Garin Mazugal

Chapter 12(cont).

The silence that greeted this announcement betrayed the heightened tension that reigned supreme few minutes ago. They all sunk into where they sat,thinking about the manner of excuse they'll give. Mai Naira who had acted stronger than anyone suddenly bursted into tears. Catarrh came running and after a short while,he started to cough.

"Wallahi mun shiga uku. We're done for. Shikenan. All we've worked for will be thrown away by this do-good loafer!"

"I'm even scared. I'm shaking. I don't know how to face my wife after all there. Yaro...that boy. I sent him money when he was in school. I hope he'll remember that and take things easy.." Said Iro.

Gana,the gateman, was visibly disgusted by the moral grandstanding Iro was trying to achieve. He replied him almost immediately.

"After which you planned to kill his mum..."

Iro was irritated.. "This gateman. Who gave you the permission to talk when we're talking? Why are you even standing in the parlour? Aren't you supposed to be at the gate? What audacity..."

"Oga shut up. My Oga told me of all you did. You're lucky he died. He would've amputated  your left artery. You're lucky he died"

"Kace Sabi'u yayin shirin bamu Kashi kenan.(Sabiu had his diabolical plans worked out!). Its better he died!"

"Haba Iro!" Why would you say that about the dead? Remember fa,that you're also going to die. We are all going to die. I'm certain you won't enjoy someone saying this about you when you're no more."

"Inye!!" Iro exclaimed. It was like hallucination. It was like he was loosing his senses. Barau sat still and said nothing. He devided his attention into two,one part vaguely keeping up with the back and forth between Iro and all comers, the other, scheming and planing.

"So it has gotten to the stage where you" Iro continued "Mai Naira calls me by name! Wonders indeed! How fickle the mind of a human is! How weak a loyalty they possess! When they feel you're of no use,they rebel very quickly.."

"Haba Alhaji" Mai Naira said "You're misunderstanding me....and its not like you're a good person. You're the heir apparent to Satan's throne..."

"Who gave you the guts to interrupt me. Where did you get that from?"
Iro started to move towards Mai Naira. He clenched his fists, licking the side of his mouth as he contemplated on landing the blow on Mai Naira's stomach. Mai Naira didn't flinch. His hands, clenched was hidden in his pockets. Gone were the days Iro lorded over them. Now is the time to really put Iro in his place. Iro continued his march slower with slower speed and an unflinching gaze fixed on his target. Barau looked on.
Iro landed a blow to the stomach of Mai Naira who immediately responded with a blow to his mouth. Both men looked dazed and shocked, surprised by their actions  and the blood streaming out and even more surprised by the pains.

"How painful is that? What does your blood taste like?" Barau asked them. This was his forte. A skilled talker, he has this knack for over-exaggerating his importance in the grand scheme of things. A narcissistic egolomaniac, he saw everything as an opportunity to ventilate his goals. His eyes now fixated on the highest seat in Mazugal,saw everything as a means and a front for his success. First,he must manipulate these men into believing him and giving him their unalloyed loyalty.

"You see" He continued. "We've all committed atrocities. Big ones that the people of these town get to know of,all of us would be dead. Not only that,our families will be haunted for the entirety of their existence..."

Everyone kept silent. If the words spitted by Barau had was being effective,no one could tell.

"If we kill each other today,it'll be justifiable. But we must die. All of us. That is when justice will be served. So I think we should just kill ourselves and avoid the shame and misery that we'll face in the future".

Barau paused and brought out a very short, sharp and glittering knife from somewhere close to his stomach.  He tore his forehead and proceeded to where Iro was. He wanted to stab him but Iro screamed like a child whose favourite TV program was cut short by power outage.

" Haba Barau" Iro said amidst tears. Why do you want to kill me? Should I be the first to die? "

"No Alhaji. Its nothing personal. We should kill ourselves today. All of us. Including myself. I mean,won't the shame be too much? That after all our hard work, after killing his mother,after planning to kill him and failing,after planing to kill ourselves,after Sabi'u death,we still fail to get what we've all wanted. Can you imagine bowing to Yaro? And you know that boy. We'll be his first public execution when he gets power. So I thought that killing ourselves by ourselves will help reducing the pain and disgrace."

"But certainly, killing ourselves isn't the solution" Mai Naira said.

"That is what I want to hear!" Barau said almost jumping into oblivion. "That is how I want us to think! Like men! We ruled this town for a very long time. Wouldn't it be cowardly to just give it up?"

They were there. That place. The place Barau always wanted to have them. They saw sense in what he was saying. Desperation made them forget the past. They quickly forgot how cunning he could be. He was enjoying himself however.

"So what do you want to do?" Iro asked.

"What should WE do?" Barau emphasized. He thundered on that WE to give everyone a sense of belongingness.

"First thing is,we'll leave this house in tears. We'll cry and split into 3 directions. We should however be very careful. Choose a gathering of youths and sit with them. Sell to them the story of Binta killing Sabi'u.  Tell them you just left their house and you saw things for yourself(ves). Don't exonerate yourself of any wrong doing however. Cry very well. Cry very hard. Hold their shirts. Tell them you're confessing and they should beat you up if they like. Roll on the floor. Make sure you're believable. Don't give them a chance to doubt you...."

"What if they beat us?" Mai Naira asked.

"They won't" He replied
.
" and how did you know that?"

"Our people like repentance. Just tell them you've repented and they'll forget all the  evils you've caused them."

"I think I like the idea" Iro said. "Quite brilliant I must say. First,it deflects attention from our travails. They'll easily forget the happenings of the past 4 days"

"That is what I want. If we succeeded in diverting attention from ourselves to Binta,we'll be able to walk freely, think freely and meet freely inside and outside Mazugal. If we're asked why,we'll tell them we're investigating"

"Amma Barau kai ..." Mai Naira said in admiration. "I didn't know you were this brilliant!"

Barau said nothing. Mai Naira had this "had-i-known" expression on his face, wondering if his fate would have been different if he had accorded Barau the respect his intelligence deserved.

"And another thing.." Barau brought back life into the room. "Don't talk about Yaro. I repeat,don't talk about Yaro except they do. I'm very sure they'll talk about him and when they do,ask them in a very gentle manner.."

"What? What should we ask them?"

"Ask them. Yaro's sudden reappearance. Sabi'u's death caused by Binta,Yaro's ex girl friend. Yaro's unhidden desire to lead. Ask them if this is a coincidence. Ask them if it is a surprise that moments, not even days after Sabi'u died,Yaro reappeared. Ask them."

Iro beamed. He never knew Barau was this manipulative. The plan was a masterpiece. He was happy to be part of it. He went to where Barau stood and gave him a pat on the back.

"Arise sir Barau! The evil genius"
They bursted into laughter. Everyone bought the plan. They were already devising methods of executing the plan. They shook themselves in the thought of being united and saved from darkness they were once in. Barau stood and smiled wryly. What is to come will be very interesting.