My people are from Kogi State but after living here in Ijoko Abule, Ogun State for more than 45 years, I consider myself a son of the soil. My name is Solomon Oloruniyi, my wife is a native of Ijoko Abule and all my children were born and bred here, so I no longer see myself as a foreigner. I am a landlord here, wetin remain?
As a landlord of two houses, I have different types of tenants, some of them are good and some, like that Charles is a devil person. Charles and his wife, Sarah moved into one of my two bedroom apartments about two years ago but they had their first baby, a girl just last month.
I live in the bungalow behind the four storey building I let out to tenants and I know my tenants. I noticed that Charles and his wife quarrel a lot and even the other neighbours have come to report him to me. He is not a good person.
Now, at least you have an idea about the character of this man, named Charles? People like this are trouble.
Last week, at about 7 in the morning, on a Saturday environmental morning, I saw Sarah sweeping the compound. Her husband, who should come out to join the men to remove rubbish surrounding the house and clear the gutter was not outside.
After she finished, she went inside and a little after that, she began shouting and screaming. At first. I thought, ha, that mad man Charles has started his were, again. E don mad again.
But Sarah, who we all call Mama Maria because that is the name of her daughter, was screaming and shouting: “Oti pa mi, o, o ti pa mi o”, meaning, he has killed me, o!
“Mama Maria, ki lo de! Ki lo’n shele?”
As soon as I got to their apartment, I held her, expecting to see blood or something but she was pointing to Maria, their 40 days old baby on the bed who was foaming in the mouth. A baby foaming in the mouth!
Mama Maria was screaming, “Oti pa mi, l’omo, ooooo. Oti pa mi l’omo ooo egba mi, oo!”
Meaning, he has killed my child, he has killed my child, help me, save me!
Who? Who is the killer? Where was Charles?
Those were the thoughts running through my mind.
I don’t call him Baba Maria because one day when I called him so, he was very angry and said Maria is not his child!
“Stop calling me Baba Maria!” he called out that day.
I just called him a fool. Abi? Only a foolish man will say that kind of thing.
But it was later after I heard that it was Charles, the father of the baby gangan, who had poisoned the baby, with pesticide that I just remembered that thing he said! He was caught as he was trying to run away.
Is this edi or what?
Edi is when some evil people cast a spell on you for you to be hypnotised and do evil. You would have done that thing before your eyes will clear and you realise what harm you have done to yourself. So, if this is edi, then e no go better for the person wey do am!
We all rushed the baby to the nearest clinic but even me, I could see the baby was gone. In all my life, I’ve never seen a thing like this before.
Then as the landlord, I had to go and report the case to Kabiyesi, the king in our community. We all went, the neighbours and many from the community, we took Baba Maria there. It was in front of the Kabiyesi he confessed; he said it was the work of the devil.
Awuuu!
He said he did it because he wanted to divorce his wife!
Haba!
Compiled by Peju Akande