Akanni

AKANNI-2

Akanni, on the other hand, saw that she was sorry and saw no need for her to say it, so he seized the opportunity to prove his gentleness.

“It’s okay,” he muttered.

Adebola beamed with a smile that revealed her perfect set of white teeth, touched his hand and replied,

"Thank you for your understanding."

Moyo, who deliberately wanted the cold atmosphere and accusations to end, was delighted to watch the camaraderie. She quickly introduced herself to their new friend.

"My name is Moyo Babafemi, I also just got my admission to study Mathematics. It’s nice to meet you."

Akanni responded with a forced smile. It was time to pay his transport fare, and he felt obligated to pay theirs too. After calculating his expenses - school fees, accommodation and other miscellaneous – Akanni knew he was not buoyant enough to pay four hundred naira for each of them. He would not call his sister who sometimes helped him financially, not anytime soon at least, because she had given him some money before he left Ilara. It would be rude of him, and quite irrational to pay for himself alone, or just for him and Adebola, whom he had started developing likeness for. He finally decided to pay the N1,200 fare and mentally noted that he would have to sacrifice either his lunch or dinner to restore the money.

"E san wo lati eyin" (please pay from the back), the driver asked in an angry tone.

Akanni quickly handed N1500 over to the driver to prevent the ladies from paying first.

The driver asked, "eyin melo?" (This is for how many passengers?)

“Owo awa mete ta ni sir.” (It's for the three of us, sir)

Adebola and Moyo were astonished by what he had just done. Even though they appeared to be more financially comfortable than Akanni, he felt the need to do something to win their hearts. He put his N300 change into his wallet.

"Thank you so much,” the girls said in unison.

The taxi finally got to Camp junction. The passenger in the front seat was also a student, but not of FUNAAB. He was either going to the Federal College of Education, Osiele or going to take cheap buses to Ibadan if he was a student of the University of Ibadan.

After they alighted, they saw a woman selling akara (bean cake). She made them in a big frying pan which had burnt coal from long hours of staying on the fire. Some of her customers surrounded her in scattered queues. Everyone knew whom they came before so the activities were in order. She sold the akara in papers and later put them in black nylons. Two women who sold bread and eko had their stands next to hers.

On the other side of the road which led to the university were taxis that plied the route of the university. There were also okada riders for those who may not want to be patient till the taxis are full. Another advantage of the okada was that it would take passengers into their streets which was not possible for taxis. As soon as they crossed to the other side, a driver started calling his passengers.

“Oluwo, Gate, Isolu, FUNAAB”

He repeated it continuously until the trio approached him. Moyo and Adebola were going to Isolu while Akanni’s destination was Gate. He was going to pay his school fees, and acceptance fees and get his accommodation. His sister who lived in Olomore, Abeokuta had persuaded him to be going from her house to school. Apart from the fact that the place was far, Akanni knew that his sister was only looking for someone to be taking care of her house for her. The house was a big one but she and her only son lived there, with a tenant in the other flat. He also needed a place close to where his colleagues lived to have access to information and group studying. Another reason he rejected his sister's offer was the kind of social activities in student populated area. Although Akanni was not a smoker, a party freak and never a fan of alcohol, he just preferred to be around students. The feeling was different from an environment populated by adults and the working class.

The taxi was very old and unattractive but because they did not want to wait for the next turn, they had to board it. The road to FUNAAB was hilly when the journey started. The taxi got to the small hill and reduced its speed. The driver was used to it so he did not look bothered. He changed the gear to three, then two and eventually to gear one. Like a little boy being dragged to school, the taxi climbed the hill and the passengers heaved a sigh of relief.

They were already approaching Isolu. The ladies thought it unfair to allow Akanni to pay their transport fare the second time, but Akanni was already calculating how much he would have spent on his new friends if he had to pay again. Although he would not be paying as much as he had done from Lafenwa to Camp, he knew that no amount should be considered meagre since he had no one to be sending him money for upkeep.

"E gba sir. Owo awa meta. Isolu meji, school kan" (Take sir. This is for the three of us. Two passengers of Isolu and one person going to school), said Adebola.

She gave the driver a N500 note and collected her balance from the driver. The ladies alighted at Isolu but did not forget to share contacts with their new friends. They were sure of meeting again because there was a university course for all postgraduate students. They will have that in common even if they are not in the same department.

