Barrister Akaji Onyeobodo's office was vast and wide. The decor was a state of the art, with two air conditioners, a fifty four inch television broadcasting the morning news on the UMR news channel and an extra long couch at the other side overlooking the television, coupled with the aura which engulfed the room noticeable as one got close to the office door, it wasn't a mistake to refer to the office as his home away from home. He sat on his swivel chair right behind his enormous desk made from the finest woods of the great Irokos of Africa and it was so smooth if one were to ever walk on it and a glass of water was toppled over, they would slip and fall to their demise.
In front of him was seated Chiukwuemeka. He had invited him over so they could talk privately.
"So Mekus! Mekuuuuus ventures!" He hailed the young man.
"Ndewọ Ichie, ụtụtụ ọma ńnà anyị." Emeka said with a slight bow.
"Yes, good morning Oga anyị Mekus." He says and as Emeka blushes, Uncle Akaji laughs. "Yes, so nwọke m, Emeka, Emeke ma obulu ndị Asaba, Ahaba." He laughs heartily, "Ehen! Oh yes! I sent for you because seeing you'll soon be twenty years of age if my math is mathing correctly, you should start getting fully involved, up to date, with the affairs of Uzoka, ólú ńnà í bídó, your father's investments." He lowers his voice, "Before you start making the ladies lose eight to nine months of their cycles." He adds with a wink further brandishing a smirk to go along.
Emeka doesn't find it funny in the bit or was he just confused? But which ever it was he just tries to force a smile, successfully and focuses his attention on the topic of the family business, the interest of the day, it had always been his dream and now it was finally time. "Yes Ichié, Ichié dàálụ rị nné! Thank you so much Ichie." He replies excitedly.
"Ok chill out boy, don't get all zesty just yet... So! Today we're gonna go see what your father had his noses into ok?" Emeka nods in agreement and he bends over to a nearby desk housing three drawers and pulls out a stack of A4 papers from one of them. "What are you going to study in the university?"
"I studied business administration sir." Uncle Akaji smiles.
"Oh! You've even graduated sef? Wow! Good to know by the way that you're no longer worried about dilly dallying into the entertainment industry..." Chiukwuemeka stares at him, he reads the boy's expression a bit and continues, "Look, I'm a gen Z, your father who's now one of your ancestors was a Gen Z, your mom another ancestor now was a Gen A, alpha." He looks at Emeka who seems confused, "You must be wondering why am talking about Gen Z's and A's." Chiukwuemeka nods in agreement. "My point is that till the next millennium and beyond, Gen Z will remain the coolest generation in history if I must say so myself, even though historians and historians in-training will probably get a first and second degree migraine just trying to understand what went on particularly after 2020, the 20s but also in the '17, '18 and '19 seasons if you know what I mean... most importantly, my point is if there's anyone who understands how cool and trendy the entertainment industry was and still is, it would be me and your father, probably your mom too. Do not forget your father had an album or two before he called it quits going on to be president and CEO of Egwu ne ti eti groups in which Flames records and co are under so he knew music, he knew trendy. I myself also had a very popular TikTok account back in the days and your mom Adamma, still the most followed TikToker of her generation till date, so we knew trendy, we knew trends, we made trends, and we killed trends. Purple Speedy, Iva wahala Ivana, Berby Picxy, ten times nominee and nine times Nwikes award winner that started from TikTok Precious, Shalom aka Shally your spiritual bestie, ah ah, dem boku, na we dey run things that year... Now we use Gaddafi, Africa's very own social media application much like TikTok, Instagram and Whatsapp combined."
"Lication!"
"Sorry?"
"Ichié, a lication, we call it a lication, our generation, you guys called it an app back then, we call it..." He stops pacing around slowly and grabs a sit on the desk, it slides him a few times but he finally gets a grip of it. Emeka was too intrigued to laugh mostly cos Uncle Akaji gave him the stares. "And Nwachiukwuwrites with the African Dream of the present day UMR."
"Nwachiukwu Chiukwunonso Chiukwuebuka Chiukwuemeka Mora. He always said his sister Nkolika Ngozichiukwu Oburota named him Nwachiukwu, his dad Onyebuchi named him Chiukwunonso, his maternal grandma Chibuogu Ifeyinwa Iwenofu named him Chiukwuebuka and his mom Obianuju named him Chiukwuemeka, my namesake... Damn! Chizoba is rubbing off on me, how do I know so much of Nwachiukwuwrites that I have never met?"
