ANITA

 I met Anita during the mid-semester break, last year. I returned to Lagos where I base, living with my elder brother. On one cool evening, Sunday precisely, I decided to take a walk down the street, taking a glimpse on the nature. The evening was alluring owing to the calmness of the atmosphere and the twilight at sight. It’s unlike the usual Lagos where every nook and cranny has a blasting noise. If not from the industries within, it would be from the thundering tiger generator blasting from all corners of the neighborhood. The evening reflected my village, Ovoko where the bird sings melodiously to entertain the freshness of trees and lakes. These memories can’t fade in a hurry.

As I stepped out from my apartment, strolling down the neighborhood, I sighted what seemed like a bag of refuse, dumped near the refuse dump, just a stone throw from where I live. I had no interest on whatever that was inside since it’s a norm that people usually dumped refuse wrongly, not minding the authorities ordering them not to. But, as I moved closer, I felt something moving inside the bag. I wanted to ignore it but the movement persisted and that made me more curious, though frightened.

I stopped, moved a step down there, stealthily, and careful made to open the bag. As I unzipped open the large traveling bag commonly known as “Ghana must go”, amazement swept me off my feet that I didn’t know when I shouted, “Jesus!”. What I saw made me speechless. I wanted to run but my feet were heavy. Even to shout, I lost my voice. I couldn’t imagine what I saw.

Inside the bag was a tightly wrapped lady. She had bruises all over her body and, I guessed, was unconscious when she was first dropped there. I felt the urge to help her but another of me insisted I was putting myself in danger due to the extent of jungle justice happening there in Lagos. I knew that the perpetrators must be ready to deal with anyone that tried to form opposition to their goal. However, to leave the scene was a bigger problem for me as I was sure I won’t have rest of mind. 

For thirty minutes, I was battling with myself on what next to do. To make it worse, no vehicle passed through that path neither did anyone take the route for that long as I stayed there. After a tiresome battle with my mind on what to do, I decided to take the risk but another problem bumped, I didn’t know how to help because there was no vehicle at sight. I first brought her out of the bag, untied her and, waited a little to know if any one would pass by to help me. The hospital was some kilometers away from the spot I met her.

Luckily a cyclist passed by and I tried stopping the rider but he looked at me somewhat as if I had committed a crime. He refused to slow down. I wasn’t much bothered as I took it that it was either he wasn't a commercial cyclist or he wasn’t on duty. But I didn’t mind, I was only trying to help save a soul. Not long, I heard a noise coming from the direction the cyclist took. I tried to guess what the problem was but I couldn’t. I decided that I shouldn’t worry, rather be focused on saving this girl who was at the verge of dying. 

While I was still in my thought, I beheld the mob coming towards my directions with heavy sticks. Before I could say jack, they where all over me hitting me from all angle, shouting one word I can’t recall. I was drawn in confusion and surprise. Just as I was about to ask what I had done wrong, the last hit struck my head and everywhere went blank.

I woke up two days later in the hospital and was told that I was almost lynched by the mob who had thought I was the one that tried to kill the girl. It was the police that rescued me when I was already unconscious and was about to be burnt. They took the girl and I to nearest hospital and luckily, the girl was revived after which she told the police that she was beating and bruised by her boyfriend who wanted to use her for ritual but she was rejected. The had thought that he killed Anita unknown to him, Anita survived.