Already, I am having feelings of unfulfilled thoughts due to poverty and I am wondering if this is who I am meant to be yet there are no answers coming from anywhere because the gods are deaf! I am imiano, the son of Akadike and this is my story.

1. Risk
Raised by a patriotic neighbour because my mother left me and run away, I grew up to cherish all human beings because the best warmth you can receive on earth can come from a woman who is not your mother yet I have no means of seeing my face except with a mirror because even when I look at my shadow, it shows me an image of a person whom I do not know!

Trying to recall facts bewilders me, teaching people what they do not know confuses me and quarrelling all the time is my hobby. Days after I was born, I heard that my father picked me up in a bush without my mother and how he managed to identify me is still a mystery. Till today, she is yet to return.

When other children go out to play with their mates at the fields, I go into my father's hut to roast cocoyam for myself because I do not know when would be my last. The man behaved weirdly. Though, I know it was not an easy life for a hunter who was left by his dear wife and he refused to remarry, he should have known that I didn't bring misery into this world!

One day, I looked at my father's face to know if he was communicating with my soul but he wasn't! Even when it was time to go to school, there was no money. So, I had to sell palm kernel to survive! Gradually, I became a farmer without knowing it because even the only school in our community could not contain us all!

Today, when I look back, I wonder if my father was a good man or not but I leave that aspect for nature to decide. What matters to me now is that I am moving on.

I am happy because I am in 2023 but a lot has happened!

Today, when I look at my life, I wished I was born into the family of our village chief and I would have had enough honey, palm oil and herbs to treat myself with but thank God, I have no severe ailments.

The little that my father brought into the house was enough except that he usually motivated me to do more than what my mates were doing! Besides, I was not even educated yet he expected me to introduce myself as the son of a famous hunter in our village to some white men who came to do business there and I was flabbergasted because I had no such personality neither was I interested in any form of exchange with foreigners!

Later, I began to see reasons with what he was saying but it was too late because he ran out of the house and stayed away for fourteen days while I was taken care of by the same woman who checked on us regularly. When he came back, I was humbled. I went to his very before, knelt down in expectation of a fatherly blessing but he refused to give it until I accepted to do his bidding.

Till today, I do not regret a bit of it because business flourished with the whites and I was made a point of reference by some parents in the village. It wasn't easy actually but I had my way around things!

Whenever my father was not around, I was busy fetching water and when I am done with ours, I help out with some things at Nwayidiogo's hut. We were known as best neighbours and there was no iota of doubt that we could continue like that untill Nwilo broke one of my teeth.

That day, heaven was let loose and I knew, instantly, that my father could protect me. Later, peace was made and she ended up sending the young lad away.

When I look back now, my only happiness is that I am alive to tell the story!

2. Like Father, Like Son.
Many many years ago, my father told me stories about himself but I did not believe him because it sounded extraordinary but he told me to keep my feelings to myself. According to him, they came from a long line of warriors who were thrown out of their place of abode because of one man's disobedience! Okwuike was a palace guard in those days and when a mischief was planned against the then king, he refused to report it! When the deed was discovered, the punishment was death but the whole kindred came begging for mercy because they loved him. In exchange for his life, they agreed to leave the land without anything. Others were executed but my father and his people came to stay in a riverine area at Omucha community until the people discovered them and allowed them to live omg them.

That is why he had no lands to cultivate on. So, he resorted to hunting with his bow and arrows for survival. I am of the opinion that our future generation can change the narrative but I do not know when because even when I go to farm, I only worked at other people's own for a token.

Remind me when it's time to smile and I will tell you that my father gave me no reasons for that. Later in life, I will tell you how I ended up training the king's lions. Today, I am a jack of all trades and a master of one.

Clap for me! It's not easy.

My father and I have a striking resemblance because we both ate from the same bowl. We were of the same opinion that we need no other companion in the family until something happened! They brought home the child he had out of wedlock and that is the person I call my sister.

Deep down me I knew that it was wrong but I couldn't have stopped him. Besides, I was just a child and he was getting old. Worst still, we had no form of contact with his former wife.

