A compelling story of an introverted teenager who in more ways than one is ostensibly beyond her years. Losing her grandmother and being left at the mercy of a capricious Nigerian society, young Obianuju is made to endure the ferocious fire of moder...
On a Sunday afternoon, after washing her clothes, Uju decided to rest a bit before heading out to the market to buy some groceries for supper. She sits under the shade of the zinc-roofed traditional kitchen at the backyard. It is about 3:30pm. But for some odd reason, no one seems to have yelled out her name yet. She is not complaining though, but it seems a bit strange. Everyone is at home, so by now, she should have been asked to run at least an errand or two. Well, this must be her lucky day. At that thought, she decides to relax even more. But unfortunately, while trying to savour the comfort from the arid log of firewood she is sitting on, she hears mummy yell, "Uju!!!!" Sighing and rolling her eyes, she rises up and starts to run slowly into the house while echoing in response, "Yes, mummy!"
Upon entering the living room, Uju sees all four of them seated on the sofas; uncle Obinna directly in front of her, mummy to her right, then Kamsi and Ebere on the two sofas to the left. The more the screaming silence lulls her ears, the more she senses the ominous aura in the air. At this moment, they all begin to stare at her with austere expressions on their faces, like a council of elders about to pass judgement on a wife who has been found guilty of adultery. Something is definitely wrong. The television is switched off and so are the lights. Only the screeching sounds of the ceiling fan rotating as though it were about to fall off its hanger fill the gloomy atmosphere of the living room. Uju subconsciously swallows some saliva first, before slowly walking into their midst.
"Obianuju.. ", mummy begins calmly, with a bitterly stern look on her face. She continues, "..So... after all we've done for you?... After welcoming you into our home and providing for you... You decide to repay us by disgracing our family and soiling our good name??? Uju... you had the guts to seduce our guest in our own home and harass him physically, when he does not yield to your advances???"
Upon hearing this incredible confabulation, Uju becomes utterly perplexed. 'Dear lord! So Emeka actually went this far?', she wonders. She simply can't believe that he actually made such preposterous accusations against her, when in fact, he was the one who assaulted her physically and emotionally. She is the one who was taken advantage of. She has barely even recovered from the anguish of his vile abuse the other day, yet now SHE is the culprit? 'That bastard!', she exclaims within herself, as she realizes that Emeka's aim is to ruin her at all costs; to take advantage of the hatred this family already has for her, by convincing them that she threw herself at him. It's a shame that he was not bold enough to spew out his lies in her presence. She definitely would have bitten one of his ears off. 'What on earth is wrong with him? How could he be so cruel???', she marvels at the true extent of Emeka's wickedness.
While immersed in both shock, fear and anguish, so many things attempt to come out of Uju's mouth at the same time, that she ends up being unable to speak at all. How will she even begin? From the looks of things, they have already made up their minds not to listen to a word she says. They never liked her from the start. And now, they finally possess enough justification for their hatred and cruelty towards her. By now, sharp lines of tears have already torn Uju's cheeks in half. She is completely devastated and is breathing heavily, as she tries to explain. But her voice keeps breaking, "Me?... Seduce him???... I would never... I didn't... He was lying!!! Yesterday, he was the one who... "
#Pow!!!
Uju's speech is immediately interrupted by a resounding slap from Obiageli, who jumps up from the couch with the speed of light. She does not stop there. She continues to pummel Uju; serving her a series of hot slaps and kicks while everyone else sits back and watches the show.
"You stupid girl!!!... You will not soil my good name!!!... You will not disgrace my family!!!!... If you wanted to become an ashawo... like your useless mother!... You should've let me know... so I'd have thrown you out long ago!... You useless thing!"
Uju keeps crying and screaming helplessly, but mummy does not relent. Instead, she continues beating her. "... I welcome you into my home!... Give you food to eat!... And replace those rags you call clothes!... Yet this is how you repay me? This is how you repay my kindness???... Chai!!!...My good no go kill me oo!!!...", Obiageli laments on and on.
"Mummy!... Please!... Aah!.. Oh God!.... I swear!... #SNIFFS... I'm innocent!!!...", Uju manages to let out some futile pleas while Obiageli pulls her by her hair, but to no avail. Then after giving her a proper beating, mummy commands Uju to kneel in their midst at the centre of the living room, while she takes her seat once more. Right now, Uju is weeping profusely, with both hands on her cheeks, in a desperate bid to soothe the sharp pain on them due to mummy's caustic slaps. Infuriated Obiageli turns to her husband and then turns back to Uju, saying, with acrimonious hatred in her eyes, "You cannot remain in this house o!... I'm tired of you!... You have to leave this house now, before I kill you with my bare hands!... Foolish girl!" Helpless Uju just keeps sniffing in the barrage of fluids gushing from her swollen nose, which already feels beleaguered by a sharp injurious pain within; pulsating in aching rhythm with her boiling-hot breath.
After an extended sober pause, uncle Obinna finally speaks, "Uju... You can no longer stay here for now. So, you will go and live with some of our family friends in Lagos for a while... And you will be leaving in two days, so go and pack your bags." Afterwards, mummy immediately warns, "....and don't even think of taking the clothes I gave you!... or stealing any of our valuables. I will search your ghana-must-go when you finish packing... And if I find anything inside!!!.. "
It is becoming abundantly obvious now that they had already planned to throw Uju out a long time ago. She has been a burden to their family since day one. And that is why they never even attempted enrolling her in a secondary school ever since she arrived. They have already found a family in need of a housegirl that is willing to accept her (at a price of course, for their troubles). And Emeka's false accusations are the golden opportunity uncle Obinna and his wife have been searching for so desperately. Thus, all this drama is just to make sure that it looks like Uju is to blame for their actions. Smart move! Now, they can easily feed lies to their friends and family about how 'Uju head no dey house', how 'she no gree stay' and how 'na so so boys she dey like to follow'.
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GLOSSARY Ashawo -Prostitute/whore/loose woman House girl - A female live-in maid, who usually isn't paid a salary but is provided food, shelter, education and other basic amenities, in exchange for her unlimited services within the household. Ghana-must-go - A special Nigerian bag. "..My good no go kill me oo!!!.." - "May my kindness not kill me(or cause me harm)!" 'Uju head no dey house' - 'Uju is very erratic and wayward. " 'she no gree stay' - 'She refused to stay.' 'na so so boys she dey like to follow' -'She's very loose and promiscuous.'
