CHIGOZIRIM: THE MISSING STORY

In my penultimate post where I talked about Chigozirim and the pickle he found himself, I purposely left out parts of the story because I was really disgusted by them and didn’t want to disgust my readers. However, some of you wanted those parts so here you go:

After 2 years of misery, Chigozirim was enrolled into primary 4 at age 14 because he barely had any formal education and could hardly communicate in English, his classmates were below 9. His enrollment into school at the behest of Papa Collins who, regardless of how Mama Collins hid it, discovered that he had not been going to school. Chigozirim was not happy because that was not his dream, his dream was to become a trader, a successful one at that. However, because he had no choice, he could not complain. Enrolling him into school was not a big deal for Mama Collins, oya come and go the school nah!

Everyone is aware most schools resume 8am and close at 2pm or 3pm depending on the school. Chigozirim resumed school at 11am, sometime 12noon after he had finished washing dishes, cloths, sweeping and mobbing the house. Most times he went to school hungry. He ate before going to school only when there were leftovers as usual. For him, eating fresh food was forbidden. Even though it was only akpu he ate in his father’s house, at least it was fresh, straight from his mother’s mortar and molded into large human-head like size.

Chigozirim ate meat once in a year during Christmas, of course chicken legs were his usual for she considered the head too fleshy for him. The few clothes he brought from the village that looked miserable were what he wore until he was 16 before she bought him 2 pairs of oversized okrika trousers and one slacked t-shirt probably worn by a 400 pounds oyibo grandpa. The trousers were so oversized that when he wore them and folded them 7 times by the ankle, they still touched the ground. The first time he wore the cloths was when he was sent to the market, the dogs on his street had a field day barking and chasing him. He ran but couldn’t beat the dogs for lack of strength from starvation; they dragged and bit him while he kicked, kai-ed and shu-ed. On his way back in his tattered oversized clothes, he followed the back street to avoid the dogs on his street but the dogs on that street didn’t bother to ask if he had eaten or not, they chased him home. Four of them. While running, one thing he made sure of was not losing any item in his nylon otherwise, a bigger and more insensitive “dog” was waiting at home.

He was frequently denied the privilege of bathing with soap on numerous occasions, that is if he was allowed to bath at all. He was made to select stone from half bag of beans the day Mama Collins caught him peeping into the living room while she and her children were watching Living in Bondage. Ajo nwanyi.

When Chigozirim’s father died, Mama Collins begged her husband to allow her break the news to him. Papa Collins thought because she was a mother, she would be able to comfort him better. For where nah, "papa gi anwuala" was how she informed him of his father's death while he was peeling yam and sadistically stood by the door post watching him cry. No sorry, no sympathy. Nothing. Now you understand when I say Mama Collins' wickedness supersedes that of the devil. She is the type that when she dies, the devil will give her fuel and matches to form her own hell, she no need training.

One morning, after receiving that morning dose of beating and starvation, he decided to run away. After school, he followed Mrs. Martha, his teacher to her house unknown to her, she only noticed him when she got home. “Ah ah Chigozirim, why have you followed me home?” He didn’t need to respond for she already knew the wahala he was having. Sometimes, she gave him food in school when he complained of hunger. She took him back home that day and advised Mama Collins to change his uniform which was ripped in strips exposing his scarred buttocks and give him food before school so he does not sleep all through his classes. Before then, Mrs Martha would flog him for coming to school late not knowing why but stopped when she understood. I don’t need to state what Mama Collins did to him when the teacher left, just know that pepper was involved. Chigozirim later abandoned school and became full time House Boy at 17 after repeating primary 5 for two consecutive years. (How him go fit pass nah, when him nyash the pepper ram)

On the insistence of Papa Collins, Chigozirim was eventually absolved into the Nwa Boy system and his dreams became feasible once more.

When Papa Collins took ill and his business started failing, times became hard for the family. By then Chigozirim was settled and managing his small shop close to his uncle’s.

When Papa Collins died and there was no money to carter for herself and her children, Mama Collins begged Chigozirim for forgiveness, saying dimwittedly that “o kwa training ka nna e trainu gi those days”.

Eh? Isi gini? What kind of training were you giving him when you cannot do same to your children? What kind of training leaves a young boy’s balls enlarged from flogging? What kind of yeye training is that? What kind of wawa training is that? Which kain mumu training be that nah? What kind of training would make you refuse to take a child to the hospital when he is sick? What kind of kponkious training is that eh? What kind of training leaves a child scarred like he fought a lion and ndi nmuo together? Such dehumanizing treatment on a defenseless child? What justification do you have?

Well, at least she had the decency to apologize even though it was obviously because she was helpless as she never worked for a day.

Umunnem na Umunnam, please manage the scattered nature of this post.

Ogechukwu Ikwueme 
(Nwanne unu Nwanyi)