A Tale Of Two friends

Once upon a time, there were two little boys growing up in a rustic town called Amuri in Nkanu Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria. They were playmates and bosom friends and any time you saw one, the other was most certainly with him. To put it mildly, they were inseparable, they were indeed so close that locals called them Ejima(twins).

So it remained till their adulthood. When it was time to move to the cities in pursuit of a more prosperous existence. One chose to make a life in Enugu city while the other settled in the city of Aba. For the purpose of this narrative, let us call the Enugu resident, James and the Aba based man, John. And so it was, they continued with their individual lives. While James was still struggling to eck out a living, John had become a millionaire.

Each time John came to Enugu, he would pick up James and together they would check into a hotel and spend quality time together, socializing and merry making, all at the expense of John. Whenever it was time to depart, John would generously dole out money to James as a parting gift. One day, John got a call from his relatives that his father was hospitalized in Enugu. He quickly dashed down, picked up James and visited his father. After the initial assessment of his father's condition, he proceeded to seek out his regular hotel in the Agbani road axis of the city. He checked in as usual with James and a couple of other friends whom they had invited over.

The next day, Friday(27th June), he went to a bank and withdrew the sum of four hundred and eighty thousand naira which he intended to give to his relatives for his father's upkeep. On the way back, he was ambushed by his co-lodgers(men he called his friends) while in the company of James. He was mercilessly assaulted, his attackers then forced him to drink raw acid. As if that wasn't enough, they poured the abrasive liquid into his ears, nostrils and eyes, blinding him instantly. During the course of the assault, he realized that James was in cahoots with his aggressors, it was a set up. As he shrieked in absolute and heart rendering pain, they abandoned him after taking his money for a certain agonizing death. This was definitely a hate crime.

He called out for help while frantically throwing his hands around in despair. Help eventually came and he was rushed to the National Orthopedic Hospital, Enugu. He kept shouting; Ejima why? Ejima why? Eventually, one of his relatives showed up and put his ears close enough to John to make out his otherwise unintelligible words and understand what transpired. Each time he made to speak, he would spew blood. Painfully but bravely, he narrated his tale of the utmost betrayal. The police swung into action and raided the hotel which he mentioned. True to his narrative, all the names he had enumerated were in tandem with the room numbers that he gave but the suspects had naturally taken flight but not before fleecing his room of all valuables. The search cordon was then extended to Amuri where the police were reliably informed that James had dashed off early Monday morning to Makurdi, Benue state. The police are still on his trail.

On Monday afternoon(30th June), expectedly, John died, ending his excruciating experience in the hands of a man he called 'Nwannem'(brother). This is a riveting tale of man's inhumanity to man. Brethren, worry not about your enemies, they hardly ever have the proximity to hurt you because you're permanently on the lookout for them, it is your 'friends' that constitute the real danger. A fiend masquerading as a friend is the greatest mortal threat we all face.

I have heard many a tale of treachery, but this one probably tops the cake, it made tears well up in my eyes. Why they didn't accord him the 'dignity' of a gun death beats me silly? Why they also did not device an ingenious way of robbing him and sparing his life is beyond understanding? I'm sorry if I've spoilt your beautiful night, it is such a sad story that I believe we all can learn something from. It is truly a teachable moment for everyone. 

Okey Joe Emenike