It's been a week after the encounter with the Corper and the Balogun and Otun were relaxing under the big kolanut tree in front of Otun's house with a gourd of fresh palm wine and fried bush meat.
"Otun,tomorrow is the D-day?"
"Hmmm?" Otun queried with his mouth half full of wine.
"Ehen,now...the Corper...corper Adisa,have you forgotten?"
"Oh! Yes,that's true,the young man with a very big mouth!" They both laughed sarcastically.
"That boy,does not know anything and I pity him,oh,I pity the woman that bore him,by the time the King is through with him,he would beg the mother earth to swallow him alive!" Balogun commented.
"Well,I don't know because...hmmm...that boyseem so sure himself,he spoke so confidently about his plans for the village" Otun observed.
"Oh,please spare me that! Is he the first to do that,haven't we seen and attended countless number of politicians coming up to give similar speeches in the past,what exactly has that brought us? Nothing! Just a bunch of lies rehearsed for so long that they can say them out and make them look like they are true!" Balogun barked.
"Well,I don't know,but,something tells that this one is different...especially when we consider the fact that the politicians are beyond our reach while the Corper is at our beck and call..."
"That's it! That's a fact the Corper is about to realize in a very bitter way.He might be hoping to fool us with his sugar coated mouth and build a castle in the air and disappear into thin air after the completion of his term as a corper here.He is in for a shocker! I shall see to it that he stayed back to work the magic he promised to work.I'll let him see clearly that he is the fool not us! I will show him pepper!" Balogun declared in anger.
"Calm down,Balogun,calm down.I doubt if he's that stupid.If he is,well,I pity his father along with his mother,in fact,I pity his entire family for the loss incurred in him!" Both men laughed wildly.
"Wo,change the subject please,there are much better things to discuss.Tomorrow,we shall here his plans...ehehn,what of the proposed hotel your friend is intending to build in this town,how far has he gone with it? We have done our part when is he paying our balance as agreed"
"Otuuuun!You like money!"
"You nko,what do you like,poverty?"
"Eh!God forbid!"
"Ehehn,yan me better jare!" Otun inquired
"Well,as promised,he is coming to town next week and..." Balogun began.
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Jamiu and Akanni were struggling over a bowl of garri and 'Kuli-Kuli' (groundnut cake) when busted into their presence and almost spilled their garri.
"Ah-ah!Ogbeni,se o si,what's wrong with you,you won put shine-shine for our garri ni?!" Jamiu protested.
"I'm sorry,I'm sorry" Komolafe apologized. "Have you heard?"
"Heard what?" Akanni and Jamiu chorused.
"Aro is now a millionaire!"
"Which Aro...eh-eh-eh...that drunkard?!" Jamiu queried
"Yes,yes,he's the one!" Komolafe confirmed it.
"Millionaire,how...how come?!" Akanni asked. Komolafe slammed Jamiu's hand with a flyer.Jamiu quickly looked through the piece of paper with popping eyes.He suddenly hissed and passed the paper to Akanni who was equally eager to know the new magic in town.
"Gambling?" Jamiu asked and hissed again before Komolafe could respond.
"It's not gambling o,they call this one 'Bettings'..."
"It's the same thing,otondo!" Jamiu interrupted
"How much did he win?" Akanni asked
"Who cares if he had won N100 million,the fact remains that he got it from gambling!" Jamiu said before Komolafe could answer.
"And so,what does it matter,is it not better than stealing,armed robbery and the embezzlement of government fund? At least,he didn't have to steal it...he only tried his luck and won!" Komolafe responded in defense. Jamiu started laughing.
"See this one o!I'm sorry,but,I didn't realize that you are this daft!" Jamiu barked.
"Hey,hey,hey!!! No insults,please, no abusive words today.If you have something to say,just say it!There is no need to fight over such a trivial issue as this,please!" Akanni weighed in.
"Thank you jare,Akanni.However,he needs to apologize for hauling insults on me before we can continue" Komolafe protested. Jamiu looked at him and hissed looking away.
"Jamiu,oya now haba!"
"What?!"
