One Chance VI
ONE CHANCE
Mayowa Ojo
6/10/20266 min read
For the first seventy-two hours of NK’s incarceration, Banjo tried his hardest to focus on the upcoming elections. He could taste victory even in his sleep yet something about NK’s instruction bothered him a great deal. He wondered how he was expected to tell the people who had so much hope in him and his promised reforms. Then there was his wife, Jummy and ultimately Chief who almost single-handedly bankrolled his campaign.
By the fourth day he was starting to settle into the groove of things. So far there was no sign of struggle from NK where she was kept. No lawyers anywhere in sight or law suits flying around. The instruction the DPO gave was simple: to keep her locked until the elections were over and then they would decide her case.
Jummy was on an interviewing rampage. She did a lot of them on family-shows in a bid to emphasize the importance of having a solid family base. She used the kidnapping of Kara to warm her way further into the hearts of women across the state, shedding a few timely tears in the middle of the interviews. One of the biggest interviewers she faced asked her what she would have done if the rumor that surfaced several months ago about Banjo keeping another family outside were true.
Jummy laughed, albeit nervously, because she did not expect the question. In truth, she would drop Banjo in a heartbeat but she knew her words needed to be measured.
"When I heard the rumour, of course for a split second I almost had a heart attack but then again I know and trust my husband and soon realized it was intended to sabotage his reputation. My husband, Mr. Adebanjo Adegbemileke is a man who can be trusted. I know him. I’m married to him. You can take my word to the bank."
The audience cheered. She could not tell if it was because the instruction above the studio flashed "Clap" or if it was because they meant it.
****************
Saturday morning, exactly one week to the elections, Banjo woke up to a short email from NK.
Hey Mr. Banjo. You have one week to go. You can end this and live a quiet life after the initial storm blows over or you can walk into the storm and hope to have the strength to piece yourself back together again. The thing you don’t realize is that I will walk away from this without so much as a scratch on my reputation. If anything, I will be the victim and you the villain. If you want to keep me here longer, it will only serve my purpose.
Warned,
NK.
Banjo blinked. She is supposed to be in custody yet she is sending emails? He called the DPO who assured him she did not have access to even a hairpin let alone a phone. The CCTV camera in her room ensured her every move was monitored.
When he tried to forward the email to the DPO and Liz, he could not find it anymore. He quickly checked his trash box but did not find it. For the first time since he faced NK and heard her threat, Banjo was gripped with fear and it was real. He understood what was going on and he only wondered how much of it was real and how much was feigned…if any of it was feigned.
At his desk in his room, Banjo typed up his resignation. He had no idea what NK had on him but if anyone had the power to destroy him it was her. He wondered how she came about the resources to be able to do all she’d done but came up short. He wanted to ask that she be tortured into confession but he was afraid. Afraid that her resources might extend to the very prison where she was being held or that if news of her torture leaked it would make things worse. He had a theory that he wanted to prove. There was a mole in his team and he was bent on smoking them out.
****************
When he shared the idea of his resignation with his campaign team on Monday morning, they all looked shocked and spoke sorely against it. Liz told him she thought he was absolutely crazy and that she would destroy his career before he did hers. He left the meeting feeling even more confused because he was certain there was a mole in his office and he was hoping to catch the person among the team closest to him. In any case, he was happy because that eliminated an entire group of people from the list.
**************
Once out of the meeting, Toun (Liz’s seemingly naïve assistant) carefully sent a message to Osas informing him of Banjo’s resignation letter but stating that it was not yet confirmed if he would go ahead with it.
**************
Three days to election day, Banjo’s phone rang after working hours when he was trying to have some family time with Jummy. It was Liz.
"Do you know Dr. Osas Ehimen?" she asked without saying hello.
"No."
"So who the heck is the guy on TV now giving an interview saying he knows you and that you’re not who you say you are?"
Banjo asked for the station and immediately turned on the TV. He and Jummy watched in horror as the doctor decimated Banjo’s character by sharing things Banjo did through secondary school and university days. The last time he saw the guy he was not a doctor, not that eloquent and certainly did not have the resources to be on TV. Jummy googled him and found that he was some reputable professor of psychology well respected in his practice in Norway.
The presenter asked, "So why has it taken you this long to come forward? I mean, why now?"
Dr Osas smiled. "Let me start by apologizing to my fellow Lagosians for not having come forward sooner. I’ve been away working and my schedule is very tight. I really wanted to be here earlier but just could not and I did not want to grant an interview from outside the country so I’m not taken as a joke or a wimp. If Mr. Adebanjo denies everything I have said, he should step up and defend himself."
"So you have an impressive reputation in your field but why should we believe you? I mean, what other evidence do you have other than your words?"
"I have at least seven school mates waiting online this moment from across different parts of the world and country who will join us in a second to share what they know of the manyou’re about to make your governor. Let’s start with Martins in Dallas. Hi Martins."
A screen came alive behind Dr. Osas with Martin’s face all over it. The moment Banjo saw the face he knew it was over.
****************
Martins skipped an entire year of school and had to undergo physiotherapy after surgery. He and Banjo had gotten into a fight, close buddies that they were, and the only way Banjo could think to punish him was to hurt him. He did not mean to cause that much damage but his intentions did not match his actions.
While in class that day, the teacher asked Martins a question and he got up to answer it. When he was done he sat back down innocently not realising Banjo had the sharp end of a biro waiting for him. His already red school pants immediately became crimson. When the next round of questions came and Martins was asked a question, his response was tears.
The teacher, offended at the reaction became alarmed when she inched closer to give him a stroke of the cane and aw blood all over his seat. For the first time in the school’s history they had an emergency that the school’s sick bay could not handle.
**************
Banjo was expelled and moved to another school in a different part of the state. That was the last time he saw Martins. He had no idea that his actions would come back to bite him. He put his head in his hands and wept uncontrollably in front of his wife.
Jummy just sat there, hands around him but clueless about how to react to what Martins just shared on national TV. Only one person could have known all those details. Only one person could have pulled off such a show. NK. He never thought he could hate anyone as much as he hated her at that moment. He wanted to see her and strangle her but he knew it would not undo the interview on TV.
He gently shrugged Jummy’s hand off his shoulder and started the walk to his bedroom. An email alert flashed on his phone.
"I know you’ve typed the letter. Send it in now. There’s more and you won’t like it. I’ve given you a few days to make amends. Don’t push it."
Banjo felt his head spin. Kill me now, Lord. Just kill me now, he chanted till he blacked out.