Uncle Akaji smiles as he continues. "It's actually common knowledge really, he talks a lot, doesn't ever seem to shut the f up, anyways, Let's not forget the legend of the game, Captain Ibrahim Traore, the man, the myth, the legend, people love to call him Sankara's heir, indeed he was better, he changed Burkina Faso in the western motherland region of Africa and indeed unknowingly championed Africa to greatness," Uncle Akaji screams in nostalgic delight. "Anyways, no one's against music bro, tufiakwa! Look, I even recall the TikTok ban incident when the United States government at the time decided it was a good idea to ban TikTok not caring that over ten million of their citizens loved, honored and even helped build and deify the app."
"Ichié, TikTok? Why na? Kedụ ìfe merenụ?"
"The US government believed the Chinese government, the communist party of China were spying on their citizens, the US citizens, a total lie by the way and decided that banning it was the most important stuff on their mind in the midst of high gourging inflation rates, threat of potential third world war at the time and other relevant and more pressing issues than their manufactured secret spy balloon and China spying on citizens through TikTok conspiracy theories. China nokwá lu onwe fa ọgawụ ne dozi economy fa. So people now went to an official Chinese app RedNote..."
"Oh I have heard of that! Chinese TikTok. I think back then Gaddafi had not been established and Africans we're still using TikTok"
"Good, correct, so out of fun and curiosity maybe solidarity back then, some of we, just a few in Africa went to see what the RedNote was all about, you know till normalcy returned which it quickly did after which most of us realized the ban was all so the incoming president obviously hated by the world and the reasonable American citizens and women, mostly women at the time till tomorrow, yeah, I always wondered why, would look like a good person, the goal was to ban it so he could unban it and be lauded a hero as if people didn't know he and his congress men were the ones who initiated the ban in the first place."
Emeka chuckles, "Typical politicians with their politics."
"Ehe! So you should understand that never will I be against music, hm! Music? Music that I listen to before I call my powers back to me at the end of the day and then go to sleep and the first thing I rush to after paying homage to my ancestors by sprinkling African dry gin on their altars and on the ground in honor of Ani, mother Earth, mother nature , mother Africa whom all things come from and go back to you know, first thing in the morning, thanking them for a great day ahead and for a great night before, I further thank the spirit of the trees, the spirits of the animals of the land and birds of the air, my big mama Anyanwu, the sun guide, Idemmili, lady of the waters, and my spirit guides... ok the spirit guides are the ancestors..."
"Ichié, I know how to pay homage to all the elements of life which are simply embodiments of the supreme being , the supreme creator, the embodiment and personification of femininity and divine feminine energy because women are the givers of life, she also is the giver of life, Chiukwu okike abiama, also because as we all well know in Africa, the supreme creator is not sitted on a chair in the skies above the clouds watching us with his white skin and white beards and grey hair, she, yes she is present in everything she created so we honor her through honoring everything she created, including loving, caring and nurturing our fellow human beings as we are equally her creations, paying homage to the ancestors who are also her creations and now further deserve our honor and respect now more than ever because before they left to the astrals from where they now watch over us through our minds because everything is in the mind, so before they took another form for another spiritual experience, adventure, mission they set the stage on which we act, they cleared the path on which we now tread and have made way for us to act and do better than them, occasionally through their help and guidance, so Ichie I understand all these things, can we be..."
Uncle Akaji smiles and continues, "So music is basically life, but I just want you to understand the importance of keeping up, continuing the legacy of your father's businesses, when you get in touch finally with the dealings, I'll keep a close eye on you, then when I say 'hey, the man's good to go' 'the boy's ready' I would've understood by then that you've kept a strong grid on the dealings because that's all that matters right now then you can finally go on to be one of the greatest entertainers your generation has ever seen."
"But Ichié..."
