An Article Of Death

Evhoma was restless as he moved through the dark room; all its windows were shut and its doors locked with a padlock from outside. The air was running short. Earlier there was a lighted candle in the room but as the air was running short, he blew the candle lights off cos it was sharing in the limited oxygen available.

Hope is frail but it’s hard to kill, Evhoma could have suffocated to death if not for Omoh who opened the room all of a sudden and announced “ITS STILL SAFE HERE”, here have some snack, I have to go so that I can get an alibi, my hostel mates seem to suspect one or two things. Let me deal with that …

Evhoma tried to satisfy his empty stomach but in reality the hungry worms in his stomach were the ones eating the food. He had no appetite, or how can you have an appetite when you have two assassins on your trail…

The mince pie was the type he liked best, the fillings being meat instead of the potatoes filled ones commonly sold on the roadsides. He stretched out his hands to pick one of the apples in the package Omoh had brought; he stopped and thought looking at his fingers, the instrument that brought him all these dangers…. What a world he thought….

72 HOURS EARLIER

Evhoma neglected everyone on his way home from school. He deserted his walk mates and talked to himself as he walked home. He couldn’t believe it. If the other students heard of this they would go berserk and burn the school down… but no matter how the students must hear this, it’s their right to know, it concerned them. They cannot be cheated and they do nothing to it… something must be done he thought.

Earlier in the afternoon, he eavesdrops in the SUG office when he stopped to interview the SUG president about the recent protest and its outcome. He is the editor of the student weekly magazine “THE WATCH”. They have in the past shrouded in controversies, particularly ones involving top spy reports. When the tuition fees were increased from N11, 000 to N75, 000, that was sure to affect a lot of student in which would in the end make many of them drop out of school, many students expected a report on the incident and its actualization is what brought Evhoma to the SUG building.

As he approached the SUG building; a colossal building that was just renovated by the school’s alumni, some students saw him and began to hail him by calling him ‘Gandhi’, this was due to the visible fight for truth they could see in his writings.

He was cleared by the SUG secretary and he proceeded to enter the SUG president office which was about a two meters right turn from the secretary’s post. The secretary then moved from his post to attend to an impromptu event outside as some seemly drunk students were arguing loudly and it seem they were going to fight.

“WE HAVE TO ORGANISE ANOTHER PROTEST TOMORROW, THE SENATE HAVE FAILED ME, AND THEY WANT TO MAKE MY TENURE A TERRIBLE ONE, VERY SOON THE STUDENTS WOULD BEGAN TO SUSPECT A FOUL PLAY. THE PLAN WAS THAT THEY SHOULD INCREASE IT TO N90, 000, AND THEN I WOULD FIGHT TO BRING IT DOWN TO N75, 000. BUT LOOK AT WHAT THEY DID; THEY INCREASED IT TO N75, 000 AND THEY ARE ASKING ME TO FIGHT IT DOWN TO N65, 000. EVEN THOUGH THEY PAID ME N2 MILLION I WOULD BREAK MY BREACH WITH THEM. IMAGINE ME LEADING A WHOLE PROTEST FOR A N10, 000 DECREASES. IT’S A N25, 000 DECREASES OR NOTHING. PREPARE YOUR GUYS; TONIGHT WE SPREAD THE WORD NOT THE TRUTH…

Evhoma shivered as he heard those words from the call made by the SUG president behind the door. He need not to conduct the interview anymore, what he heard was a top secret that veiled the evil truce between the SUG and the University senate. He hurriedly moved out of the SUG building. Nobody hardly saw him move out, all attention were on the two seemly drunk students who evidently have had enough palm wine at the kegites meeting. He could see the shy not secretary who was pulling everyone away from them and was shouting ‘LET THEM FIGHT’… Evhoma turned northwardtowards “THE WATCH” location, and in hastehe moved to announce his latest discovery to them.

The following Monday, THE WATCH magazine was sold out. Everyone jostled for a copy. The headline was too catchy:

SUG BACKS THE SENATE TOINCREASE THE TUITION FEES TO N90, 000.

Evhoma wrote the story and he had a little contribution from the little critic groups that have surfaced since the tuition fees increment and the protests.

In life, its best one should envisage the end of anything one is going to do before embarking on it, failure to do so has cost so many people their fortune, prestige and dignity. That was the mistake Evhoma made…

That same Monday after the newspaper were released, students went berserk like a buffalo, and they raided the SUG building and burnt it down. The SUG president flown on hearing of the newspaper release, in fact there was nobody in the building when it was razed down. Evhoma sure didn’t want this. His Gandhi philosophy was being jeopardized. Who will stop these angry rioting students with no figurehead? If they had a leader, he could speak with him, but now it’sa difficult case. The students were by mentioning the names of all the professors they knew were in the senate and plans were being outlaid to teach them a lesson or two.

