It was a bright Friday morning, I was tired of the school struggles and wanted to change environment. I called my brother I was coming to Ibadan and told him not to tell my mom and Sis so it would be a surprise. Unknown to me I was playing myself.
I got into this rickety Peugeot in Ejigbo as usual and I couldn’t wait for my 2 hours to be over so I could get out of the car before I get sandwiched. As usual I was jamming my Lil Wayne not to get distracted by the rubbish political debate in the vehicle.
I dropped at Iwo road and I was so happy to catch my family by surprise again, I took a cab going to new garage and off we go. A friend had previously told me how he was harassed by SARS officers in the same Ibadan the previous week but I said to myself it wasn’t going to happen to me, I was too smart to get caught. For the second time, I was playing myself.
I was only 5 minutes away from home on a bike with an hausa man, I wasn’t so happy with the rider because hausa riders always have so much trips to give so I didn’t pay any attention to anything. I had this Micra car close down on us and packed us to the side like it was a robbery, then I saw one of these Road Warders then I was calm and said to myself, this okada riders and unions chasing them for money. Again I was playing myself.
He told me to come off the bike, that was when I came to my sense and knew I was in Nigeria when I saw three other hungry looking lions putting on black looking for a prey to devour. They asked for my ID card which I couldn’t provide because it was in school but as a blogger I had an ID then I produced it but they were not satisfied so they asked for my phone. I didn’t want much wahala so I gave them my phone. That was my biggest mistake coz they only needed something to hold on to so I wont run away, they cuffed me straight up and bundled me in the car. Guns pointed at me, I was asked to call who I was going to meet. Mumu me, I was doing street boy, so I said I was going to meet a friend that my family isn’t in Ibadan. I played myself for the fourth time.
He wanted to slap me, then I remembered my friend’s gist so I told him to chill, as I was talking, my mom’s call came through and they were happy already coz they saw the caller ID but I told them “don’t sleep on it o, Aregbe is owing her”. I was asked to put it on loudspeaker, my mom said she was going to send 5k to me for upkeep. Money I ought to feed with, they said I should transfer it and I should call my brother for more.
While at that, the lions felt it was Friday and they needed lot of meat to feed on all through the weekend, they caught another victim, he was harassed again and as they were about cuffing him he spoke Edo language to one of them coz he already saw his name. I wanted to cry
They saw another young boy like me and ran after him again, he stopped and told them he was coming from church, they said “your mates are online making money, you are doing fine boy to get babes, I pity your life”
Long story short, they followed me and my brother to the ATM with guns to withdraw 20k before I was freed.
