By Lechi Eke
Tuesday, 11, January 2011, Jamin had closed early from work in order to prepare for his journey the following day to Kaduna. He was to deliver a lecture at The War College, Jaji on Wednesday. From there he would go to Niamey for a two day security seminar in the Nigerien capital, and on Friday, 14 January, he would fly to Jos to spend the weekend with his parents, and then fly to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Sunday for the Armed Forces Remembrance Day moved to Monday since the usual date of January 15th was a Saturday. He was sorry when he saw his friend and colleague and stopped to exchange pleasantries with him only to be asked to help to take his friend to the University of Lagos! He immediately wished he had waved and driven on.
His friend’s wife had borrowed his car and was stuck in traffic somewhere in Lagos Island. And his friend needed to get to Unilag quickly to check the bullets his boys took to the school. While he was busy here and there, his boys had left for Unilag without him confirming that the bullets were rubber pellets. Jamin’s friend was anxious, almost fractious repeating several times how he had instructed his boys to take rubber pellets instead of real bullets. He could not leave anything to chance; some of his boys could not be trusted, he told Jamin. The man in Aso Rock had already called the GOC of their cantonment warning that no student should die in the melee lest his political opponents use it against him in their campaigns. And the GOC had told Jamin’s friend that his head would go for it if any student died. So, Jamin could understand the urgency in his friend’s pleas. Since he too did not want any student to die accidentally, his friend did not have to plead for long.
He hurriedly changed into NA uniform because of the deranged cult boys. They could shoot at sight but dared not shoot at a soldier. Then the two officers of the Nigerian Army drove down fast to the University of Lagos. And little did J know what lay ahead. As they were driving into Moremi for that was the hottest hall, the one female hall deranged frat boys head to in search of those to molest; they had carried Bukky out bleeding from bruises on her face and arm. She could not walk; she was just bawling and coughing as teargas fumes filled her lungs. Jamin’s friend asked his boys to give her first aid and to take her back into her hall. A soldier repeated that she fell through a staircase and might be bleeding internally. Jamin’s friend yelled at the soldier to just do as he was told as there was no vehicle and no time to take her to the clinic. Jamin offered to take her to the school health centre causing his friend to exclaim, “J!” and gave him a long look.
“Just to make sure she’s not bleeding internally,” Jamin told him.
He practically lost his peace when he considered not honouring his promise to the injured girl that he would visit her. Thoughts of Bukky travelled with him to Kaduna, Niamey, Jos, and Abuja. It wasn’t what his friend thought. Still he didn’t know what it was. Yet he had stayed with her until she was examined, treated and sedated, and he could not help but noticed her attractive built and her cute dimpled smiles. Although Jamin was not attracted to dark girls, being very dark himself, yet there was something about the girl that appealed to his senses. No, she wasn’t the girl he was looking for, yet he felt comfortable with her. It wasn’t until he was airborne that day that he realized that he loved the fact that she didn’t know who he was! It gave him a good feeling. That she was loud and a talker came off amusing to Jamin. He had laughed out loud when she told him that her father would like to meet him and reward him for saving her life. Jamin confirmed her, a talker. He willingly visited her twice as soon as he returned to Lagos despite knowing that she was not the one.
It was on that second visit that he met Ulari.
His first sight of her was like a drop of red fire in his blood. What happened at that moment could not be described. His quickened blood took ages to cool and that was when he was away from her. But the girl was mad; despite seeing in her eyes that she knew who he was, she completely shut him out! It was a herculean task even to get her to converse with him. In desperation he had called in Pastor Marfi and his Itshekiri wife. Marfi was like a brother to him. They grew up together in Rukuba Barracks, Jos; attended the same military schools; served in the same places in intelligence department, until the preaching bug bit him and he left to start a church. It was also Marfi’s mum who introduced his own mum to the Assemblies of God Church. Marfi and his wife took charge immediately.
“Not until man is strong enough to take actions God will not fulfil the promises he has made!” Pastor Marfi had told him.
He had pursued the girl on the strength of that word. But was it tough? With all the complications of Bukky and sharp-eyed Bisi, plus Ulari’s taciturn nature and her crazy ambition to invent spaceship first before settling down, sometimes he felt like giving up. But thank God he persevered. His efforts were paying off already – a kiss had happened to his utter amazement. All he needed to do at the moment was to get to know her more while gently dissuading her from her “silly” ambitions for it was not a simple life he was pulling her into. And he had to be careful for they were educated southern girls of the set that cry sexism. Often, he had listened to their conversations about how they were being educated to take Kilimanjaro.
Jamin had no time to waste waiting for her to accomplish whatever she desired to accomplish: her duty had been laid out for her. While at it, he had been getting her personal data so he could discuss her intelligently with his pastor and his father. They would certainly ask questions about her that he must provide answers to. Also, he must make sure what he felt for her was mutual. Although he knew he was emotionally ready for marriage yet he needed to be very careful.
He suspected that some of the reasons why marriages fail were because participants did not do their homework well, were not careful to heed to red flags and completely took God out of the picture. According to the sermon he heard in TREM, “Marriage should happen, not on the basis of age- that I’m old enough- neither of sex nor of feelings- and all these have their place,” the man of God had said, “but if marriage has to work, it would be based on the will of the One who instituted marriage, and not only on the basis of love because love is ephemeral.” Defining the will of God, the pastor had said, “A man should ask God, ‘Is she my wife?’”
Now, checking out his score sheet he was able to mark off some points. It was crazy but Jamin found out that the moment he took the decision to seek God’s mind on the issue of marriage partner, not up to three days, he began to receive things in his spirit clearly not out of his mind. He was able to separate at least three things he was sure he didn’t tell himself. He believed that the Lord told him that he was giving him a pearl of great value; a denominational Christian and a virgin. So about being a pearl, he thought that God meant her physical beauty for she was quite stunning. And about being a denominational Christian he had found out that she was Anglican. The third…? He knew right away that no sane man would ask a woman the state of her maidenhead but he could guess.
Culled from The Girls Are Not To Blame by Lechi Eke.