One thing that distinguished Minna Railway Station from all the other stations along the railway from Lagos was its neatness and the orderliness of things. War Against In-discipline (WAI) ruled here.
The uniform staffers were cheerful and seemed satisfied performing their duties. As soon as the noise of the engine subsided signaling that the train had finally settled in the station, megaphones mounted on the platform began bellowing announcements. This was the first station since Ibadan that seemed to know the importance of information to tourists and travellers. The announcements came in the three major ethnic languages in Nigeria (Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa) and of course, the country's lingua franca-English language was not left out.
"Welcome to Minna Station. The time is half past one and you will enjoy yourself here with us for the next thirty minutes".
Taye looked at his digital wrist watch and noted that at two they would be on their way again.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, while you are in the station, please take care of your luggage. Beware of pickpockets. Once again, welcome to Minna Railway Station".
There was a little pause and a record by Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the Afro beat king, came on air. 'Buy Africa' was the title of the record. Several short announcements interrupted Fela a number of times.
It was the turn of Bobby to take care of their luggage and seats at Minna Station so, while all others came out to the platform, he remained behind on guard. From Ilorin station, when somebody had attempted to steal Taye's bag, they had decided to keep watch in turns at the stations. And because seats were "essential commodities" on the trains particularly during public holidays and school vacations, the person staying behind must protect their seats too.
"Jingolo, Pl, please one soft drink for me". Bobby shouted from the window to his friend milling with the crowd on the platform. Taye and Bose had the task of procuring lunch, as well as refilling the plastic container with water. Bose went to the food stalls while Taye hurried further towards the back of the station building where a huge crowd gathered.
He could not even see the tap they surrounded but the wet surroundings assured him water was there. It was no easy task fetching water from the tap because there was no queue and so it was a survival of the fittest. After about ten minutes or so he filled five litter plastic container and headed back, his shirt and trousers soaked. He handled over the water through the window where Bose had now joined Bobby in their compartment.
"Bob hear me, what do boys see in cigarette smoking?" she said pointing at Jingolo through the window a packet of cigarettes was bulging in his breast pocket and exhaling thick smoke from his nose and mouth.
Bose looked at Bobby and they burst into laughter. Others around them did not know why the hearty laughter and neither Bose nor Bobby revealed what was amusing to them.
Jingolo was the last person to join them after the train left the station. He came in fuming, his face ugly. When asked what the matter was, he reported that the woman from whom he bought sweets redused to give him his change saying Jingolo gave him a smaller naira denomination than he claimed. In other words, Jingolo had lost his change.
After he had calmed down and was gain taking part in discussions, Bose pulled Jingolo's leg.
"Gingo, I think I am right... "Not perfectly, my name is J-I-N-G-O-L-O" he corrected her.
"Ok Jingolo, do you believe in Nemesis?' Bose asked. "Yes. why?".
"Nemesis, what you sow, you reap", she defined it for him. "Sure you I can't plant maize and the thing germinates millet".
"Yes, everybody knows that----." She cut him short and pointed Jingolo to what she was really driving at.
"So, you see how much you've paid for the newspaper "tapped" at Ilorin or was it Minna s station?", she lit her face up with a jibe and had a laugh at the expense of Jingolo.
"Coincident, I mean, coincidence, a mere coincidence and not as you
think. That woman, she's a bloody sucker", Jingolo cursed.
Others who contributed to the matter agreed that something like nemesis exist in nature.
"Can we have lunch now, or is it nemesis we gonna chop?" Taye shouted and that settled things and they shared the plate of porridge they bought at Minna. Mid-way into the meal, Santana resurfaced.
"Othello, you refused to look for me or is it your chic which embargoed your moving around?" Santana threw accusation at Taye and Bose. "Ah!" they exclaimed together but were too dumbfounded to give any explanation.
After a while, Taye found his voice.
"Believe me Santioro, I never knew you were still on this train. Allah!"
"Now you know, shall we go to my place and you can bring her along? I have a cabin to myself alone".
"O.k join us and we shall join you later", Taye said inviting Santana to lunch but he politely turned the offer down.
"Two coaches after the canteen, Cabin No 149. you'll see my name on the door".
"Oh No! I can't forget your name", Taye lied because he had actually forgotten Santana's surname but he noted the Cabin number.
"Seeing you", Santana said, winking at the other two boys and left.
The meal over, the students went to look for the occupant of Cabin 149. Bobby led the way, followed by Bose then Taye and Jingolo filled after them.
"This is the Cabin", shouted Bose, who had overtaken Bobby to reach Santana's door.
"Which cabin? Make I no see you there", barked a railway policemen coming in from the opposite direction.
Bose and the boys, even Santana who opened his door coincidentally froze to the order. When he recovered, Santana demanded from the constable whether his friends could not come for a game of cards in his first class cabin? The policeman left them but was not satisfied. They had
not even settled down when a ticket' checker knocked. Jingolo disappeared into the toilet, Bobby hid under the low bed while Taye slipped out and continued to stroll casually back in the direction of the Third Class section of the train. Santana engaged the official in an argument but he lost and Bose was marched out after it had been ascertained she carried a third class ticket. In annoyance Santana slammed his door after the checker.