"Aplogize now!" Akanni demanded. Jamiu paused for a while looking away
"I'm sorry,but,it's unfortunate that such stupid thing could excite you this much"
"In as much as I agree with you,it's still not enough reason to abuse him"
"I know and I'm sorry.But,come to think of it,how many people with long lasting wealth do you know that made their first million from gambling,what am I even saying,how many existing millionaires do you know made their money from gambling or...betting as you call it,how many hmmm?" Jamiu asked in a friendly manner. His friends were silent.
"None,abi? why then,do you rejoice with someone who made an easy million,do you need to be told that such money don't last long? I give him a year...just a year,that is when he thinks of investing it,come back to see the business or investment a year afterwards and tell me what would be left of it!" Jamiu continued.
"Hmmm...that's true o! That is when you win.We shouldn't forget that countless number of people had to loose for him to win. This is not to forget the gambling house owners themselves,don't they too need money.I don't know about anyone else o,but,as for me,before I can give out a million Naira to anyone,I would have had N100 million paid into my account!" Akanni observed.
"Hm! God bless you for that statement!" Jamiu said in agreement.
"But...but...considering the amount it costs to enter into it,I mean,N100 won't kill you!" Komolafe queried looking worried.
"Yes,you are right.But,in reality,how many people play for the first time and with just one entry and made a million,how many do you know,how many have you heard of?! Ogbeni,reason! The Gambling house owner did not set it up so that you can win,he set it up so that he can win!Like I said earlier,for every million you win and cash out,the game owners would have made hundreds of millions,that's why they keep coming back for you...they making millions to billions from your foolishness!" Akanni explained.
"Wait,Akanni,wait,let me help.Ogbeni,how many senators,governors or their family do you know that has taken to gambling as profession or past time? None! That's because you can only hope to loose more money than you make from such useless fronts!" Jamiu declared.
"Otun,tomorrow is the D-day?"
"Hmmm?" Otun queried with his mouth half full of wine.
"Ehen,now...the Corper...corper Adisa,have you forgotten?"
"Oh! Yes,that's true,the young man with a very big mouth!" They both laughed sarcastically.
"That boy,does not know anything and I pity him,oh,I pity the woman that bore him,by the time the King is through with him,he would beg the mother earth to swallow him alive!" Balogun commented.
"Well,I don't know because...hmmm...that boyseem so sure himself,he spoke so confidently about his plans for the village" Otun observed.
"Oh,please spare me that! Is he the first to do that,haven't we seen and attended countless number of politicians coming up to give similar speeches in the past,what exactly has that brought us? Nothing! Just a bunch of lies rehearsed for so long that they can say them out and make them look like they are true!" Balogun barked.
"Well,I don't know,but,something tells that this one is different...especially when we consider the fact that the politicians are beyond our reach while the Corper is at our beck and call..."
"That's it! That's a fact the Corper is about to realize in a very bitter way.He might be hoping to fool us with his sugar coated mouth and build a castle in the air and disappear into thin air after the completion of his term as a corper here.He is in for a shocker! I shall see to it that he stayed back to work the magic he promised to work.I'll let him see clearly that he is the fool not us! I will show him pepper!" Balogun declared in anger.
"Calm down,Balogun,calm down.I doubt if he's that stupid.If he is,well,I pity his father along with his mother,in fact,I pity his entire family for the loss incurred in him!" Both men laughed wildly.
"Wo,change the subject please,there are much better things to discuss.Tomorrow,we shall here his plans...ehehn,what of the proposed hotel your friend is intending to build in this town,how far has he gone with it? We have done our part when is he paying our balance as agreed"
"Otuuuun!You like money!"
"You nko,what do you like,poverty?"
"Eh!God forbid!"
"Ehehn,yan me better jare!" Otun inquired
"Well,as promised,he is coming to town next week and..." Balogun began.
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Jamiu and Akanni were struggling over a bowl of garri and 'Kuli-Kuli' (groundnut cake) when busted into their presence and almost spilled their garri.
"Ah-ah!Ogbeni,se o si,what's wrong with you,you won put shine-shine for our garri ni?!" Jamiu protested.
"I'm sorry,I'm sorry" Komolafe apologized. "Have you heard?"
"Heard what?" Akanni and Jamiu chorused.
"Aro is now a millionaire!"
"Which Aro...eh-eh-eh...that drunkard?!" Jamiu queried
"Yes,yes,he's the one!" Komolafe confirmed it.
