Growing up, a child tends to grow accustomed to his immediate environment. So when they are forced to move it disrupts their life, as they tend to loose their friends and the daily routine they are used to. 

That was my case when I moved back to the village from Lagos, I was just five. I initially thought it was a visit, or maybe we came for an event. Days turned into weeks and I was forced to substitute the hassle and noise associated with the city with the sound of nature. I made new friends, got into a new routine that mostly involved playing with tires, climbing fruit trees, playing football generally being a nuisance to the neighborhood. I fell in love with Amichi, because all I had to do was eat and play. 

Life was good… Until school resumed. 

Now I didn’t hate school, but you remember the fear that comes with being the new kid in school as a kid? 

I was enrolled in Queens Nursery & Primary school, one of the best private schools around at the time and that was where my nemesis began. I was very tiny as a kid, way smaller than my agemates and so when I entered my class I was easily the smallest kid in class. That didn’t sit well with my classmates; the big boys were not happy that a small boy was in the same class with them and I already made enemies without even knowing. Although the big girls in class took me as their baby and looked out for me I knew I was riding on borrowed time with the bullies. 

Sopulu was the “King of boys”(the head of the bullies) and he made it obvious he didn’t like me, and It wasn’t helped by the fact I was getting better grades and the teacher was always using my name when he mocks him. He was determined to make me pay and going home in the company of my big brothers was merely delaying the inevitable. Seeing that he couldn’t get me after school, he planned to get me in school during school hours (village people can be insistent oh) 

The day he decided to carry out his plan started like any other day, with the sun high up in the sky. We had a test in class that morning and afterwards we went for break, I had my fun playing with other kids till the bell rang. One of the requirements after break period was that the pupils use the toilet to ease themselves and also wash their dirty hands so they wouldn’t have any reason to leave their class later on. Being a little kid, I was bullied into being one of the last to use the toilet and before I was done I was the last kid in the place. As I stepped out of my toilet cubicle I saw them, Sopulu and his gang. The look in their eyes made me want to piss my pants if only my bladder was not drained. I threw myself on the ground crying, pleading for mercy (Meeru nu m ebere) I cried. All my pleas fell on deaf ears, they were determined to carry out their plan. 

They picked me up; and threw me in an empty water drum by the passage used to store water. I was struggling with all my might, crying and pleading….  But they held me down, they were much more stronger and I was way outnumbered. They picked the drum cover and started closing me in, I renewed my struggle and pushed up while three stronger hands pushed down. I was hit by the darkness, the fight in me was gone, I was ready to meet my maker, I said my prayers.

Then I saw the bright light, Oh Jesus have come to carry me I thought…  But it wasn’t Jesus, it was my class teacher, she had noticed our absence in class and came looking for us. She carried me out and I was saved. 

So I still get to watch Tom and Jerry? I thought. Thank God for saving me 

My parents pulled me from the school immediately after the incident and the last I heard the “King of boys” and his crew had done something bigger and worse than they did to me.  

I still get chills when I remember the story and I’m still mocked as the boy they closed in the water drum. 

PS. Me and Sopulu became good friends years after…  Inside life😂

…….to be continued…

“INSIDE LIFE With Buchi” is a chronicle of personal life experiences of the writer Abuchi Jonathan Ofoneme. It is entirely the writer’s opinion and does not reflect the view of AMICHI MAGAZINE.