The Teacher's Exit

Chapter 2

An hour after Emeka's departure from Gwarzo, his landlord Pa Abubakar stepped out of the hut with his rifle and machete, ready for game hunting in a bush nearby. As he was accustomed each morning while strategising for the day's activities, the old man glanced around for a feel of the weather.

The break-of-day fog hid the huge mountain which dwarfed all thatched houses and rondavels in the terrain. No telling sign that rain would foil his plans for the day. All around his fenced compound, birds chirped in their numbers, goats loitered in tribes and cows mooed in salutation.

As early morning cold curled Pa Abubakar, he adjusted his overcoat and moved to the backyard to check his cattle fodder. To his chagrin, the fence had broken and, the area looked messy.

"Who damaged my cattle barn overnight?" He paced around with an expanding lower jaw, brows altering shapes on his scar-laden face. His guttural yell woke up a few of his folks, but those too far asleep increased their snores.

"Who stole my cattle?" he asked again increasing his pace as he moved around until he glimpsed several human footprints on the manure.

On instinct, he took a few steps towards his armoury room to grab more weapons and go after the supposed bandits who dared to trespass. On second thought, he decided to count his flocks before taking action.

"Twenty-three." A relief sigh escaped Pa Abubakar's mouth. He continued inspecting the kraal, nonetheless. Judging that only someone of Emeka's tall frame could make such large foot-stamps, he rushed to the lad's rondavel to be sure his tenant of many months wasn't up to some mischief.

On getting to the doorstep, a small padlock dangled from the latch, the half-door was ajar and the full-door swung freely. Inside the hut Emeka's wooden bed lay empty, his belongings missing.

"Teacher is gone?" Pa Abubakar's jaw dropped.

Aside from the shock that the young man absconded bidding no one goodbye, another source of concern to the septuagenarian was Emeka's choice of jumping over the fence. Did the young man steal from this compound? Had he been a spy for far-away bandits who sometimes raided the village? Why couldn't he just ask that the gate be opened for him?

Emeka's overall character made a case of theft unlikely, but this manner of his exit couldn't be excused, especially from a house which accommodated him for almost a year.

Pa Abubakar opened the portmanteau in the room, glanced over his plumbing equipment and acknowledged them intact. Next, he dashed to his private armoury room where he observed his guns lined up in a familiar pattern. His fourteen amulets bags hung tranquil on the wall. The absence of an unfamiliar scent banished all inklings of an invasion. The old man sighed again as his eyebrows drew together. "If this teacher didn't steal, why did he jump the fence?"

Sitting on the bench outside, his right hand supporting his chin, Pa Abubakar mused over Emeka's long stay in his compound. The entire time the teacher lived here no conduct of his brought suspicion. In fact, of all the teachers that had lived in the compound, Emeka was the most level-headed, the most likeable.

The previous teacher Ayodele used to disturb neighbours with Wizkid and Davido's music day and night. Pa Abubakar held back from sending the fellow away thinking his dalliance with one of his daughters, Amina, would yield good fruits. But the moment the lad's tenure ended at Laraba, he vamoosed, never to be seen again.

Emeka, on the other hand, came across as a focused and studious gentleman. He stayed long in the school to hold extra classes for students, only returning home late in the evenings. Even when in the compound, one hardly knew because he always kept to himself. His calmness was the reason he raised no finger when Rihana, his second daughter, showed interest in the maths teacher.