At times, when I want to blame him, I end up knowing that I could at least, mind my business which was precisely looking for trouble and I did it well. I was never serious except when I was discussing business with some people who were older than I was.

Throughout the village, I was known as imiano but my father called me, LAMP. He believed I could find the way to our original place of abode someday but I told him to keep that dream to himself.

For crying out loud, I wasn't even feeding well except when I made some gains. So, he understood and we kept hustling together.

I admired him from afar, I must say!

3. The king's lions.

When Adaku came into the family, my father and I became combined parents. Because of the way I took care of her, people passed and greeted us warmly.

One day, the king was on that route and he decided it was time for him to employ us to take care of his lions. My father left the whole appointment to me because he knew what I could do.


... Watchout for more!

Schoolguy9:
3. The king's lions.

When Adaku came into the family, my father and I became combined parents. Because of the way I took care of her, people passed and greeted us warmly.

One day, the king was on that route and he decided it was time for him to employ us to take care of his lions. My father left the whole appointment to me because he knew what I could do.


... Watchout for more!

We're waiting OP.

What do I even know?

One day, the king called me into his inner chambers and asked me what can be done in order to spice up the lives of the youths in the place and I told him that the best thing was to organise moonlight plays and have some successful sons and daughters of the land come share their stories and he agreed but he noted that they had been organising moonlight plays like forever. So, I now added that, you have to do it with a difference.

On the appointed night, it was Okafor who shared his experience with the youths and instead of being congratulated, they ended up covering their ears! The Id.iot was into oil smuggling! After that incident, the king made sure that only people with genuine businesses were appointed to speak!

Of all the things in the world, one of my duties was to make the wild animals laugh and I couldn't have been able to achieve it without my father's aid! He made a big painting of his former king where the man was holding his pair of trousers with one hand and held a keg of palm wine with the other. Then, he had a bald hair!

Once the lions saw this, they start smiling and how do I know that they are laughing? Whenever they start scratching their ears, I know that the deed is done.

One day, I told them a story about one Lalasticlala and his penchant for heavy snakes and they each gave me a handshake as if they never wanted me to leave the job again but I was planning my way into the king's daughter's heart!

Common on, I was rolling with the lion squad. Clap for me.

www.turbanglu.com

4. The king's steward!
One day, I didn't know what entered me and I started walking all around the village with one of the lions just to scare people and before I could know what was happening, the animal dragged me into somebody's farm and we spoiled something!

When it was evening, I was on my own at the back of the palace waiting for when the king's daughter could come back so that I would toast her but she never did! That day, I learnt that she went to her grandmother's place for purification, I don't know what that meant! These people and ritual be like 5 & 6.

So, before I could return to the palace gor gor, people had already gathered and they were asking the king for my head on a platter because of what I did earlier and all my body was just shaking! The king told them to go that he would settle the matter amicably since I was his steward and that I couldn't just probably have ran mad! So, they left hoping that their king would discipline me but I was just laughing because the king na guyman.

That night, food I did not see, Adabekee, I did not see and my father, I did not see! The one that removed sleep from my eyes was the ten pieces of cowries Mazi Uyawune promised to give me for a job well done but he didn't bring it. Yes! He sent me to destroy another man's crops because they were in a feud.

And you know, soldiers obey!

That was how I ventured into illicit business while in the palace and I was also eyeing the king's daughter but the girl was just walking up and down the palace with reckless abandon.

Tueh!!

There was this pattern of dance that we used to dance during the day and once it was time for opening ceremony at the moonlight plays, the king would order us to repeat it and only the lions used to dance it well. One night, he told me to leave the dance and come and share my story with the crowd and I shivered!

One of the things that helped me was the presence of Adabekee, the king's daughter! My father was in the crowd laughing because he already knew I was going to commit blunders! One of the days I visited him in his farm, he warned me to stay away from big men who used to confuse the youths with bags of money and I agreed but my mind was already made up!

Yes! My father was given a piece of land to cultivate on after I started working at the palace. So, I insisted on working for the likes of Mazi Uyawune despite my father's warning and at that juncture, it appeared to me that nemesis had caught up with me but you know, there is always a way out!

