tossing a guy, I will do it just to see the outcome; if I wrote something about someone stalking someone, I will practicalize it. Sometime I can just combine numbers to see if it will actually form a person’s contact or write an unsigned letter to keep the reader in suspense. I can write a poem in the middle of the night, pick my phone and start texting the poem to anyone that comes to mind just to verify how meaningful the poem is and it was in this hobby of mine that I met Tayo; although in the case of Tayo, I mistakenly dialed a wrong number, instead of 080, I put 070 or the other way round but the fact remains that my text went to a wrong recipient and that recipient was TAYO. The first time he replied and said he was a wrong number but I still send like 2 or 3 more texts cos that’s the number on my diary but when he replied again that it’s was wrong number, I stopped but after a few days, he called and asked why I stopped sending & plead with me to continue… I do and that is how I came to know TAYO.

Now, that you have known the two characters in my story (how the strong have fallen), let me drive you through the path that led to my worst nightmare… enjoy & watch out 4 part 2!