What politics has divided

It has being just a few days since Karl arrived from the states,the nigerian polity  has been rife and intense with the general elections in the corner and lots of campaigns going on around the country,Mom has never being a supporter of the current presidential administration. Since shortly after yar'adua assumed the mantle of leadership,she told all who cared to listen then that she is predicting yar'adua's untimely death and goodluck's takeover and to her chagrin,that's exactly how it happened.

It was a rather dull and sunny afternoon,Karl had prevailed on me to accompany him to town in Mom's car to get some fuel additive for the car,I was neck-deep in intrigue,watching a repeat episode of real housewives of atlanta replete with its weave pulling and mudslinging which it is notorious for,he nudged me softly here and there,tickling me occasionally and swiping his palms across my face to distort my concentration on the telly,I grumbled angrily,seeing he wasn't going to let me be,I hesitatingly dropped the remote control and with a groan,stood up and walked to the corner of the sitting room to put on my sample sale pair of gucci flipflops which were given to me by Natalie and are quite expensive by the way and with a countenance filled with gratitude,Karl led me by the hand to the car.


To lighten the mood,Karl inserted his flashdrive into the car stereo's USB port,swiping across the screen and scrolling through his music list,he clicked sam smith's "stay with me" which on play, filtered soothingly through the speakers,he started the car and off we went. We got to wuse market and encountered a snarly traffic which slowly grounded to a halt,I stamped my feet in annoyance,thinking of the reality tv I had to miss only to get trapped in traffic hold up,Karl implored  me not to be upset,saying he had to beg me to accompany  him as he was tired of fuel station staffers asking him to part with his change with the assumption that every white man is a rich man and was tired of giving excuses or parting with money every time as there was no other fuel station we could get the particular brand of fuel additive used for our cars and generator thus could not avoid them ,I smiled knowingly and allowed myself calm down by taking deep breaths to let my
body release endorphins which are "feel good" hormones, enjoying the music serenading our auditory senses

"Besides don't I always drive you to the mall every time you need to go shopping for groceries,I drop everyyyy thiiing and chauffeur you to and fro without complaining,it's sad you can't repay the favour without me almost literally licking your feet"

Karl zinged,I turned sharply to look at him,ready to fire back but at second thought,inhaled sharply as if to stop myself from talking and with a long exhale,calmed down as i had quickly mentally digested what he said and realised he made a point. I looked ahead of us from where I sat in the passenger seat,my seatbelt fastened across my torso but could only see as far as my eyes can go,I couldn't fathom what was causing the traffic gridlock so I stepped out to find out,I walked some meters to the main intersection and found out that there was a goodluck jonathan campaign going on at central area,the eagles square to be exact and the town is filled to capacity with supporters of the vice president filling in from neighboring northern states and roads blocked so the president could pass by in peace.

"Oh goodness lord! What the hell is this?when are we going to leave here now?!"

I moaned,throwing my hands in the air exasperated

"Naso we see am for abuja oo,goodluck they pass,e block all road make nobody harm am"

A cab driver also lamented,I walked towards our car and met Karl standing outside the car with his side door held ajar

"What's causing the holdup?"

He asked,squinting his eyes from the heavy rays of hot sun hitting his face,I told him the president is passing through so the roads are blocked to allow him pass without obstruction and that there was a campaign going on at eagles square.

"What kind of bullshit country is this huh? The president is passing by through three arms zone several meters,if not kilometers away and roads are blocked all the way to wuse market roads? "

He thundered,his cheeks going red,I bursted into fits of giggles at how incensed he was,I guess being a nigerian and resident of abuja,I had gotten used to such occurrence happening all the time,yet,it is always annoying whenever it happens. Whenever the president is passing by anywhere within the capital city,it is common practice for the police force headquarters to send their men to mann the entire route of the president and block roads yards away from his route till he has passed by.

