Securing The Bag (The Lagos Hustle)

Research And More Planning

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JECINCTA

By the time I left their hotel, it was way past 9. They escorted me to the road and we stood talking until I flagged down a taxi. Kanaku wanted to know what we thought about the last entry, could it be possible that the General had been immortal for a short while until the bag was stolen?

Fuoyo and Kanaku both dismissed it as the ramblings of a mad man...The General had believed his ramblings but it didn't make it any reality. Finally, I got into the taxi and we decided to meet up at the hotel by noon tomorrow to make up our final plans and decision. The diary had been too exciting and for 48 hours I'd been caught up and all I could think of was the treasure and showing my friends what I had found, but now that they were making plans to really go after it, I was unsure and scared. I spent the entire ride thinking of how to change their mind from going. Funny enough I wasn't scared for myself but what really worried me was the excitement and determination I saw in their eyes....especially Fuoyo, it really had me worried.

While reading the diary I had recognized the same determination in the words the dying General had written...full of belief and hope that the treasure was his to find. Same way Mr. D had been determined and confident he would find it, and now they were going down the same path. If I followed them maybe I could control them and when we didn't find anything in Nassarawa it would be up to me to remind them we had agreed to let it go if Nassarawa turned out to be a disappointment.

I got home and mumbled an excuse to my parents before heading straight to the kitchen to microwave my cold plate of rice.

I couldn't work up an appetite and I gave up after few spoonfuls and picked up my dad's laptop once more. Fuoyo and Kanaku would be making research by now and I couldn't sleep anyway. I enabled the hotspot on my phone and was soon searching about the history of the Allamadagitsu clan. The family tree went as far back as the 15th century and originated from the state of Kwara before they moved North, each generation becoming more Nothern than the last but still maintaining important traditions of their ancestors. The most notable tradition was that when they died, they got buried with their most expensive and valuable items.
The clan believes if they take all their precious valuables to the Earth when they die, their descendants would be born rich.
In the early days, it was usually just bags of crops and peanuts from the farm but then the family continued to get wealthy and generations down the line, the dynasty continued to grow, as well as belief in their tradition. It was required of only the men and over time, trinklets, cowries, and jewelries replaced the grains. Grave robbers were caught on every attempt and an example was made of the criminals to ensure no one dared to rob the graves again. By the early 1900s, the family name had been greatly reduced by the colonial rule but the family remained wealthy and powerful and kept on with the tradition. However after the death of Mallam Aminu II his oldest son took over the plantation and his brothers moved on to different States with their wives, each adopting a different name because of a long-standing rivalry with the Sokoto caliphate and other elite rulers of the core North. Another reason historians speculate they changed their names was to discourage grave robbers when they died. If their identity wasn't known to all, then the secret of their burial tradition would remain safe. It was believed that if any of the valuables got stolen then the spirit was cursed to wander the Earth until his direct heir died and was buried with additional valuables equivalent to or worth more than had been stolen from his father. Strange enough according to the records, no grave had been successfully robbed. Armed guards made sure trespassers were shot on sight and over the years, the family developed a  more effective strategy of secrecy and shortened the long name which preserved the lineage especially after the amalgamation.....

"Jess, you can continue this project tomorrow...you're sleeping already. Go and lie down inside"  My mom shook me awake by 2 am and I shut down the laptop without a word and staggered to my room.

The next morning I slept till 9. After depriving myself of two nights of sleep in a row, I still owed my body some more hours of rest but I felt a whole lot more refreshed. I was the only one at home, my mom opened her shop by 7 am daily and my dad was the vice principal at the Government college so he left the house earlier.

I fried 2 eggs sunny side up and made a quick sandwich and quickly rushed the slices, looking at the wall clock. By 11 I had showered and locked up the house.

Fuoyo was still sleeping when Kanaku opened the door, and I noticed even he looked tired and his eyes were red.

"you guys are still sleeping?"

He stretched and rubbed his eye tiredly with the back of his hand. "I didn't sleep till like 6...I don't even know what time Fuoyo slept off, he was reading the diary..." he went to the restroom and I heard the tap running. "Is it noon already?"

"almost"

"let me wake him" he came out drying his face with a towel

"no let him sleep a bit..."

"oh, sheybe I shouldn't have washed my face yet" he grumbled

I chuckled, "6 to 11 is about 5 hours Kanaku....besides I want us to talk"

I liked how he became serious all of a sudden
"What is it? what's bothering you?"

I took a deep breath, "Kanaku I know you're the only one that can really control Fuoyo...he listens to you....looks up to you....."

"Woah...are you serious? cause I'm pretty sure it's the other way around"

"no....you guys have mutual respect for each other, but he looks to you for confirmation for almost everything...."

"hmmmm......I guess you're right, is that what's bothering you?"

"no.....I want you to promise me that after we check out the village in Nassarawa and even if we don't find anything you'll put an end to the hunt"

"me....we're a team remember? i'm not in charge-"

"Kanayo" I called his name in a patient tone and he looked at me in surprise. "when it comes down to it, you're the only one who'll be able to talk him out of it-why are you looking at me like that?"

"nothing...the way you just called my name, reminded me of my dad......." he looked wistful for a second before shaking his head, "I think you're underrating how important you are to Fuoyo, you have more control over his decisions than you think"

That made me think for some minutes, finally I chose a middle ground. "well if the both of us put our foot down, that means he wouldn't have a choice but to agree"

"yes.....but......" he sighed

"Oh no....don't tell me I have to talk you out of the hunt too?"

"oh no....I have a family to think about...with another baby on the way I can't afford to be chasing legends"
He sounded like he was trying to convince himself but I chose to say nothing.

We talked about our research for a while. He and Fuoyo had found a possible trace about one AbdulRauf Allamad who had migrated from Nassarawa and started a cattle farm with his family in 1915. "That's the closest we could come, the timeline fits perfectly just the name is wrong...."

"I think I read somewhere that after the amalgamation they began to shorten their last name" I remembered

"really? well, three heads are definitely better than two....who knows? maybe we'll be lucky and he's the son who was getting married at the time the bag was given to his father as a wedding gift"

"I hope so too" but I doubted we would find anything, if he was really the one, I doubted we would find the grave untouched. We were one week late

"that's it....time to wake sleeping beauty..." Kanaku winked at me and began to shake Fuoyo roughly. "Sleepyhead oya time to get up..."