Something very interesting happened few weeks after my wife and I came to Abuja. It was a trying period for us as a young couple. Our only child – was barely learning how to mutter a few words. He was far too tender to understand that we were nearly jobless and that our savings had all gone.
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He was supposed to start the pre-nursery class the next term but that may never be. My wife and I hoped to be employed before then.
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We’d spent week after week waiting and hoping to get that miracle call. However, along the line I was teaching at a few tutorial centres in the evenings and that was taking care of our needs – at least it kept us going.
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A call came from an old friend one Sunday. It had to do with a contract job on creative writing.
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“The MD would like to meet you tomorrow. I told him all about you.”
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My friend sounded very optimistic but the urgency in his tone was my worry. They wanted me in Lagos yet all I had was a paltry sum of seven hundred naira!
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I could not tell my friend that I hadn’t got money to bring me to Lagos. That would have been the silliest thing to do. He’d provided the bed, it was now my duty – not his – to lie on it.
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“You must be around by 11am tomorrow.” He said.
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My wife was stunned when I assured this friend of mine that I was going to be there. She couldn’t practically understand how I thought I could get to Lagos with only seven hundred naira available. Our being new in Abuja made it quite improper to think we could borrow from anyone.
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However, I was determined to go. We prayed over it and my wife began to pack my things.
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The idea was that I would travel that night by any of those luxury buses. They usually have seat-extras for discount-seeking passengers. My wife was doubtful if those crazy touts at the park would listen to my story. I simply told her that God would take control.
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I got a free ride to Jabbi Park. That heightened my hope of making it to Lagos.
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But it was never to be.
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The park was filled to the brim but there were only few buses heading for Lagos. I went from agbero to agbero with my pathetic tale but none was willing to help. When it was past ten and the last bus was gearing for departure, I turned towards home.
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My wife was not surprised to see me return. She’d left the door open sensing that I was surely going to come back.
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“Call your friend and tell him you aren’t coming,” she counselled. “No point hiding anything from him anymore.”
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I thought over what she’d said and shook my head in negation. There was still one other means I could get to Lagos by – by air!
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I reasoned that until that means had been exploited, it was still early to give up.
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“I will travel by air tomorrow,” I said with so much certainty that could have come from one who had a private jet.
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Stunned, my wife sniggered rather cynically; “And how will you get the Boarding Pass?”
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I reminded her about the Israelites and The Red Sea and said God would take control..
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Not long after we prayed and went to bed, dawn hurriedly came.
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I’d already bathed before my wife woke up. I could see the palpable apprehension on her face. She wanted to say something when my phone rang. It was the guy from Lagos. He asked if we were still meeting by 11 and I said “Yes,”
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“Tell him you haven’t got the fare.” My wife chipped in miserably. “I still can’t understand why you wouldn’t tell him that.”
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That was when I reminded her that I’d been a fighter and quitting mid-way wasn’t in my dictionary.
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In no time, we were walking down the street. I had five hundred and sixty naira left from the seven hundred of the previous day. That was what I was ‘hoping’ to fly with.
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I insisted we both share the money when I found a cab. She wondered why I still had to share from the little I had. We did nevertheless and shared the goodbye kiss.
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She and my child were still standing on the same spot as we sped away.
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I would later find out that she stood there praying.
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IRS flight was boarding as soon as I arrived. I hurried to the counter where a very pretty lady upon my inquiry, directed me to the Station Manager’s office.
He was making a call when I entered and sat on the chair facing his. Done with the call, he asked if there was a problem.
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“Yes sir,” I nodded. “It’s imperative that I get to Lagos this morning but I haven’t got any money for fare. I know you can use your office to help me. That is why I have come to you. Please, a lot is dependent on this trip..”
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“How much do you have?” He echoed rather authoritatively. “I guess you want a rebate.”
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My response was more piercing this time. “All I have here is an empty pocket. I don’t want a rebate. I want help and my mind tells me I could get on that plane with your permission. Please sir.”
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He heaved a long sigh and asked if I had other luggage.
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“No sir.” I waved my handbag at him.
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“We’re boarding already.” He said opening a drawer and pulling out a Boarding Pass.
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I melted.
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I called two people when I was on board; my wife and my friend in Lagos. I said he should send his driver to pick me up at the airport. He was glad to hear that. My wife wished me a safe trip and reminded me that she truly loved me.
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Minutes later, we were airborne. That trip to Lagos where I spent a week fetched me a hundred and fifty thousand naira with a return ticket to Abuja.
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