#Believe, I told myself! Then, I comported myself well and started speaking but before I did that, I pointed at my dad and said, "Guards, arrest him!"

Once they did, the king was like, "Has this guy gone mad again?"

5. Only the lions.
" Ladies and gentlemen, I am imiano by name and this man here is my father. I cannot continue to pretend like all is well while that is not the truth! You see, when I came into this world, all my hope was to be a medical doctor but because of some untold hardship in his life, I ended up being a steward! So, I put all the blames on him but I have decided to move on and pave a way for myself!"

By the time I concluded, the people were just clapping for me and the king ordered his bodyguards to release my father with immediate effect and they did. The funny thing was that only the lions understood what was going on because anytime we went for those illi.cit raids, I usually have them there share by telling them more stories to calm their nerves. So, my father was expecting me to expose myself as Okafor did but I ended up heaping the blames on him.

Some youths were admiring me for being bold enough to arrest my father, some said I was nonchalant but you know, Adabekee never left that arena without extending a hand of friendship to me! The moment she heard, doctor, her hairs stood at end.

That night, she gave me a cup of water and I drank it with reckless abandon. I did not even have time to ask her about her grandmother that she visited before I ran back to my duty post. The king wondered the kind of human being that I was but he couldn't fathom it. At times, I thank God for the day I entered that palace but you see, I started holding meetings before meetings without the king's consent.

Na me them they come meet one on one before any strong thing go happen for the town and Adabekee come dey like me small small because she self wan be lawyer! E no easy because na Ezemmuo been dey talk wetin go happen as per mouth piece of the penniless gods!

Lols, that day, my dad went back with Adaku on his shoulders bearing grudges against me and I went to count the money Mazi Uyawune later sent to me for a job well done! With deal done and mouth sealed, I knew my dad was still missing his wife but but that is a story for another day!

One wrap of suya abeg, this na can water night!

6. Welcome back, Mama.


Ehn, where we dey sef?


Which levels we dey, as per imiano?





... To Be Continued!

Dybala11:

We're waiting OP.

I am trying to calm my nerves! What the king said was preposterous.

Ok, fine. Where do I even start from?

Ezemmuo visited the palace one day, pointed at me and said, "Thou shalt not commit adultery!" And I was like,

"Ah ah, which time did this one start?" And nobody could give me an answer!

When he left, the king stopped trusting me! So, I had to follow the chief priest to his shrine to come and re-say what he said but he refused claiming that I must come to his shrine and swear to an oath before he could take away the alarming statement.

For crying out loud, I was never a fan of this chief priest and his fetish practices but fact remained that I had to do something to regain the king's confidence. Funny enough, I was even eyeing his daughter and to become his son-in-law, I had to be clean.

That night I cried bitterly and the lions, with me!

A time came in my life, I regretted the fact that I was in the king's service! The Ezemmuo had a track record of accusing people because his words always appeared real. I went to my father for advice because the war was beyond me. So, he told me what to do and I left.

That day, I saw a woman cooking in his kitchen and I asked him who she was, he said, "Mum!"

I was like,

"Former mum, current mum or future mum?" He said I should go and settle my palace matters before he could give me details. I left without looking back until Adaku shouted my name and I froze!

Ever since I toyed with Papa's integrity at the village square, she had been giving me attitude! So, I used that opportunity to settle the matter and we hugged.

With that gone, I moved forward to swim in the more turbulent storms of my life!

Only God knew what was waiting for me.

Do You Remember Everything?

I had this inner power in me that I was covering up with smiles! The moment I deployed it, the chief priest went into hiding!

To further confuse the king, I organized a skills acquisition programme for all the youths in the village and funded it with my money. That day, they all learnt how to make Ghana soap and other things and I was smiling.

After the incident, the king told me to come closer to him since I was an industrious citizen of the community.

With that, half of the problem was solved!

After my encounter with Ezemmuo, people started coming to me for sincere advice! What happened was that I went to his shrine with the pretence of being able to take the oath. So, when he gave me the calabash and told me to say everything he was saying, I kept saying whatever came into my mind! So, he rushed me and wanted to lift me up from the ground and I dodged, went round him and held his neck from the back and in a jiffy, the calabash and everything in it went clashing on the floor!

