Abiodun was lost in thought. He was sitting at the foot of the pedestrian bridge that was at Iyana Oworo with a rectangular board that held his petty wares which mainly consists of peppermint and chewing gums. How could life be so unfair he thought? Here he was at 17… Baba, e no get job…mama is pitiable…almost all his older siblings have deserted home in search of greener pastures…Could he continue living like this?
Is God cruel? How could he create some people to enjoy this life while he wallowed in poverty? How could he keep on running after cars trying to eke out a living? Add that to the daily harassment from KAI officials….hmmm…this life…
[the scampering of people around him jolted him back to consciousness...d shout of KAI!KAI!!KAI!! rented the air]
Abiodun paused, looked right and left…where should he run to?
He ran up the stairs with some others hoping that the KAI men would just grab some wares from the people that were unlucky to be caught under the bridge and then move on a bit farther and wait for the traders to come and bail out their wares.
Some of the KAI men crossed the expressway to the other side and blocked both exit of the pedestrian bridge. What was he going to do? The KAI men are now on both ends on top of the bridge. They started closing in and seizing people goods. Abiodun was confused. He wished he had Aferi* to ferry himself out of the booby trap on the bridge. Abiodun had never been trapped like that in his life. He was the only one whose goods had not been seized and the two KAI officials were closing in on him. No, they would kill me first, he thought to himself. A crazy thought formed in his head and he smiled wryly. He placed his free hand on the railings that bordered the bridge and crossed his legs over the railing. He was now standing at the edge of the bridge. Haa…e ma pa mi leni yi o**…Move any closer and I’ll jump, he said to the KAI men…the KAI men were confused. What should they do? Advance and Abiodun jumps from the bridge in front of oncoming vehicles and die or they retreat and lose face in front of the crowd that had started forming at the foot of the bridge watching the unfolding drama on top of the bridge…
What happened next?
The older of them told Abiodun to step back over the railing and that his goods will not be seized. As he made to do that, his slippers caught on the edge of the railing, the board which his petty wares was displayed tilted backward and in a bid to hold fast on to it, Abiodun jerked backwards and fell off the bridge landing on his head. The oncoming trailer simply grinded his skull and crushed his body.
*Aferi - juju that can make one disappear
**Yoruba expression meaning you will kill me today
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