However, Taye came back some ten minutes later with Bose.
Santana turned out to be hospitable person much to Taye's amazement. They settled down to a game of scrabble. Bose was ignorant of the game but she learnt fast. She ironically came out tops by scoring the highest figure of 412, thereby winning the first game. After that first game, Santana excused himself and went out. He came back with five bottles of assorted soft drinks. Each picked his or her choice and they continued their
game.
"Santi, where exactly are you now?" Taye asked.
"I'm in school of course. LASCA in Lagos".
"And, how do you come about this expensive air conditioned coach?"
Santana laughed and the scrabble ties in his rack scattered all over the board
and floor.
"My father is on the Board of the Railway Corporation, how else do you think I travel, fourth class in the Guard Van?"
They all laughed.
"But talking seriously now, I used to think that the man who usually brought you to school those days was always in uniform'', Taye probed further.
"Yes, you are right, my old man is a senior army officer. A top brass if you like, he's retired now".
They concentrated on the game for a while without much talking. Jingolo won the second game by beating Bose with seven points. Bobbyy took the rear again just as in the first game.
" I have been hearing music since, do you have a tape recorder somewhere, Santana?", Jingolo asked. Santana smiled and pointed at the ceiling. Then as they all looked up, an announcement came from where the music had been coming.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope you have been enjoying the journey so far?". Another pause and the train was now dead slow.
"I have just been informed that there had been an accident involving a trailer and a goods train at a level crossing about ten kilometres ahead. We shall stop at the next minor station for further instructions. Please stay tuned. Thank you''. And music took over the air once again.
"That announcement is for the privileged few", Taye intoned "How?" snapped Santana.
"Because you haven't traveled third class, you would not know that things like announcements, the kind we have just heard and music were not for every Dick and Harry".
"No, I disagree. Something must have been wrong with the public address speakers in your coach or may be the noise always in the third class
coaches may have rendered the soft music and low voices on the speakers inaudible". Santana asserted.
"What are you telling me, Santana. Are you saying that all these years I have been traveling by train I have always had the misfortune of traveling in coaches with faulty address systems? Tell me", Taye charged back.
"Ok, I see. You know I should know much about the Nigerian Railways. This address system thing, both in the coaches and in the stations and some other innovations were recent things. Even the air-conditioned coaches because only recently I overheard papa discussing it with some members of the Board on the phone".
Santana would have continued the argument but the train hooted. It hooted again, again and again.
All eyes popped out through the windows. There were mango trees everywhere. They lined the edges of the track as if they were planted. Taye could see some huts with thatched roofing in the distance behind the line of the mango trees. He noticed that smoke was gently coming out from the huts.
Suddenly, the wheels on the rail line screeched and jerked to a stop.
''Shall we end the game and go back because of our loads," Bosee whispered to Taye and after a brief spell, Taye announced.
"Well, Santana, thanks so much, we like to go and see to our bags now that the train is stopping till only God knows when".
They rose up together, thanked their host again and filled out of the conditioned cabin. Outside of cabin 149 was so unbearably hot that they were all sweating profusely before they got back to their third class coach.
As soon as they took their seats, Jingolo shouted to Chiko and company saying, "Heaven and hell are right here in this world".
The statement was actually a comparison between Santana's cool, comfortable first class cabin and their own hot and noisy third class coach.
He explained to them when they did not get the joke.
The boys they left behind were in the middle of an argument
about the sudden stoppage of the train in the bush. A rumour had got to them that a student had been drunk in the canteen and had pulled the emergency chain. Some of the boys were saying that what they beard
was that the drunker fell off the train and his friends pulled the chain to stop the train.
Jingolo took the centre stage and told them of the air-conditioned coach, the music and lastly the announcement about the accident. It sounded out of this
world to all those who cared to listen. Taye searched the ceiling of their coach to fault Santana's claim about the public address system. He found rather surprisingly two shining speakers mounted at each end of the coach. They were brand new but no sound came from the apparently new speakers. He listened but heard nothing.
Taye brought up his Ieft wrist to the level of his eyes to look at the face of his adorable digital watch. It was 4.16pm. He thought that another announcement would have been made since the train was rooted to a spot over fifteen minutes ago. He looked outside where some local women and young girls hawking boiled yam attracted his attention. The yams were inviting despite the apparent poor sanitation of the sellers.
People began to scatter into the grassland taking refuge under the shades of the mango trees, That too was inviting. Taye whispered to Bose and they got up together, excused themselves and went out of the coach which was becoming unbearably hot. Bose carried along the plastic water bottle. They selected a cool spot under a mango tree and sat down on the big roots of the tree.
"You care for Doya?" Taye asked.
"What's that?" Bose countered. "Yam of course; listen to all these Hausa women",
She shrugged and Taye called a fairly neat girl among the hawkers who turned out to speak a little English.
The yam tasted as if sugar was in it. But the girl said no sugar was added. That was the natural taste of yams in the area she assured them.