The villagers waited for a dragon to vomit fire as he used to threaten them that failure for anyone to follow his directives, he would unleash the dragon but nothing of such happened!

That day, I went home smiling and he had to get up and dust himself. It came to be that people brought their marital affairs for me to share my opinions with them while others went to the king and his cabinet for issues on land disputes.

Small time, my name grew among the villagers and I was known also by the whites as a hustler! I took advantage of everything and my father was so proud of me but he never said it because the habit of complimenting somebody's child never ran in his veins except when his second wife comes, he calls her sweet names.

One day, I overheard him calling her, "My Pumpkin." And I overreacted by telling him to vomit everything the woman must have given him that is making him to misbehave and he refused!

That day, the villagers heard our voices and the neighbourhood became hot! It got to a point that he told me bluntly that before I became whomsoever I claimed to be that was making my head to swell, that he had been a guy-man all his life.

So, I fainted and they had to pour 27 buckets of water on me before I came back to life and went to the palace to resume my official duties while pondering on what my daddy said.

Oh' what a world!

7. If this, then that.
There was one woman I gave a piece of advice on how to run her marital affairs, she went home and killed her husband!

What happened was that I told her to shut him up with a kiss always, she went home and shut him up with a key because the man used to talk too much! For 5 days, the man did not see the sun. So, he died out of agony!

I bred for him but it was too late. The king summoned me and said I should stop whatever counseling it was that I was giving to the people and I agreed! Maybe, that was not my calling. Already, I knew that the king wouldn't take a severe action against me because I was his so-called steward !

Later, when I went back to my father to sick advice on what next to do with my life, he told me to sit down and think about my life. I told him that there was no time for that as that might amount in procrastination but he insisted. "If that be the case," I said to myself! "Then I must continue with my secret businesses! After all, it is our national cake and birthright."

That year, I launched deep into the oceans and caught fishes in the restricted areas! The king never knew about it because I was using my boys to perpetrate the act and whosoever tried to stop me, I threatened to unleash one of those lions on him or her.

At a point, the council of elders came to complain to the Igwe about my nefarious activities but he never bothered because he was beginning to see a faithful son-in-law in me! Even Okafor who was a seasoned smuggler came to seek my advice on certain things.

Maybe, I was born to be an international smuggler but my father didn't know about it! We smuggled fish, palm oil, ogiri, ukpaka, coconut oil, udara, cassava and oranges in and out of the villages without paying tax and the king was still paying me monthly for being in his service!

The good thing about me was that after doing these businesses, I used to settle boys well.

Dead Men Don't Count.

When I look back now, I appreciate God for not letting me waste my life! Ok, there was this raid we carried out and my men insisted that I must be at the forefront in order for them to celebrate me. Yes! I brought some of them into the business and they were doing just fine.

Armed with my hand fan, I stormed the arena at midnight. It wasn't long, we were invaded by some intruders who wore animal skins while we were transacting with some mercenaries from Alukwe town and the whole place was bloody! Lights went off, whistles blew off and by men stood their grounds!

Being a giant, I just stood by the side with the customers and I was telling them stories about my life as the fights went on. At some points, the would shout, "Chai, you tried oo." I was not bothered because I knew that even if Igwe heard what happened, he would still say that I was his steward . So, I had this kind of visible cover from the palace in case anything happened!

When the fight ended, we counted our casualties and it was minimal compared to the opponents' and we continued selling as they ran back to their hideout. "He who runs today, lives to fight another day!" They said as they scampered for safety. "Una go continue running." I responded.

After I concluded business with the newcomers, I counted the money, wore my camouflage and left! They were visibly happy about how I shielded them from mayhem while the fight lasted and they promised to establish more business connections with me!

To be sure I knew what I was doing, I did not come out with a lion because if it had sustained injuries, the king would have asked me about the whereabouts of the others and some of them, I have sold while replacing with human beings that act like lion. Trust me, I was a sincere business expander.

"Dead men don't count! In the case of any event, stand your ground and send me words!" That was what I always told my men and that was what made them strong and till today, none had regretted working with me.

Tuale to the living!