My mother told me to be respectful of my elders. She taught me to always use sir and ma and show elders I was well brought up. I don’t know if that has now become a problem because it was because I was trying to be respectful this this happened to me.
So you see, Mr. Emmanuel, we call him Oga Emma was my father’s friend. He used to come to our house when my father was still alive. He used to play ayo and draft with my dad and some of our neighbours, many times when my dad wasn’t around, he would play with our neighbours or I would sit and beat him at the game…my father taught me how to play.
But my father died some months ago.
I was outside our house that day when he came with the board to play and since I was familiar with him, I didn’t even think about it. Usually, when I sat outside like that, it’s because maybe my mother hadn’t returned from her shop. otherwise, I would be cooking with her in the kitchen.
So that day, I was waiting outside when Oga Emma came with board to play as usual. Two of our neighours who were playing ayo joined him at first but they later went back to their ayo, so Oga Emma said, “Come let me beat you at this game.”
I was trying to get thoughts of my father dying off my mind though it had been almost 8 months at that time. I said, “no sir.”
So he began to play with another neighbour and after sometime, he called one of those children playing to come and run an errand for him but they refused to run errands for him, so I offered to go. He said I should help him buy Indomie and egg.
I collected N500 from him and went to buy the food; it was sold two streets away from us. By the time I returned, I was told he had gone to his house, he left instructions that I should bring the food to his house.
So I took the food to his house not knowing it was a trick.
When I entered his room, he lived in a one room, like us. He said I should come in and lock the door, he was on his bed. I didn’t think I was in danger, so, I just dropped the food on a stool beside his bed. I asked him if he was ok.
He said he wasn’t feeling well, I said, “sorry sir.”
I wanted to go back to our house because I was sure my mother would be back by then.
But he pulled me and said I should sit on the bed for a while and tell him what I had done that day.
That was when my heart began to pound in my chest.
I said to myself, why is he asking me to sit on his bed, all the times I had run errands for him, he always gave me the remaining change but he never asked me to sit on his bed, he was my father’s friend.
So I refused, I said, I was going because my mother would be waiting for me.
Then he got up and locked the door and said, “Now, where will you go to?”
It was no longer funny
I began to plead, I said, Oga. Emma, my mother will beat me if she gets home and I am not there, please let me go.
He refused.
By this time, he told me he wanted to have sex with me, that I have been shaking my bumbum at him since.
I was surprised because it isn’t true.
Which bumbum do I have to shake? See me as thin as a stick and he was saying I’was shaking my bumbum.
I was pleading with him to let me go. I began to plead, I said, Oga Emma, my mother will beat me if she gets home and I am not there, please let me go. Please pity my poor mother, please. remember my father was your friend…
I was hearing people’s voices within the compound, so I raised my voice, “Let me go, open the door or I will scream”
He didn’t, he said I should scream that nobody would answer me…
True, true, I screamed, no body answered o!
I screamed again, nobody came to the door. Then I became afraid, this man would rape me and nobody would even come to rescue me!
By this time, he had torn my blouse off me…I was wearing a blouse and this black tights. I was begging him when I realised that even though I could hear voices outside, they didn’t seem to hear me. That was because, Oga Emma’s room was at the back of a two storey building and the voices I heard were neighbours in the front part of the house.
Anyway, he tore my blouse and was squeezing my breasts and it was very painful. I couldn’t even fight him because he was a lot stronger. I began to cry but I told myself, is this how you will let this man useless your life like that?
If he rapes me I would forever be ashamed of myself. So I was begging and fighting and looking for something to hit him.
Then he pushed me on the bed and used one hand to pin me down. I was still fighting and scratching and biting him. Then he said he would bite me back and he bit me on my breast, this one on the left. I almost fainted from the pain.
Then I used my two legs to push him with force, he staggered back, then I quickly got up and picked a stool to hit him but he collected it and slapped me. the slap dazed me, so I fell. But as I fell, I saw the knife.
It was under his bed, I picked it up and stabbed him! I didn’t even know where I was stabbing, I was just stabbing because I knew he would kill me and my mother would never know. The poor woman would lose a husband and a daughter how many months apart?
So I fought back and he too was trying to avoid being stabbed.
I told him to open the door or I would kill him!
He begged me to stop and opened the door, that’s how I ran out!
I told my mum and she went to report to the police but by the time they got to his house, Oga Emma had run away. Up till today, no one knows where he is. I hope he is dead!
(Series written and edited by Peju Akande and based on true stories)