The senate session was on; an impromptu meeting on the security of the school and how to get things back to normal. The rioting if not stopped it might lead to destruction of the important facilities the federal government recently used millions of naira to install to the school after so many years of cry to them…

The meeting was brief… MOPOLS were to be called in to help curtain the students…. Minutes later the whole school air was filled with tear gas and the scene of resisting students. And that was to remain till the day ran out.

48 HOURS EARLIER

Evhoma stopped short, he was breathing ceaselessly. His whole arms were filled with bruises but he didn’t still stop running, he tripped and fell. This was surely the end he thought… a GAMEOVER

Evhoma remained the same; he must have lost his assailants in the sprint: it was a sprint of life… he had waked up to attend to a friendly knock on his room, but the knockers appeared to be two masked guys each brandishing a Kalashnikov rifle. He needs not to think this twice “HE HAS BEING MARKED FOR MURDER”. They motioned him to remain silent so as not to alert the other hostel members since they intend to make his death look accidental so that it would not fuel up the uprising in the school. That was the mistake they made… against their untimely and unprofessional attitude, a slip enabled Evhoma to begin the sprint.

He stood and examined himself once more; he saw more bruises on his arms and legs. His lips have begun to bleed too .it’s better to be covered with bruises than to be dead he thought. He dusted his soiled jeans and began to recollect his composure when he heard some rattling like someone trying to find his way, he had no two doubts about it, it was the assassins surely, and he resumed his sprint…

24 HOURS AGO

*************************************************

THE CONTINUED PROTEST TURNED RIOT BY THE STUDENTS HAS BEING PUTTING THE UNIVERSITY IN A BAD LIGHT, ON THAT NOTE, THE SCHOOL HAS BEING CLOSED DOWN AND STUDENT ARE ADVISED TO GO HOME UNTIL WE SEE THE END OF THIS PROBLEM CAUSED BY AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN “THE WATCH” MAGAZINE. THE UNIVERSITY SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING THAT BEFALLS ANY ERRING STUDENT…

MEANWHILE, SEARCH IS ON FOR “THE WATCH” MAGAZINE EDITOR- MR EVHOMA JONAS, THE BOUNTY ON HIM IS N100, 000… PLS INFORM THE NEAREST SECURITY POST OR POLICE STATION ON SIGHTING HIM.

SIGNED REGISTRAR

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Evhoma stared at newspaper the advert… his article caused the whole uproar. Latest news coming in talks about two students dead and many injured…he engendered a serious thoughts. What if HIS published article was wrong and it was all a setup; then his dignity is ruined forever and his hands would be covered with blood of innocent students. He was right he thought again, or why was the bounty so high on him, better still why are two assassins on his pursuit?…

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Evhoma was restless as he moved through the dark room; all its windows were shut and its doors locked with a padlock from outside. The air was running short. Earlier there was a lighted candle in the room but as the air was running short, he blew the candle lights off cos it was sharing in the limited oxygen available.

Hope is frail but it’s hard to kill, Evhoma could have suffocated to death if not for Omoh who opened the room all of a sudden and announced “ITS STILL SAFE HERE”, here have some snack, I have to go so that I can get an alibi……. His helper had being Omoh ever since the assassin pursuit, he never knew her but she happen to be one of his secret admirers. During the pursuit, he jumped a fence and fell into a female hostel unknowingly, the ladies quickly mistook him for a thief and almost lynched him with many of them already calling for help and some from the upper floor were already throwing ladle, shoes any other handy material they could lay their hand unto. If not for Omoh’s intervention he would have being lynched…She carefully pretended to take him outside the hostel only to take him into hiding when the whole uproar died down in the hostel…

Evhoma tried to satisfy his empty stomach but in reality the hungry worms in his stomach were the ones eating the food. He had no appetite, or how can you have an appetite when you have two assassins on your trail…

The mince pie was the type he liked best, the fillings being meat instead of the potatoes filled ones commonly sold on the roadsides. He stretched out his hands to pick one of the apples in the package Omoh had brought, he stopped and thought. He looked at his fingers, the instrument that brought him all these dangers…. What a world he thought

Another thought began for Evhoma, what of if Omoh betray him or at least one of those ladies who almost lynched him… time swept by and he fell into a slumber….

There was a sharp and forceful like tap on the window, and then it increased… Evhoma woke up. The window was wide open… from what he was seeing it was a GAMEOVER…

Trepidations began to set in, he began to shiver. Streams of sweats flowed through his body. He held out his hands to depict he had surrender… two rifle shots were heard and it all over…

TO BE CONTINUED

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