"No buts nwa m. Look, it's never too late to be the greatest, if that's really what tickles your fancy, music, you love it with your body and soul then even if you get on with it at say forty five, so long as it's in you and you in it, there's no problem but business, Lumumba avenue? No! It doesn't, the L avenue doesn't give one avenue for laziness, it thankfully isn't patient with no one so the dedicated ones and yes, the deserving ones can then quickly grasp any opportunity they can find, yes, successful people seek and grasp any but failures seek for the right opportunity, there isn't such a thing as the right opportunity, there are only opportunities and they are for grasping for any who's dedicated enough to reach out for it and take it, and as for that stupid act of waiting for tomorrow, tomorrow is never going to come, today is today, tomorrow is right now and waiting for what's already here is late. L Av, it is time and time is it, business, money, they are cousins, time is their grandma, they wait for no one, got no time for who ain't got their time, be smart!" He stares at Chiukwuemeka a while who now rises and walks over and around just to sink into the couch. "Nope! This singular attitude coupled with your 'I now understand it all' attitude can make you lose a contract, an opportunity, a chance that can be life changing and life altering positively. First of all, even if you know it now, just know you can never know it all, always seek to learn more, it's common knowledge, be like the learned and the literati who read every book on the shelf and go out to go find some more, don't be like them people back in the days who read just one book and then went on to believe they know it all because that one book said it was the book of life, knowledge of good and evil, all who read the book knew all knowledge yada yada yada, they believed they had held the secrets of the universe simply because they read the book and if one didn't believe in their book or come to engage in their book clubs of which they invested millions of currencies into with zero returns because the head of those book clubs told them they would heavily be rewarded when they died and they ate it up, enriching the book club owners whilst they themselves were barely getting by but they didn't mind because they believed they had a special place in some joint when they died..."
"Wait, people actually thought they'd go to some place when they died? Didn't they understand reincarnation?"
Uncle Akaji laughs long and hard, "As in eh, they didn't understand the astral planes, spirituality and all the good things we do today, back then in what was known as the age of Aquarius, we majorly Gen Z's and a few older generations who were wise or woke began debunking the myths and lies of the book club... They taught you guys about the book clubs in school right?"
"Yes Ichié, we were also taught about the horrors of the Transgen..."
"Trans Atlantic slave trade boy keep in check!"
"Yes and how the book clubs and their favorite book and other series inspired by the book by our own people in cohorts with the colonizers were heavily used to spiritually and mentally keep our people colonized, impoverished and hating on each other, I think they had two of them bookclubs..."
"Good! Good to know you know your history, so it all boils down to what I was dropping, even giving people the 'I know it all' attitude can literally make you lose a contract, that's pride, and no one likes a proud cock, literally! Never forget you can always go back to things you thought you knew before and will always see deeper truths like literally. Next, In a meeting with anyone, no matter how uncomfortable you are, just endure till you've gotten what you're looking for then you fucking ditch the sight, the joint, don't show your host or your hostee, the hosted that you're uncomfortable or you may lose the deal. And the most important, we must never use our emotions in business but we must endeavor to build strong solid relationships for future purposes. You don't want a situation where your client is going, 'lemme just catch this deal first and get out of here, this person has a very terrible attitude, tufiakwa! I can't stand him! If I just catch this deal I won't even be caught dead next to this okpo ever again, what an ungrateful and rude person...' Of course the person won't say it in your front but their body language will always give them out and you may then say to yourself, 'well, what's that to me? I got the deal, I got the contract, I got my cheddar, ego m bu godu nke di m' kpa, my money is the most important to me first so...' Yes you did get your money, your égọ, but let word get out after your business deal..." Akaji gives a long and sarcastic laugh which he cuts short abruptly as if on a controller, "Ọgabụ égọ ịkpazu ị gá kpátá ná ndụ áfịá ị." He chuckles, "You don't know..." He chuckles again. "It will be the last cheque or contract you'll ever sign in your business life, I mean it and it will all be thanks to your pride, your ego."
Emeka rises up quickly as if getting an adrenaline rush, a grasp of inspiration, "anụ m ife ne kwú, ichié!"
"Good, now get up! let's get a move on." Uncle says as he moves to his drawer, gets his office keys and his Okpu agu, after arranging his isiagu and trousers, he grabs his mkpo and signals Emeka to move first.
"Ńnà anyị, where are we headed?"
"Good question my boy. Didn't I inform you earlier that we'll be going to go check up on your father's businesses and get you involved, acquainted with it?"