"What is he afraid of huh? Blaring siren everywhere and even senior ranking police officers brandishing guns sprinting in the hot sun manning his route"

Karl raged on

"No wonder nigeria is so backward and the people stupidly tagged as the happiest people on earth cos they settle for mediocrity and thrive in corruption but taking their frustrations out on each other through hiking the prices of goods,ritual practices to get rich quick,internet fraud,the list is endless"

Fellow road users both pedestrians walking on the pavement close by and frustrated drivers who had also alighted from their cars and were listening to Karl's rants nodded in agreement,more so coming from a "foreigner" who seem to know what our problems are.

I sighed as some of the drivers began engaging Karl in a conversation about why the country needed change,most of them clamouring for general buhari,all lambasting president goodluck for no visible projects in the country or an improvement in the lives of citizens,it got  intense so much that the little group of goodluck's sympathizers could not utter a word after pro-buhari supporters gave convincing arguments as to why goodluck has to leave. I was quite put off by all the arguments at first but along the line,it got really heated and then became a debate of sort,creating comic relief to all. Soon,the crowds dispersed,all clapping at the open debate which we all witnessed,most of it for the pro-buhari debaters as the traffic lights came on and the human barricades of police officers gave way for us mere mortals to pass.

"You do know that you are also a nigerian right? Lambasting the country,its leaders and the led"

I said to Karl on our way to buying the fuel additive,he nodded rapidly,saying he had to voice his outrage because it hurts more knowing he could not change the fact that black,african blood runs through his mulatto body

"Even if I stay in the united states and never acknowledge my african heritage or citizenship,it hurts as a world citizen to see a people existing like this,making do with a life like this...Maj,this is a huge lifestyle change for me,coming from a society where things work,where electricity is constant,where education is wholesomely rich,where corruption is very minimal to a place where the opposite is the same,it is frustrating"

I nodded in agreement and told him I wish I could swap places with him

"Bro,I would just go back to my base in the united states and never come back...maybe once in a while but certainly not often"

I said,he looked at me critically and expressed dismay at my remark,suggesting he should bolt and leave

"Are you trying to tempt me to leave my country? Nigeria is my fatherland and I won't be like your other countrymen who deserted the country and left,they ought to stay and build things together"

He said,my jaws falling open totally awe-struck,I could not believe my ears

"Woo! Brother! Hahahaha,wow,am impressed you're saying that but trust me,most people tried,they did but the atmosphere is stifling here,they had to leave"

He shook his head sadly and looking ahead,he focused on his driving while I kept staring at him,still reeling in awe of how passionate he was about a country of his Dad,a man,he never knew,I must have stared at him for about five minutes straight when he turned to look at me,probably feeling the intensity of my gaze,he shrugged,asking me if everything was alright

"I was just thinking I need to speak with general buhari to nominate you as a minister in his administration God willing when he wins,we need people like you who are so passionate about this country to help steer it to the promised land"

We both laughed at the joke as he steered the car into the fuel station where we bought this particular brand of fuel additive whose work is to maximise the use of petrol and diesel in whatever machine it is being used,cleansing all lubes and when applied to fuels in generators,it drastically reduces the noise of whichever brand of generator it is in,increasing the hours of combustion whilst cleaning it up from the inside thus elongating the life span. Once we were through and about leaving,Mom's call came through on my phone,she wanted to know if I was at home so I could inform Karl to come and pick her from work, I told her I was with him as we came together to buy fuel additives and we would just come by and pick her from work.

"Why does Mom and infact you depend on me for all your chauffeur duties? Isn't QT and Hamz there to drive you guys?"

Karl asked after Mom had dropped the call,I smiled and assured him that he was special hence her calling him often

"Leave QT and Hamz alone,Mom also relies on me to clean the house,cook the food,etc,it doesn't mean we are stupid,it is love and someday,you would understand"

I said,rubbing his shoulder tenderly.

We saw Mom fumbling through a nylon bag she was carrying while descending the front stairs leading into her office complex,her big purse in hand,I alighted from the car from under a tree by the express road where we parked,Karl chose not to enter the premises of the building as a lot of staff buses were busy filling out,filled with members of staffs who had no cars and driving them home. I went to meet her and after greeting her,collected her things as she bid co-workers and security men goodnight.

