The trip to Ibadan was uneventful enough. Tokunbo found himself concentrating on the road, and as the sun was setting in the west he found himself driving directly into the sunlight and being blinded. Externally he appeared to be fully recovered from the disappointment, and he exerted himself to the utmost to act cheerful in the presence of his fiancee. But in his heart he nursed a gnawing sense of sadness which he could no longer deny to himself was due to the absence of Bola.
They arrived early at Jide's home, and after exchanging the usual greetings with his mother and the main celebrant Chief Yemi Adetayo, they settled into the upstairs parlor to await the arrival of the guests. Outside in the compound of the house located in the exclusive Bodija estates, the band was preparing the stage and their instruments, and the caterers were setting up a variety of tables under large canopies. the tables could be seen filling up with large varieties of food, enough to please any and all, there was a soup of Egusi soup on one table, and across from it there was a table set up with rice, and stew, and fried meats. Little trays filled with meat pies and sausage rolls, were arranged, with a large cake iced in white and Blue with the number fifty written upon it. In the center of the compound there was a large tent which had seats and tables arranged, and in the center there was left a clearing for dancing. The bar seemed to have an endless supply of drinks, with crates and crates of beer, and wine and stout, stacked beind the bar ready for the party.
In the parlour there was Jide sitting still in his western dress, and he looked tired from running errands all day. Beside him sat a pretty young girl who appeared to be his girlfriend. Another young man by the name of Dapo sat alone on a chair and seemed to have started the party early as he had a bottle of cold beer standing on the small table beside his chair.
Tokunbo was restless, and he alternately paced the room, and then looked out at the party unfolding before his eyes, as more and more guests filled up the tent, and the band started to sing. It seemed as if no one in the parlour was in a hurry to join the events outside, but were content to watch it unfold from their position of advantage. Then, Tokunbo who had been irritated the whole evening could no longer hold his disillusionment with life in any longer, and walked up to the window and looked out and said,
"Yes, look down upon the life of the Nigerian elite, and tell me if you do not think anything odd about it. Here we have ladies weighed down by their weight in gold around their necks, and do not forget the laces from where, china? or is it India? Look at the line up of luxury vehicles, that have transported these lucky souls here. And a stones throw from here, look outside the city gates of this man made heaven, into a veritable hell, with the starving masses clamoring for entrance. Hoping to function as dogs at the masters' table to rescue a few crumbs. You know, if I have said it once, I will say it again, the french nobility, and Marie Antoinnette, were doing the same in France, before the french revolution; they had their outrageous parties whilst the masses of Paris were starving, and what was it that Marie Antoinette said when told of the hungry masses who could not find bread to eat, " then let them eat cake...". " " That is how I feel right now looking down upon this, yes, a disconnect, a total disconnect of the 5% who enjoy the countries wealth with reckless abandon, from the struggling masses. What will be the outcome? I wonder will the day come when we will become the enemy of our own people, and when every man who drives a car, or who has a house will be fair game for the teeming masses? There is some inequity in this society that I cannot quite put my finger on, for there can be no other explanation for how such wide disparities can exist in the same society let alone be tolerated. But I am not an economist, and I dont pretend to be one, but the last thing in the world that a starving man wants is another lecture on the economical potential of the black african giant."
The man Dapo, could not agree more.
" Yes, we are a veritable success of a nation, where 33 million of our citizens must relieve themselves in the bush! I find this annoying, because basic sanitation does not necessitate running water per sei. What ever happened to a pit latrine?"
The others laughed.
"No, I am serious about it."
" I think the problems are more fundamental, lack of accountability in our leaders, and rampant corruption, and an economy which is nonsustainable."
Before the conversation could delve any deeper the steward came in and announced that Jide was requested to come down immediately by his mother.
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