Emeka brightens up, "It's true, ọkwa eziókwu, yes Ichié, let's go." Uncle Akaji smiles shaking his head slightly as he pats the boy on his shoulder and notions him in front of him to cross the door.
"Chiukwuemeka Uzoka!" Emeka blushes and uncle Akaji chuckles while clicking the door shut thrice. On sighting them, a man approaches and uncle tosses his key at him before he even arrives. "Noni, I'll be back in a few hours, take care."
"Yes Ichié." The man responds and with the key approaches the office.
"That's my able personal assistant, P.A. or as you may like, manager Chiukwunonyelum nwá Ogadimma nkè Obosi." He informs Emeka who turns around to catch a last minute glimpse of the man. "Maybe one day you'll have yours... No, obviously, you must surely have yours, two, three, four, five as you may like, you are the heir of Uzoka." Uncle Akaji turned it down to a whisper, Chiukwuemeka knew why.
Outside, a brand new looking IVM OTR: Off The Road approaches them. The door opens up by itself and uncle Akaji allowing the boy in first, enters finally and they get on the road.
They sat in silence at the back of the car. Chiukwuemeka always had deja vus anytime he sat in the back of a car. Uncle Akaji looked over his phone at him and sighed.
"Ńnàà, stop doing like this na eh? Look, that incident is at least ten years old and the security right now is top notch across all Africa states, no one's ever going to do no harm ok? People are being useful and industrious with their businesses and no one is fed up with life under this New Africa programs, so don't sweat it." He glances at his uncle and flashes a frown. "Ok look, take a look at these Gaddaflips..." Uncle Akaji shows him a video on Gaddafi where a man approaches a young boy and goes,
'Excuse me young blood, young soul, yes thank you.' The man is shaking and doesn't look himself, he continues, 'Could I get just two scrolls please?' The boy hands his phone to him and as he scrolls, he commends the boy so much and hands it back to him, 'Yes, thank you young blood, may your ancestors continue to be with you brother, yes!' Chiukwuemeka couldn't help but explode into laughter with uncle Akaji who had actually laughed earlier but found himself exploding with laughter all again. The video was titled 'Phone addicts in 2070' by @funnynerdsjokes.
"Omo! This thing fit occur o." Chiukwuemeka blurts out.
"I'm saying, in just a few years time o." Uncle Akaji adds. He turns to his side and realizes that they are already at the first location and notions Chiukwuemeka to arrange.
The car comes to a halt and the door opens up for them. Uncle Akaji steps out on one side and Chiukwuemeka the other, soon he joins his uncle right in front of the building. "Emeka!"
"Ichie m!"
"Good! Probably one of his most famous activities, we all knew he was very interested in sharing the horrors of the Trans Atlantic slave trade so he invested a lot of his time and resources into Nneuwanine, the mother of all peoplekind.
"The famous Trans Atlantic slave trade museum?"
"Ọnya nú, yes, the famous museum in our very own Umuahia."
"First of all, I wonder why he had to come all the way to Umuahia to build it, we're from Onitsha and..." Uncle Akaji gave him... The look! "Ohhhhh! You're from Umuahia..."
"There's already one in the western motherland region of Ghana and besides you shouldn't even be envious of anything, never forget that we are one in this country of UMR, in the Motherland, so we should act as so, this your singular act no matter how unimportant you may deem it is actually the reason Africa was so easily colonized in the first place. They came and beheld a beautiful robe, a robe of bright colors which if worn by a maiden, she would break even the strongest warrior but instead of them to come learn how to make an equally beautiful and enticing robe, they said no! They sought to destroy the robe and steal the instruments for the creation of the robe so only them can make the robes and sell back to the tailors at a higher rate and they succeeded by first looking for a tiny rift in the robe, a small inch where the threads were just hanging lose and they capitalized on that, with their finger they widened the rift just enough to cause more damage and just a little not to be noticed, every day by day they pinched on it till the whole robe was damaged and they went on to steal the instruments for weaving and you know the rest."
"Yeah, the weavers were asleep, soon their kids began to wake them up to show them the evil dealings of their guests whom they had welcomed and hosted but the weavers were too trusting and had even enjoyed the goofiness of the sight seers and with time they became customers in their own businesses and markets, buyers of their own goods and commodities and at higher rates at that, they, once billionaires became servants to peasant sight seers, so that's why we must mend even the slightest rift, a little disunity is a mighty flaw, we must stay together and appreciate one another for our achievements and not be envious of eachother." Chiukwuemeka nods with understanding.
