Makoko, Lagos State.

   A wooden bridge which squeaked when people walked on it was over the murky  river littered with weeds, tyres, cartons, plastics and polymers.

  The houses of Makoko were all built of woods supported by wood slits driven deep into the water bed. Some of the houses had thatched roofs with polymers used as curtains while some had roof sheets and tarpaulin as curtains.

   A boy squatted on the part of the bridge in front of their house, with his small buttocks facing the river as tiny poops came out of his anus while some fisher men at the other end of the river focused on catching fishes with their casted nets in the river.

Aminah finally got to her in-law's house and she carefully climbed out of the canoe which transported her.

She now understood what her son was going through which was why she listened to him when he told her how fed up he was.

There was no way her husband would listen to her because he never did years ago so telling his brother was indeed the best thing to do- he feared his brother and would do as he say.

A smile crept her face as she saw Mama Fali  squinting her eyes as she added more woods inside the huge can on which she roasted fish.

"Mama Fali, good afternoon ma,” she bent a little to avoid any rant from Mama Fali who would not stop fumbling that she was the oldest wife in the household.

"Ahah, iyawo mi, welcome, ” she  hurried to hug Aminah.

"Yes ma, is Daddy in?" Aminah slightly stretched her neck towards the room.

"No, he is not. I hope there is no problem?” Mama Fali placed her hands on both side of her hips. 

She stared at Aminah's face and tried reading her mood, but she got nothing.  She wondered shy sh was here because her  visit was unusual.

"No ma, all is well," 

Aminah was getting irritated and wondered why she wanted to know what she came here for.

Mama Fali shrugged. "If you say so then. He went to fish but he will be back soon, go and sit inside,"

Aminah nodded and went into the cool room as she waited for few minutes before Baba Fali came back from his fishing expedition. 

  After the greetings, she went straight to the point without further do, her first son's future was at stake and it was now or never 

                       ******
She hadn't planned to spend her Saturday purging, she had imagined sleeping all through the day but her 30minutes and still counting sleep was cut short.

   Her stomach grumbled again and she took the yellow paint plastic they used as potty, hurried out of the room and bolted to the backyard.

    She carefully crossed the stagnant water in which green algae dwelled in, the leaking septic tank at the far end made the yard worse.

The landlady had deliberately told a plumber to make a hole on it so their faeces would go straight into the drainage outside.
 
  There was just a slight difference between them and those who defecate in a black polymer and then shotput it into a canal.

"Salma, you don wake? "Chinelo, mama Chisom asked as she opened the door of her room which stood alone in the backyard.

  A 'face me I slap you' house wasn't complete without a gossip monger, Chinelo was their own tatafo.

It was as if she made a living from not minding her own business, her nosy attitude made her stay back with Chetachi, her last child when her husband and her three other children relocated back to Anambra.

'No, I still dey sleep. I just sleepwalk come this place," Salma gave an inner reply to Chinelo's dumb question which had an obvious answer. 

"Yes ma," she replied, wondering when Chinelo became a seer.

"Na Safiyah tell me say you dey sleep(it was Safiyah who told me you were asleep)," she said as if she read her mind.

"Oh, okay,"Salma said as she danced to an imaginary song.

"I hope say you dey okay? Shey na water water shit? I be wan ask you..."Chinelo was saying before Salma interrupted.

"I dey Okay. I want to ease myself, I'll talk to you later," Salma raised the potty to prove her point and scurried to the door-less toilet not minding the stagnant water anymore.

  She untied the wrapper which she wrapped on her knee length trouser, hurriedly covered the edges of the door and covered her nose with her palms as the last person who used the pit latrine didn't flush.

Her mother had suggested that they used potty as sharing toilets was safe for only men.

Finally, she was done answering nature's call and there was one task ahead, avoiding Chinelo which seemed impossible.

"Ndo, hope say you no miss your friend too much?"Chinelo asked referring to Chisom, her first daughter.