We chatted all the way home in the car about how her day went and how much she has been trying to convince her colleagues that general buhari is the real deal,Mom has been a staunch supporter of the man since 2003. We got home and we all alighted from the car and while moving towards the front  door,we noticed a range rover SUV in our garage and all wearing surprised looks,we were having the same thoughts of who could be the owner of this car who has paid us a visit.

We went in anyway and to our utter surprise,we saw Alh Muhammed,Mom's ex whom she married briefly,we were all shocked,Mom's mouth was still agape while Alh muhammed grinned from ear to ear

"Hello Habiba! It's been quite an age,how are you"

He greeted,I quickly cut in to remind him the kids are present there,returning his greeting,he raised his hand,giving me a pat on the back,exchanging pleasantries with me and with an outstretched hand,shook hands with Karl

"Am fine Muhammed,what a surprise,what are you doing here?"

Mom responded sassily,her voice automatically thinning the way a girl's voice would when talking to a male admirer of hers,I almost rolled my eyes at her,stopping my pupils in their tracks before making a full circumference of my eyes' white.

"Am fine,am sure you are surprised at why am  here? Well! I was in your neighborhood to see a friend who newly packed in and felt I should drop by and see my ex "iyawo" "

Mom nodded,turning to give us a subtle squinted eye look which is the clue for us to vacate the sitting room as we were trained to since childhood to do whenever she has guests,we knew we ought to leave without her giving us the hint but we had pretended to be engrossed in a program showing on the telly to hear all their conversation,we certainly don't want a make up between those two...atleast am sure as hell is that I don't . I turned down the volume of the television set and tagging behind Karl,climbed the stairs to our room where QT and Hamz already are but I stayed back at the corridor upstairs and peeping,I saw all that transpired between those two.


"Isn't that what I am? Lol,so how is business,life,your kids...and wives?"

Mom continued

"Oh they are all well,very fine...you look even more beautiful and ravishing Habbie! I thought after we parted ways,you would look drained and lack your glow,am very much impressed or is there a new man in your life? Lol"

Alh Muhammed said to which Mom laughed and responded

"Oh Muhammed,you make me laugh,must I have a man in my life to look ravishing? I not only have a man,I have men in my life and they are all upstairs in their room and as to how I've managed to look this beautiful,what can I say,it is God,you met me beautiful and desired me,what makes you think us breaking up would leave me drained? Am a resourceful lady, I can manage to survive with the grace of God ofcourse"

She said,taking off a long strand of hair off her eyelash,Alh Muhammed nodded admirably  and changed the subject of their conversation to their individual businesses and jobs after which Alh Muhammed brooched on the feared subject of a make up which made me shudder,praying she turns him down

"Common Muhammed,you know why things ended between us besides you do know that I've never really stopped loving my late husband,it feels like am cheating on him"

Mom coyly said turning him down

"Only you're not cheating on him,he's long dead and since turned to dust and maybe found a wife in paradise"

He countered which Mom found a little stinging

"I don't like that Muhammed"

She managed to change the topic to politics and found out Muhammed was a supporter of goddluck jonathan because of some favours he was getting. They argued for hours on end over buhari and goodluck after which,frustrated,Alh Muhammed announced he was leaving,I was elated and my humble self, Maj,ever the sneaky fellow,waltzed down the stairs pretending to need something downstairs so I could get some wads of nairas from the Alhaji and to my good fortune,he dipped his hand into his pocket and handed me two new notes of one thousand naira bills,surprised and almost hissing,I thanked him through gritted teeth,he usually gives more but I reasoned he obviously would not since he could not get my Mom to date him again

"If na because my mumsi no gree for u,then good riddance,I no want you again....but I will always miss your money anyway"

I muttered to myself and couple of minutes later, brightened up at the thought that atleast I now got money to subscribe on blackberry! YAY!

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