"Millionaire,how...how come?!" Akanni asked. Komolafe slammed Jamiu's hand with a flyer.Jamiu quickly looked through the piece of paper with popping eyes.He suddenly hissed and passed the paper to Akanni who was equally eager to know the new magic in town.
"Gambling?" Jamiu asked and hissed again before Komolafe could respond.
"It's not gambling o,they call this one 'Bettings'..."
"It's the same thing,otondo!" Jamiu interrupted
"How much did he win?" Akanni asked
"Who cares if he had won N100 million,the fact remains that he got it from gambling!" Jamiu said before Komolafe could answer.
"And so,what does it matter,is it not better than stealing,armed robbery and the embezzlement of government fund? At least,he didn't have to steal it...he only tried his luck and won!" Komolafe responded in defense. Jamiu started laughing.
"See this one o!I'm sorry,but,I didn't realize that you are this daft!" Jamiu barked.
"Hey,hey,hey!!! No insults,please, no abusive words today.If you have something to say,just say it!There is no need to fight over such a trivial issue as this,please!" Akanni weighed in.
"Thank you jare,Akanni.However,he needs to apologize for hauling insults on me before we can continue" Komolafe protested. Jamiu looked at him and hissed looking away.
"Jamiu,oya now haba!"
"What?!"
"Aplogize now!" Akanni demanded. Jamiu paused for a while looking away
"I'm sorry,but,it's unfortunate that such stupid thing could excite you this much"
"In as much as I agree with you,it's still not enough reason to abuse him"
"I know and I'm sorry.But,come to think of it,how many people with long lasting wealth do you know that made their first million from gambling,what am I even saying,how many existing millionaires do you know made their money from gambling or...betting as you call it,how many hmmm?" Jamiu asked in a friendly manner. His friends were silent.
"None,abi? why then,do you rejoice with someone who made an easy million,do you need to be told that such money don't last long? I give him a year...just a year,that is when he thinks of investing it,come back to see the business or investment a year afterwards and tell me what would be left of it!" Jamiu continued.
"Hmmm...that's true o! That is when you win.We shouldn't forget that countless number of people had to loose for him to win. This is not to forget the gambling house owners themselves,don't they too need money.I don't know about anyone else o,but,as for me,before I can give out a million Naira to anyone,I would have had N100 million paid into my account!" Akanni observed.
"Hm! God bless you for that statement!" Jamiu said in agreement.
"But...but...considering the amount it costs to enter into it,I mean,N100 won't kill you!" Komolafe queried looking worried.
"Yes,you are right.But,in reality,how many people play for the first time and with just one entry and made a million,how many do you know,how many have you heard of?! Ogbeni,reason! The Gambling house owner did not set it up so that you can win,he set it up so that he can win!Like I said earlier,for every million you win and cash out,the game owners would have made hundreds of millions,that's why they keep coming back for you...they making millions to billions from your foolishness!" Akanni explained.
"Wait,Akanni,wait,let me help.Ogbeni,how many senators,governors or their family do you know that has taken to gambling as profession or past time? None! That's because you can only hope to loose more money than you make from such useless fronts!" Jamiu declared.
"Ehn...okay.What are we going to do,are we not going to collect our own share of the money. Our friend have just made N2.5 million and every Dick and Harry in town have been paying him visits and have been smiling home with thousands. So,far,none have left with anything less than N1000!"
"N1000?!" Akanbi asked
"Yes o!" Komolafe answered.
"Ehn,Jamiu,at this juncture,I think we need to put morality and reality aside and think of our dear poor belly and our integrity and ego that have suffered humiliation several times over in the hands of our wives. I trust Aro,if he see me today,at all,at all e go sama me with at least...hmmm...N3000 and that,my brother is sure ticket to enter Keji tonight!" Akanni said and they all busted into laughter.
"Akanni,kanni! Ha! Keji is in trouble tonight!" Jamiu hailed his friend.
"Yes o,she is and na throughout tonight I go take nak am....so,I no com shop early tomorrow, na because I won take one leg reach Paradise!" Akanni annpunced.They all laughed again.Jamiu finished off the rest of the garri as they set to follow Komolafe to rejoice with Aro.
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