"Good, it's that simple, stay grounded. Please don't make me ever have to repeat this again."
"Yes Ichié, daalụ màkà ákọnụché ị, ámàmịfe ị, thanks for your wisdom."
"Good!"
"I came here once with the pals sha and I promised myself I wouldn't any more, the evils of the TAST, we must never forget, we must only forgive and most importantly wisen up. We must forgive but never forget, we must be cautious of them for only then can we truly be wise."
"That's my boy, good to know you're keeping up with your history."
"It's my favorite subject and pass time, even as I'm going into business and music, I can't just let it go."
"You shouldn't, no one should ever let it go, it should be a part and parcel of one no matter what line of occupation he or she decides to just senge menge into, one should always know their history because as our fathers wisely said One who fails to learn from history, will definitely become part of history. So it is very important and interesting if you get a grip of it. Now since you've been in and around the vicinity, and with..." He glances at his wristwatch. "Time not on our side, I want to show you the most important of all his businesses, the rest you can find out later and best, by yourself after we sign the paperworks but this next one is top notch and confidential, thank the ancestors I waited till you're twenty and not eighteen to show you this because..." He notions as they get into the car. "The law states one gets to begin to do things like drinking, which is not okay, I personally only make use of African dry gin to appease the ancestors and only indulge in moderate palm wine from time to time and pure, state of the art fruit juice with no sugar pressed personally by my chefs in my kitchen so you should know what you're doing, next is driving, yes, it says drinking, driving and a rest of other stuff could only begin to be legal at age eighteen but in Africa we believe you fully become an adult at twenty years old so I know you must be matured enough by now but age and time are simply just numbers if I must say so myself because all knowledge and actions come from and only begin to manifest from up here..." He points at his temple. "But I've been watching you of course and I know you're good and ready for phase one. Let me just chip this in since we're talking of the law here, be more cautious of the things that are legal than they that are illegal." Chiukwuemeka nods with a little smile and turns his gaze to the road. He knew uncle Akaji talked a lot but he was extra chatty today so he girded himself and just learnt.
"Knowledge is power!" He murmurs to himself.
"Hm?"
"Nothing Ichié"
Between Chizoba and Uncle Akaji he couldn't tell who talked more but he sure did know he was learning from both, knowledge he didn't know if he would ever make use of.
"Oh, I remember back in the days we used to say, when this..." He points to his temple. "Temple opens, those temples closes, looking at now, all those temples have closed and people's temples have opened, Africa is no longer in recovery mode but is now in 'flex mode' We thank the ancestors for the Woke community in TikTok back in the days, and on ebooks of various kinds. They called them conspiracy theorists, wacky people, nut jobs, jobless! But your father called them the Woke community, the enlightened ones, ndị ji ákọnụché n' wete kw' akunauba. Look around, Borderless Africa is the in thing and it's gonna stay, no visas, one passport, one Identity card, one currency backed by each regions' resources, only years ago people thought it would never happen but our African ancestors, Lọlọ Amina, Mammy Yoko, Lọlọ Nzinga, Nkrumah, Sankara, Gaddafi, the Mau Mau of Kenya, Mandela, Professor learned PLO Lumumba, the able African youths across the continent now country and all the faithfully departed told us 'Hell no! For the few that now recognize us and show us to others, for their sake, we are remembered and not forgotten, we will shine our light on the continent, we will show Africa that those foreign ancestors whom they honor, Jesus, Muhammad, the catholic saints and Muhammad's followers whom they honor will only ever fight for their descendants who are the foreigners and the oppressors of we the Africans and so we will also secure, fight and protect our very own descendants who honor us and they who don't as a result of their ignorance because that's what mothers and fathers, parents in general do.' Now we have all cause to thank the ancestors, our African ancestors for their goodness and mercies upon us and the continent, now a country..." Uncle Akaji turns and realizes that they're almost at the destination, he arranges his Okpu agu.