  Chisom had been her best friend for years but twenty kids can't play for twenty years, the separation took a toll on Salma but she was far over it already.

"No ma,"she replied as she eyed the coconut Chinelo was grating for the binatog she would hawk tomorrow

"Hmm, yesterday night no good o. I came to ease myself around that 11:35pm, before I entered the second bathroom, I heard moans from the first one. Na only God know the people wey dey do rubbish for the bathroom, in fact, I no go use am again," Chinelo threw a coconut into her mouth.

Salma swallowed and her heart fluttered a little "Did you see them?"

"E remain small o, but Chetachi had to shout because one cockroach perched on his mouth," Chinelo frowned.

She was still pained that she didn't get to know the duo. It would have been a hot and trending topic of their street for the rest of the week.

Salma released the breath she never knew she was holding. "Hmmm, Only God knows who they were. Shameless people,"

"Leave them o, I will catch them one day. Just don't tell anybody until then, I have told Mama Akube, Aunty Ada and Mama Sarah," Chinelo warned.

  Salma gave Chinelo a puzzled look, she asked her not tell anybody but she already told three of their neighbors.
"Okay ma,"she said and hurried to their room with a wicked grin on her face.

  She knew Chinelo was never going to be successful in knowing who the shameless people were because she was one of them.

                           ******
Dawood concentrated on the black and white television as if a show was aired, it was obvious that he was livid and his family weren't oblivious as well, except Safiyah who was fast asleep on the bamboo mat.

Baba Bisi had called him in the evening to command as usual and to his own surprise, he had, out of anger, shouted at him and asked him never to tell him how to run his family, send my wife away if she comes to report me again was what he said to his brother.

"Ade mi, I am sorry. I had to do it so you would understand what Awwal was going through,"Aminah pleaded.

"Daddy, please try understand me. I promise to be a very good sculp..."Awwal was saying before his dad cut him short.

"Shut up! You ingrate," Dawood roared which made the veins on his neck more visible. His clenched fists was what controlled him from smashing things.

They all looked at him with shock evident on their faces, his eyes were red and never have they seen him get this angry. 

Aminah instantly regretted doing what she did but deep down, she wished her four hours journey to Makoko earlier in the afternoon would not go down the drain.

"When was the last time Mama Bisi stepped her feet into this room to come tell me whatever issue she had with my brother, her husband?

When I needed my brother the most, he was not there for me and you know it so why did you go to him? Why?" this time his voice was calm.

Aminah swallowed, he was right, Baba Bisi was the last person she should have gone to.

Yes, he was his elder brother but he only acted like one when it came to situation like this, he forced his younger brothers to do things which was why she went to him although her mind was totally against it. 

  All she cared about was her son's happiness and not whatever issue her husband had with his brother.

"Daddy, we are sorry. Don't blame mum, Awwal and I were the ones who made the suggestion. It won't happen again,"  Qoyyum rendered his plea too.

"Dad, they are sorry. Forgive them," Salma , who was already bored and sleepy, begged.

Dawood said nothing as he walked to the foam and lay to sleep, his son would go to school and that was it. He would study to become an accountant and not a miserable sculptor.

  Salmah immediately slept beside Safiyah on the bamboo mat, the boys each slept on the sofas, while Aminah sat still on the floor for some minutes before she trudged to the foam and slept beside her angry husband.

Sleep eluded Awwal when he realized that he was back, back to square one.

PS:
Binatog, also known as bualaw , is a Filipino boiled corn dessert topped with freshly grated
coconut, butter , and salt (or sugar).

what's the name given to binatog by Nigerians?😒😒

Face me I slap you in Nigeria are houses with many rooms, one toilet or two+a bathrooms or two connected with a hallway.

Do you live or have you lived with a neighbour/neighbour like Chinelo?? please, lemme know😫

It's so unfortunate that Dawood is being adamant😑 who will speak some senses into him?☹

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