How I Escaped The Wrath of The Protesters | Nonfiction #60
A mob was beginning together at the gate of our chairman in whose compound I lived and the tension of being harassed was mounting. The building has only one gate, the same point where the mob with sticks and clubs had started to gather. My mind began to reflect on what I could tell my landlord to persuade the mob. The rising cost of house rent in the Lagos metropolis was beginning to threaten the livelihood of the people.
We no go gree so, we no go gree, house rent too much, we no go gree ( We won't agree to the arbitrary increase in rent)
The tenants who were already a mob chanted to the chairman, my landlord's house.
About three months ago, the entire Eko Akete town, a new development area in the city of Lagos was a place where everybody wanted to live because of its serenity and security. The chairman of the Community Development Area who had used two terms will not be contesting again, hence, a new crop of executive members will have to fight it out in an open election.
My landlord called all his tenants, including my humble self, and told us of his intention to run for the position of the chairman of the community. He wanted us to support his ambition and also to convince other neighbours to do the same.
It was a task that I carried out willfully because my landlord is a man with a good heart. So, I thought that the best way to let the people of Eko Akete know about him was to tell of his good deeds. This I did and the results reflected in the outcome of the election where my landlord won by a large margin.
Thank you all for your support, as I promised during the campaign, the welfare of everyone will be our priority, going forward.
On the day of his inauguration, my landlord who is now the chairman of the area gave a long speech, reassuring the people that life can only get better.
One month after the inauguration, we noticed an influx of new people who joined us as tenants due to the proximity of the community to Dangote Refinery, where a lot of people were employed, gainfully.
It was supposed to be an advantage to us that more people have joined us at Eko Akete but the landlords decided to hike the rents indiscriminately. With the looming economic meltdown and hardship many people are going through, the tenants decided to protest. The influx of people has turned out to be a curse after all.
Staging the protest at the gate of the chairman of the community could lead to something else if not well handled. I barely could come out to join the protest because the chairman hasn't increased our rent, I mean those of us that are his tenants and from a reliable source, I heard that some of the protesters are planning on getting me beaten for causing their woes, having campaigned for the election of the chairman during the polls.
The best and shortest way to escape this plan was to scale the high fence, something I had not done before. As the protesters chanted solidarity songs, I sneaked out of my room toward the backyard to scale the fence. I climbed to the top of the fence and looked over to see if there was any danger. Since I was sure there was none, I jumped only to land before a huge black cobra.
At that point, there was only one thing to do, run for my dear life. I did run. As I was running away from the cobra, I was also watching that the protesters did not notice me.
I escaped the cobra but the protesters I would have to deal with for a long time, as long as I can not fathom.
Your chairman has bowed to pressure and an emergency meeting has been called.
One of the notorious protesters said as I returned from my hiding in the evening. My landlord had appeared before the protesters and addressed them that he was already on the matter.
When the other landlords were invited to the emergency meeting they simply resolved with Dr Hillary saying:
The rents we charge is not a matter of public debate. All tenants are supposed to understand this and if they do not want or would not be able to pay, then they should vacate our premises.
With this, I knew immediately that trouble was looming. My only option was to evacuate from Eko Akete. A month later, I got an apartment in another community close to Eko Akete and my fears were allayed after I had packed out from Eko Akete. That escape plan for me, saved my head.
Escaping difficult situation like this one can sometimes takes a while, I loved how you narrated theme of adaptability in your story. It's a good thing you found another place to live.
What an escape, it wouldn't have been a funny one at all, but thank God you were able to move on time.
Every action has consequences and getting involved in politics can be a very messy affair. You are very fortunate that you managed to escaped from the angry mob and the dangerous cobra - narrow escapes on both counts! Sadly the longer term impact forced a complete upheaval and relocation from your home, and the rents still went up. Once elected, we cannot control what government officials will say or do. I have heard it said that democracy comes but once every four years, at the ballot box! I hope you are now living in a much safer area, Ishmael.
I would have liked to have seen some dialogue and interactions between you and the Chairman, and you and the protesters to balance the piece a bit more and help to drive the story forward by showing us the heated emotions and the fear of reprisal. That is, show us how you felt rather than just telling us how you felt. Setting the scene also creates the right atmosphere within which to situate your characters. If the mob was poverty stricken, frustrated, disappointed, and angry, describe them and their appearance, actions and emotions in such a way that this is conveyed, without saying they were frustrated, disappointed and angry.
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Hmmm! You made the right choice by relocating to prevent yourself from being mobbed someday by the angry town dwellers
It was the best I could do to escape.
Thank you for coming around.