Chiukwuemeka realizes that he has cause to thank his ancestors too because as they pull into the infamous Nnodu pharmaceuticals Inc, uncle Akaji stops talking. "Adamma dàálụ, Onyechi dàálụ, to my ancestors who are for me that I'm not aware of, asi m' unu dàálụ rị nné." He says inwardly. He glances at his phone, ninety eight percent, he hadn't any need to use it as uncle Akaji was talking and he knew it was rude and improper to be on another business especially a phone when someone was addressing you, especially an elder, an Ichié for that matter. "Nze na Ozo is no joke o." He says with a chuckle.
"Hm?"
"Nothing Ichié, onwérọ́!"
"Ok then, follow me in." Uncle Akaji notions and moves ahead as Chiukwuemeka follows closely behind, it was just a pharmacy, a huge pharmaceutical but with his knowledge of the nervous system and the hairs on his head and on his body were alerting him of something suspicious ahead by standing, he knew then that there was going to be more to this adventure than meets the eye.
As they stepped in, uncle Akaji waves at the reception, the receptionist notions at one of the men to follow suit and he does immediately.
Chiukwuemeka wonders why the man brought a mop stick along. Beyond the area where activities were bustling, they moved pass a room protected with glass where he realizes drugs are manufactured and by a long corridor ahead, they stop at a door, alone and out of sight, Chiukwuemeka turns and realizes he can't see the manufacturing room no more.
The man slides a card through the door handle and the door opens revealing a room with stacks and stacks of boxes wrapped up in brown paper and transparent cello tape, Chiukwuemeka immediately notices a corner of the room housing men with straightjackets on each, they are shaking and slimmed out like as if they hadn't had a bite of nnị, food since forever. They make to approach the man with a mop stick but he begins to wipe them like animals to get them to move back and stay in place.
"Heal! Heal! Heal!" The man screams and the men, nineteen in number he counts bounce back, cowering to a corner in fear like chickens in a coop.
"This Emeka ńnà m is your father's most profitable business..." And as he stretches out his hand, the man hands him a pen knife and he slashes the box and white powder begins to drizzle out, it had a peculiar odour which when he inhaled, he begins to cough hysterically and the smell gets the restrained men giddy and they begin to approach like chickens to a container of feed. "...White!" He exclaims.
Chiukwuemeka covers his mouth with his palm in surprise and goes over to have a taste but uncle Akaji knocks him hard on his head. "Ewo!" Chiukwuemeka exclaims.
"Don't be very stupid and intellectually naive! Don't you see what it has lowered these men to? Please, don't ever indulge in such."
Chiukwuemeka nods but his curiosity was peak. "Ichié, what's going on here?"
"Oh don't feel sorry for them, these men, my former employees, twenty of them decided to steal from me, funny enough not money like normal people do, I could've forgiven them, I could've! but no, they wanted these babies right here instead." He and the man laughs. "So as punishment when we caught them, instead of ending them for their incompetence fully understanding that their three years salary can't even go half the price of one of these boxes." He lowers his voice, "The price to pay for being involved in illegal dealings, you get cheated but you can't complain." He glances at the man who has his attention on the restrained and continues, "So I gave them a befitting punishment, since they want to be one with the substances, why not keep them one with the substances?" They both laugh again and he joins in feigning just enough to be believable. He glances at the restrained all shaky and trembly then he turns and asks, "You said they were twenty?"
"Yes, one died and I think they ate her body." Chiukwuemeka wanted to vomit, did he just say HER? he cooled down and grabbing hold of his uncle's body he said, "Ichié, can we be going?" He glances at his watch and adds. "It's five fifty two pm, night begins by six and we don't wanna be driving around at night."
"You're right my boy, but I must not forget why I brought you here in the first place, look, this is a very profitable and illegal business being run by me under Uzoka... As in by your father and so... But you must know what it does to people, you, eventually, will join this line of business, you must know you're a dealer not a taker, there's a reason the dealers live in luxurious heavens and the takers dwell on the streets. As for them, I'll let them free in about a few weeks and they can then head on to a rehab funded by their individual families who has gone all over on the News and where not but have lost all hope of ever finding them, they'll find them but it'll be too late, it's actually never too late, it all comes from in here, the ability to stop, the strong will, the will power, all from the temple up here but they, the families and the rehabs don't even know this but lucky are the few who do, so be very careful okay?"
Confused, disgusted, aghast yet studious, he replied, "Yes Ichié."
