Police Pikin 2 (A series of growing up in the barracks)

'How far now? Where you go since?'

'I dey jare, some things just happen as dem no suppose happen joor, i been go serve now'

'How e take happen? no wonder i no come dey see dem your guys around self, na only go d level? what about Kelvin and Turo?'

'Omo na only me and Turo go o and one other guy wey Turo say him meet for school, the guy too dey rush jare, na im make dem catch us, if not we don hammer now and you know as Turo be, e no gree stop even after eke bust us, dem shot am for leg and him still dey hospital now, e be like dem go cut him leg comot self but that him guy,i don even forget the guy name, dem kill am straight, na Baba God save me o, na my mumsy just know one or two people for Abuja o,na im even make easy for me,if not i for still dey that place o'

'Ah,i tank God for you o, sho o...na so i hear say dem shoot Chikodi for one level wey him go,omo mehn, this people dey vex o, anyways so wetin be your level now? you know say since me i move go PH na low key i dey, me and some guys come dey run some levels, dem involve me for some things sha, if you dey interested we go talk am well later'

'You dey make me laff, you want make my mama die abi, i no dey even fit comot for where she dey now, i sure say she go don dey look for me as we dey talk so, me i be church boy now o, i dey try make i see wetin i fit still achieve now, you know as e dey go now'

'Well no wahala, in case you change your mind na, devil wey person know better pass angel wey person just meet o, na why i want involve you, anyhow sha, i want see that my babe for block 'P', make we waka reach there now, as e dey go we suppose scatter town today na, comot for this place small make we go flex, i get small thing for hand,no worry'

'ok, but make i reach house tell my momsy say i dey around, make i run go'

The above is one of the most common conversation that takes place in my hood,the military styled living hole we sleep and wake up in, i think the only conversation that beats that will be be counting the amount of Police officers lost in a month, which is normally a stale gist.

Months after Papa Darlington's wake, the police came and served them a notice of eviction, pratically telling them they have about a month to look for a new place to move into or else their property will be thrown out and it wouldn't be a funny scene on the so called deadline day, like we all witnessed a week ago in the case of Mama Nimota, it was not funny at all, her property was all over the place, not that she had much but they way the eviction officers went about it was wrong and who could blame them, they were just doing their job, knowing that one day, if they die in the force, they get the same treatment, i wonder what goes on their mind while doing their this 'dirty' job.

Darlington has an elder Brother, Aldophus, he's of employable age(17) but doesn't have a job, not for the lack of trying but because he has the 'Barrack boy' tag for a fellow everywhere he goes job hunting, he never gets one and when he eventually almost gets one by lying, he doesn't have the required qualification, he was suppose to be getting ready to write his WASSC exam when his father died and now he's a drop-out since his mother doesn't have a job, even if she had one, Mama Darlington has 4 daughters and two boys to cater to, why waste limited resources on sending the eldest to school when he can get a job and starts helping the house-that's always the reasoning of these widows, pathetic yes but its the only way they can survive.

Aldo has two choices, since he can't get a job and he needs to start supporting the house, he either has to go to the Police College, pick up a form and apply to the force (with forged results of course) eventually becomes a police officer like his father before him because his late father's friends will help him become one, that's the only way they know to help him, make him one of them and hence keep the cycle alive or he takes to the street and come up with a scheme, the same scheme that his father was fighting against,the one that eventually killed him, if he chooses this, Darlington will eventually kill another kid's dad,like someone did his or he'll be killed. Actually there is another option, to do nothing, wait to be evicted and thrown into the street which can still lead to one of the two first options or leaves him in the hands of members of his extended family, who either do not give a damn about them or care enough to help them get transportation back to the village and kids, who would have been able to become doctors, lawyers et al now become farmers or hunters or passive housewives. Not that been a farmer is a bad thing, it is actually the noblest job in the world but an illiterate farmer that can provide for a village, a community but just his immediate family and that is just barely, just enough food for them to eat once in a day.

So Aldophus, so not decided on what to do, was playing 'whot' with Kayode on their 'domot' when two friends came calling, both of whom he hasn't seen for more than a year. I saw one of them a few days back and some of my friends told me he just came back from the U.S, but in truth, he looked like someone that has been locked up a long time, someone that hasn't seen the sun rise or fall for a long time so at 9, i doubt that is exactly how the U.S is, a lockdown, if so, i never want to go there and it sure paints a contradictory picture to the U.S that we all see on the T.V but my curious mind wouldn't let me have peace until i know the truth so i headed over to him.

'Broda Tee-K, wetin u bring come for us now, dem my friend say u just come from yankee, i want my own share now, gimme something now abeg broda'

My friends came running too but 'Broda Tee-K' has nothing to offer, he was looking at me with a sad grin, i bet wondering 'if only this small boy knew the half of it' but his friend, i haven't seen him around before but Darlington himself told me he doesn't live in the Barracks anymore, and he's looking better than the so called Americana, came to his rescue and gave me (and my friends, who by now are all over the place) 200 naira. i couldn't believe it at first, i was already shaking my head when he said,

'Oya take now, make you and your friends go share am'

I was confused but he pushed the note into my hands anyways so all my friends were already screaming, already calculating their share (Of course we all came home with a D in mathematics on our last report card, D7 because we sabi calculate money)

So i took it and we took off, all of us and some more who didn't even know the source of the money but its money, everybody wants a share, even some mothers were contemplating taking the money from us and asking us to come back to share it but we stood our ground, stubborn kids, we'd rather have the money now.

By now Aldophus and his two visitors were laughing at us, Kayode stood there wondering, am sure he wanted to come collect the money himself.

'Aldo man, we just say make we come greet you o, we hear wetin happen o, sorry my broda, u know say na so e dey be, just take heart o and now u don be man o, na u be papa now o' Tee-K said and Kayode stood there nodding his head in the affirmative.

The second visitor who by now i still don't know his name, but people call him Rico said 'na Tee-K just dey tell me now o, i just say make i enter bk come hail una na im i dey hear wetin happen, i hope say u dey take am like man now o'

For a response, Aldo (as he is called) can only nodd, am sure still wondering at the larger effect this whole event will have on his life and then Rico continued.

'Go inside change now, make we waka enter town now, you need to flex small make this thing for comot for your mind, you need to chop Mama Boki Ishi-ewu, u go like am die, u don even chop am before?'

Aldo hurried inside, got into his only jeans and puts on his only wearable footwear, a 'pam' slippers he has had for 2 years now. He came out, ready to leave this sadness behind and have some good time before he finally makes the decision that will turn his life.

Darlington and I were chewing gum, sitting in the 'lun-di-ree' (laundry) when Aldo and his friends passed us, with Kayode too. We were glad to see Aldophus leave the house and walk around with his friend, we hope he'll have a nice time and hopefully come back home with more money from his friends, the Americana and the former bk (barrack) boy, of course Kayode we know, never has money to spare.

So as the boys go into town, will the former bk boy, Rico tell his friends, Kayode included, about the levels he has going in PH, will Aldo get in on the conversation and be interested. One can never tell but it is certain the conversation that started this piece will continue, maybe not tonight, maybe on a latter date. Will one of these boys kill their fathers' colleagues or even their friends or become like their father and become a police officer. Seems like obvious questions that has obvious answers as our life in the barracks continue.

People have lived here and survived, dem no born me well make i no try.