For the first time since they met at Osogbo. Taye was having Bose all to himself. He looked at her face and she looked into his. Taye still wanted a yes from her to clear all doubts from his mind.
"Bose darling, you know since last night we haven't the opportunity to conclude what we began", Taye started. Bose cut in.
"What did you begin?" and frowned.
"I told you my mind how much I love you but you have kept me guessing all along where I actually stand with you".
She did not reply but she pointed at something that is behind Taye. He turned round and saw Santana gazing out
through the window of his cabin.
"I don't think he sees us", Taye guessed.
"I don't think so, "Bose agreed.
"Did you not hear what I said?" Taye pressed her to respond to his earlier question.
''What do you expect me to do again?" she added after a pause.
"At least you have my address and I have yours. If you write me at school, I have told you that I shall reply. Trust me".
"But Bose dear, didn't you say they open all your letters a t school?" asked Taye.
"Yes, you should know how to write and don't get me into trouble, don't you?"
Bose agreed and queried.
"No, please tell me how. Remember I told you're my number one girlfriend ever and you'll be my only one. Tell me dear the a special way to write and you'll not be in trouble". Taye pleaded his emotionally. Bose withdrew and after a spell, she threatened.
"If this is what you invited me here to do I am going away".
She however did not make the slightest attempt to get up.
Taye calmed down and observed his surrounding as was usual with himq whenever he was puzzled. The hour struck from a watch with an alarm from the wrist of one of the passengers. Taye looked at his own watch and found rather
distasteful that it was 5p.m and it had been about an hour since their journey had been halted abruptly. The coaches were almost empty of passengers now. People were everywhere under the mango tree buying boiled and raw yams. Express trains do not always stop at minor stations unless on emergencies, this stoppage was a special blessing to the villagers and they exploited the opportunity to the fullest.
"Bobby and Jingolo, Taye and his girl under the tree. Santana also came along. They tasted the sweet yam and complimented it. Hassan also fund them under the tree. He came quietly behind Taye, tapped him on the shoulder and looked away.
"You, Hassan since Ibadan", Taye exclaimed. "who is this?" Taye asked Hassan pointing at Santana.
"Yes, let me see, Yes, na Mathews abi?", then Hassan added , "Look this troublesome boy you don get 'mujemu' self, referring to Santana's mustache. They embraced and laughed, the others sharing in the fun.
"All these jokes are good but who will solve this our problem. ", Jingolo asked with all seriousness. When all were paying attention to him he continued.
"It's been well over an hour and a half, if I'm not mistaken, since we stopped here".
Bobby cut in, "C ca can't we go and find a-a-a-out".
He took him almost a minute to make the statement. Bose almost burst out laughing but she contained herself. They were about taking a decision on the suggestion of Bobby when the group of students among whom Chiko was came over. Chiko was still their Chief Speaker. He intimated Taye's group with their mission.
"But, why are you going to demand a refund of money?"
Santana asked after Chiko had finished speaking.
"We have been reliably informed that a repair work on the damaged track would take at least 24 hours", Chiko replied.
Bose and Taye looked at each other. Bobby whistled.
"Then, we go!" Jingolo shouted.
The news galvanised him to action and there was no going back.
The gathering of students under the mango tree that Taye had selected as a private love spot had grown rapidly to about one hundred. Somewhere in the middle of the crowd, a song was raised, "All we are saying, give us our money....." and the mass of youngsters began to move away from under the shade of the trees and headed for the lone railway station building across the tracks.
Taye moved a little distance with the irate students but looked back and realised that his dear Bose still sat quietly under the mango tree and retraced his steps. By the time the students arrived at the dilapidated station house, placards had emerged. Those who did not carry placards carried the branches of the ubiquitous mango tree.
The protesters met nobody inside the small office in the building and therefore unleashed their venom on the furniture and equipment in
the room. They also pulled down the windows and doors of the building.
A thick crowd made up of fellow passengers had grown by now and the crowd was surging backward and forward with the protesting vandals. After all that could be destroyed at the minor station had been dealt with, the students went on board the train and vandalised the official coach of the railway staff, the
restaurant, and the canteen and looted them.
As the situation was getting out of hands, Taye said to Bose,
" Let's be quick to get your things leave this place ".
He however asked her to hold on while he dashed into their
compartment and in the twinkling of an eye, he was back having collected both
his and Bose's luggage.
Real pandemonium had broken loose now with people running in every direction. Santana led the way, Taye and Bose closed behind him, They ran for about five minutes along the rail northwards and when they were out of breadth they stopped and sat on the rail track to rest.
Santana had hardly regained his breadth when he began to inform his friends why he had advised them to run away from the scene of the rampage. According to him, he had gone into the train to collects his bags when he stumbled on the railway policemen planning to contain the demonstration.
Santana added that what really frightened him was that he saw one of the policemen loading his rifle.
The trio talked excitedly for sometime about the journey so far and wondered what could be the fate of their other friends. Then Santana reminded the other two of the announcement in his cabin when they were playing scrabble.
"Oh yes", shouted Taye and he recollected.
"The level crossing where the accident occurred should be near here".
They decided to continue the rest of their journey by road up to the junction.