"Good! No one knows that Uzoka led by I has invested in all the rehabs in Africa so when these people or any other incompetent one decides to go to rehab spending billions of Afrozx without being healed because healing of an addiction comes from the mind and not from drugs or talking in the name of therapy, so the whole money comes back to me, To Uzoka led by me. I now get people to get them former patients back to the habit which I sponsor and the cycle continued and we're filthy rich." Uncle Akaji says with a ravenous laughter which Emeka struggles to innerstand whether he should indulge in. "Now...!" He gets a packer from the side of the boxes and scooping a heap full of the white stuff he throws it at the enslaved and like animals they clamor, headbutting each other just for a taste of the wild stuff. Chiukwuemeka couldn't help but be disgusted.
"I need a bafff bag." He says to himself.
Uncle Akaji turns and notions him to have a look and he nods at him. "Now to make sure this one is zombified..." He whispers to him. "Here Kolo, have these." He calls out to the man and tosses him two small bags of the stuff. "This is thrice your salary, you should be pumped I'm in a good mood."
The huge light skinned guy falls on his knees and begins to worship Uncle Akaji. "Senior, you've made my day!" He hisses a bit in correction, "Infact my life, see, ah!" He dips the tip of his index finger in his tongue and points to the skies, "Senior I no fit ask you anything again, you don run am for me, more grace, more love, more winnings..."
"Okay get up, good boy." Uncle Akaji says rubbing his hairy head and notions him up. He points at him and adds. "Stay good, you don't want to be like them o, you know you're all I have."
"Yes senior, I'm good senior..."
"Shut up your mouth!" The guy goes silent immediately and uncle Akaji continues. "Clean up this place, make sure they have no taste of these till I come again and lock up, get the girls to bath them and endeavor they feed them at the right time ok?"
"Yes senior!" The guy salutes acting like a mindless zombie and uncle Akaji shoves him aside with disregard and makes for the door with Chiukwuemeka.
"So long they can't think with their minds, they are not fit to be treated as people. We have three parts, the body, the soul and the mind just like the ankh, the body is just a vehicle and the enlightened change vehicles as they like because they know they can, the soul is very important, the soul and the mind are like these," He signifies by crossing his middle finger over his index at Emeka. "Together, but the mind is the projector of our reality, without your mind your soul is truly dead, your mind projects reality to your soul, your body is just the vehicle, you can kill the body, it will rejuvenate but much later, you can't kill the soul through the body, you can only kill it through the mind, that's what we're doing to them that are taking these stuffs, because there's really no means to control it once you start, I advice you don't, infact I warn that you don't at all. Alcohol is the mirror of the mind but when not controlled it is disastrous. And that's how we make money out of these peasants, by killing their minds, so you have to know."
The ride home was oddly quiet, uncle Akaji was just on his phone occasionally giving Chiukwuemeka side glances, the guy was in another realm.
"Emeka, you're home!" Uncle Akaji calls out after a few hours notifying Emeka of their arrival at home, a three hours drive felt like a few minutes, he was thinking about the day. "Emeka wait, chelụ! Chelụgọdụ!" Uncle calls out as he opens the car door.
"Yes Ichié."
"Don't give today much thought ok, sleep over it, just understand that today was just the unveiling process, you're the heir, it's your property, no one's dragging it from you, you need to know what's yours before you can access it right?" Chiukwuemeka nods. "Ok I see you're not in the mood for my talk any more, I'll call you tomorrow ok? Let's talk, if I don't call you, call me, kpo m! Kaba aru!, Make sure."
"Yes Ichie." Uncle Akaji pats him on the shoulder and releases him. As the car door shuts, he smirks and gives a thought a bit and then turns to the driver.
"May we dey tụ́wámá na, kà anyị tinyé bé arụ, let's get a move on."
"Oya na alaye mi." The driver replies and speeds off.
Getting into the waiting room, he is confronted by Uju and Chizoba. He glances at both of them, they only did that when he was either in trouble with them or they needed something.
"Am I in trouble?" He says with a smile as if to mask off all his tiredness.
"No but you'll be if you don't meet our demands brother." Chizoba says and his smile widens.
"It's like you don't know your mate again abi?" He queries feigning annoyance.
"Hmmm, between you and us, we all know who's gonna bow in a few minutes." Uju says authoritatively.
