I remained inside the bus with a mixed feelings. I thought of the lawyer who could have been trying my line, I thought of my friend who was in the police cell, I thought of how jail was going to look like on him and I started to rebuke it as I was thinking out loud that even the co-passengers sitting closer to me began to look at my face with this kind of “hope this boy isn’t mad” look but I ignored them and focus more on how to see my friend and rescue him. I got to akure at few minutes to 11am, I didn’t even call or visit my family, I stopped a bike and went straight to segun’s former residence. It took me like 25minutes to get there and I alighted from the bike and went straight inside the compound. I saw a woman walking out from the passage whose face was not familiar to me, “she must be a new tenant there” I thought. I greeted her and asked of segun who was a former tenant of the house, she said she didn’t know anyone who bears that name. I left her and went to “mama sofiyat” door and knocked. She opened and screamed my name “heeee onihaxy, is this your face?, you just stopped visiting us since your friend packed out of here, koda oooooo”. I replied, “its wasn’t like that ma. I wasn’t in akure for a long time now, even before segun moved out of here, na lag I dey”. “Its true sha, Boda segun said it when I asked of you from him. So how is work and how is lagos?, what did you bring for me?”. I replied ” so many things ma. But that will be later, I’m still around till next weekend. How is my friend? Please do you know his new residence?”. Mama sofia replied that she didn’t know it as she wasn’t around when segun packed out of the house. She directed me to the barber who has a shop outside the house. I left mama sofiat and went to meet the barber. He greeted me and we exchanged pleasantries. After a long conversation, he gave me segun’s new address and I thanked him.
I stopped another bike and gave the bike-man the address, he charged me N200 and took to the place. I dropped at the front of the compound and went to the house, it has a black gate and appeared more decent compared to his former house. “This must be a self-contain”, I thought to myself as I knocked on the gate several times. A woman came out, opened the gate and asked me who I was seeking for.
” Good afternoon ma, my name is onihaxy, I’m looking for a friend called segun, he stays in this compound”. She replied “oh bother segun?, its been long we saw him ooooo,he just went out of the house one day and no one knew his whereabout. Maybe he travelled, maybe he is still in town?, no one knows, his door is locked and his number had not been reachable”.
“Haaaaa, excuse me ma, was he involved in any crime or was he arrested?”.
” I can’t say oooo, I went to work that day and returned home only to find his absence.”
“Haaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, heeeeeee!!!”
“Why screaming youngman?, hope all his well?”
” Yes ma, just wondering where he would be at the moment”
” Ok, come inside and talk to the landlord, who knows?, he might be aware of his whereabouts”
I followed her inside the compound and she pointed at the landlord’s door and she told me to knock and ask from him.