Fate of the poor
My name is ogadima the daughter of okon the pam wine tapper,I was raised in the village of ogba.
When I was born,my parents were expecting a male child,they wanted a boy as their first child,they already placed their hope on having a male child,for the fact that I was born a girl,my father felt I was just a mistake,in our village women or female children were only seen as materials that would end up in their husband’s kitchen,my father was indeed disappointed in my mother and cursed at her few days after I was born,this incident nearly led to the end of their marriage but my mother saved it by saying and admitting she was at fault,in our village men were always right,they were always dominant over women,no matter what happens the wife must succumb and respect the husband regardless of what he does,most marriages were based on exchange,my mom got married to my father when she was seventeen years old,she had to obey her parent’s instruction,her father gave her out to him because of his family was known to be great pam wine tappers and they were willing to give huge bride price,she wasn’t asked of her opinion,her parents feel that since they gave birth to her they have right over her,she wasn’t happy but had to accept her fate.
I am going to be eighteen years old tomorrow and my mother is cooking our best porridge,my mom often cooks porridge on my birthdays,I woke up and went to fetch firewood before everyone woke up and also fetched enough water,when everyone woke up they wished me a happy birthday and we were jubilating we all wore beautiful smiles on our faces until four men started shouting in front of our hut,they shouted my father’s name “okon,okon come outside oo ,you little thief come outside “ we all looked at my father and probably because my father didn’t respon,they barged in,they told my mom what my father did,he borrowed money from them to buy some things and has not been able to pay due to the situation of things,my father was given one week to pay else they’d do something,my father tried everything but still couldn’t gather everything and they came again as expected and they asked for their money,my mother knelt down and cried and my father also pleaded,I couldn’t afford to see my parents like this so I stepped forward and knelt before the leader and said he should give us few more days,I spoke in a very respectful and pitiful tone and managed to make the man smile,I thought I had convinced him and then he called my father out and told him something and told my father to see him the following day.My father went to see him as early as he could and when my father got back he brought a lot of things,he brought foodstuffs and even bushmeat,we were expecting my father to tell us how more we need to work in order to meet up with the deadline but rather he kept Quiana told my younger ones to carry them inside.
In the evening my mom came to call me that my father wanted to discuss something with me,I didn’t think much of it but the looks on their faces were too serious,my father started with mentioning my name and he told me I was not a child anymore,he told me I’ll be getting married to the man who he’s owing,only then did I understand what it was all about,when we finished the conversation I didn’t show any expression and I went to the place we kept the things he brought,I looked at it and tears dropped from my eyes,I couldn’t believe these items were my worth.The next morning my father told me I’ll be leaving in the afternoon and while we were having our morning meal which was sumptuous I couldn’t help but break down,everyone was eating happily but I had to go for this,my mother couldn’t cry because my father would scold her but she just looked at me and gave this motherly look.It was afternoon and I was already done packing my luggage then my mom advised me on how to behave and respect,the conversation went on for about an hour and half and then he arrived,my mom hugged me tight but I couldn’t let go because everything happened too fast but all my thought fixed nothing and I later went with him and lived as his wife till he died from snake bite twenty two years after our marriage.
My opinion on this is thatu thank goodness for civilization because,this girl was just forced into marriage and she couldn’t say anything because of the tradition.I feel that no matter what happens,women should have the right to choose who they want to marry.