Chiukwuemeka laughs heartily. "Oya na, what did your lovable brother do this fine evening?"
"Hmmm, dey feel yourself."
"Hmmm, no mind am, ógè ọ buna, everytime" Uju replies with a chuckle.
"Actually, nothing, but we want you to do something." Chizoba says and he raises his eye brow at the manner and authority of her request,naturally he would make a fuss but he had a tedious day.
"Brother, we want to go to normal school like every one else, we're tired of home school." Uju says. He stares at them both like he had seen a ghost and they stare back at him like wives who had caught their men cheating.
"Well, ólúgọ́ ógè yá nà, it's about damn time, I actually thought you liked homeschool that's why I never fussed or inquired about it from you guys but if that's what you want Uju then so be it but we've gotta discuss this with uncle Akaji o first."
"First of all brother, ọ mmụ na Uju bia kwa ìfè a, it's me and her that came to pass the message and two, we mustn't always involve an outsider in our family businesses na, it's not fair o, I don't like it and I don't think it is wise."
"Well, let me first of all add that as you're a girl and this opinion coming from you personally, I now know the idea gotta be wise and as a woman at that in general, you're not capable of generating ideas and the outsider you're talking about is the family's legal practitioner and the one in charge of the family business till I officially turn twenty in... the ancestors know when. So show some respect to the man and he's a man sef!" He stares at his wristwatch and turns to them again, "Ladies, good night abeg, I'll be seeing you at the breakfast table tomorrow..." And with that, he left them and went upstairs muttering something incomprehensible, "... Appendages... keeping..."
The girls both stare at him till he was out of sight, and shaking their heads with Chizoba shrugging in confusion, they made to equally retire to their rooms.
"And he has no problem that somebody that is not even part of the family has one hundred percent access to all the family wealth, what the fish is wrong with that nonentity of a brother of ours?"
"Nné, bikọ ràpụ gọdié ọ! Just leave him alone please, he probably had a long day at work and the tiredness was getting to his brains..."
"Ujunwa, you're always supporting him..."
"What do you want me to say? His words equally stung me too."
"Just allow me rant till my heart's content because something's very wrong with brother..."
"Chizoba be calming down okay, just give him a rest, it's probably rest he needs." Chizoba hisses and continues.
"Obianuju?"
"Chizobam!"
"Obianuju?"
"Chizobam!"
"Ok!"
"Ehen! Now let's go and browse about the best high schools in Awka okay?"
Chizoba raises her eye brow and Uju smiles. "Baaaaabe, leave the okpo alone first, sisters before the misters."
Chizoba smiles, "As it should since the beginning of time!" As they move up the stairs, Uju spanks at Chizoba and makes a run for it, she, now activated begins to chase her and their happy laughter is soon echoing across the house from their joint.
He sees himself running through a desert, he sees what looks like quick sand and goes to have a look, all of a sudden he is pushed into it and on the realization begins to cry out for help as he is sinking slowly and surely. Three women come along in a bid to help him, he reaches out to them but a man whose face is unseen shoves them off and grabs hold of his hand, the man lifts him out and walks with him, the three women are trying to get him to stay with them but he shoves them off with help from the veiled man and when he can no longer see the women, the man begins to point at large sky scrappers, beauties of Africa beyond the Sahara and what not and as he is mesmerized, he feels a sharp pain in his sides as if he is stabbed, he is, he turns to behold the figure but darkness envelopes the scene. He awakes on a savannah and the first face he sees is Onyebuchi's wanking his index finger at him, He reads his lips, 'Be careful!'
Immediately, he wakes up! the air conditioner is on but he is sweating profusely, he wonders what sort of dream he has, a nightmare perhaps? He remembers suddenly an image he saw on the internet which read, only fools take dreams seriously, dreams are shaky, weird, creepy and incomprehensible, why would a normal person in their right senses take them literally? He nods his head in agreement. "Abi?" He hisses. "Why I dey reason this yeye dream wey I dream after a long day of work?" He grabs his phone and opens up TikTok. "Abeg, may my brain rest jare!" The first video he is played goes, Did you know that dreams are our ancestors way of communicating with us? In ancient Africa... He hisses and swipes up.
"What a colossal waste of time, who makes these?" He chuckles with a hiss.