Akanni had to drop all his bags at his cousin's place. His cousin, Omolara, is a 300-level student in the school. She had her Higher National Diploma in Environmental Studies but because of the dichotomy between university and polytechnic in Nigeria, she had to come back to a university to have her degree. One would have thought she would apply for a postgraduate diploma and after a year, she would be able to start her second degree. Akanni tried to convince her many times but she remained unyielding.

“Egbon, I’ll help you contact some agents to get you good accommodation before you finish paying your fees on campus. The person that got this place for me doesn't have any more vacant apartments close to school," said Omolara.

Akanni devoured his meal as if it was the last day of the registration. He hurriedly left Omolara's hostel for school. There were taxis and buses at the entrance of the school. It was already getting to the afternoon so there was no rushing of vehicles by the students moreover, the master's degree students had not yet resumed. There was no queue at the bus stop so Akanni quickly boarded the next taxi.

There were security men at the entrance of the gate wearing yellow and green uniforms. Some were enforcing the use of nose masks and others were checking the boots of vehicles moving in and out of the school compound. Akanni stared at the different places in the school; it had a large land mass, unlike his alma mater. The citizens of Abomey Calavi were accused of the theft of the school’s plots of land. Zogbaje and Parana, behind his school, were said to have been part of the land of the school but people have their houses and other properties there; and it would be quite difficult for the government to reclaim the pieces of land. On his right hand, just a few kilometres from the gate was the ongoing construction of a building. Students called it a ceremonial centre.

Immediately after the ceremonial centre was a Catholic church; and next to it was a mosque, a place he knew he would frequent as soon as school commenced. The school clinic had a very big generator stationed at the entrance.

It didn't take up to five minutes before they got to the school park – usually called Marcot park – where a few passengers disembarked.

Akanni knew that he was going to the school of postgraduate and where it was located but he didn't know whether he would dismount at Marcot Park or the last bus stop.

He quietly asked the driver, "Please how do I get to the school of postgraduate studies?"

The driver answered, "Just get down at the last bus stop and walk down towards Mahmood"

Even though Akanni was not familiar with Mahmood, he had already gotten the information he needed as to where to get off. He knew his way to post-graduate school. He wasn’t sure, however, of the right route to the school through the campus shuttle cabs, considering that he came on his okada when he came to submit his registration forms.

He got down from the taxi and started walking toward the school of post-graduate studies while he looked left and right, getting familiar with the environment. There were a lot of cars parked at the entrance of the cream-coloured building with their number plates starting from "50B"; the unique numbers of the members of staff of FUNAAB. He imagined himself as the Vice Chancellor of the school with a similar car plate number and that increased his motivation to study. Each time he saw educated people doing well, it gave him the hope that not all educated people ended up miserable, just as his mother believed.

He climbed the stairs that headed directly to room 213. He met only a young man in the office so he was happy he will be attended to as soon as possible. The man in the office asked him for his name and other details before he asked him to print his admission letter on his dashboard.

Akanni left the building and headed to the bank to pay his fees. There were two banks at the school gate but the population of customers - mainly students - was high. He left the queue after waiting for over one hour and approached a man who dealt in P.O.S business. Although the charges were high, it was faster. He didn't wait fifteen minutes before he was given all his receipts.

The issue of accommodation was the next to tackle. He called the agent whom he met during his admission process. The man was not in town, so he directed him to another colleague of his who was close by. He met with the new agent and they started the search for a hostel. The private hostel rooms shown to him were not very okay but Akanni was determined not to pass the night at his sister's place in Olomore or Omolara's place. He would do everything possible to get his hostel that day. It was already getting dark and he was worried and thought to make do with the ones he had seen but decided to search a little further. He told the agent that he was going to get back to him and left. The bike man who rode him from there told him that he knew some agents at the gate.

They got to the gate and saw a young man making photocopies and printing. He looked like he was also a student. He was probably using the printing and caretaker business to provide for his school needs. The bike man explained to him that Akanni needed an apartment and he nodded that there was one ready.

The three of them took the same bike that brought Akanni to the agent and they embarked. The place was in the outskirts of the area, along Alabata village. They finally got to the hostel and he saw that it was much better than the previous ones he had seen, only a little farther. Akanni paid the rent to the agent in charge of the hostel; The Colorado Hostel.