Umudike

"MIsericordias Domini in aeternum cantarbo..."

The cold humming continued as members of the Taize community sang their way through my very essence via the car stereo. The low temperature inside the car completed the requirements for a dull morning. Then, I was thirsty!

"Pooommmmm!!!", came the most obvious sound from a hurrying taxi as I let down my window to summon "the-kid-with-the-coke". I just couldn't imagine the sharp difference. Heat waves from the window. A mixture of all sorts of sounds from all sorts of unfriendly sources. Dust particles flying at random from shuffling feet in the dirty tar-like stretch of a road. Signposts by the roadside were as many as the total population of Madagascar. It was almost impossible to drive through here unscratched. This is UMUDIKE!

"Oga, which one?", the-kid-with-the-coke asked, amidst other competitors. I had seen the particular bottle of coke I wanted to drink from a distance. Infact, I could spot it from a million bottles of coke in Abia State. It had the inscription "Share a Coca Cola with Gabriel". Of course, the most comfortable thing in life is to drink a chilled bottle of coke ALONE! I am not a marketer actually, 'm just being realistic.

Since I wouldn't want to have a kid's brain splashed on my face, I drove slowly a bit forward, off the road. The-kid-with-the-coke magically moved at the same pace with my car, no matter how sporadic the changes in speed became. I had to quietly swipe my side mirror down to be sure he had not straddled himself to my car. Surprisingly, he had not.

The-kid-with-the-coke looked 8, smart, intelligent, could easily read my mind, spoke good grammar...yet, was not in school! There were millions like him around here.

While he pointed the bottle at me, I thought through the fact that there were billionaire politicians in this same community. Education was preached as a free commodity.

Just before I could reach the N100 note in my pocket, the-kid-with-the-coke had vanished; with his bottle of coke. Then, I heard the blarring siren of a police van...towards where I had parked. My heart-beat increased. 

As the dark-tanned Police-Man walked towards my window even before their van came to a total halt, I shot a glance to confirm the presence of the wig on my dashboard. Then, I slowly let the window roll down again and smiled; this time, with the confidence of a lawyer who just won a case against the government.

"Yes? How may I be of help officer?"

I am i~Witness.