The only thing I had left at that moment was water. I lay on my student bed waiting for a miracle, and it came at the last hour.
During my service year, I knew I was on my own. I wasn't expecting help from anybody, so whatever I eat or drink was left for me to source for. The salary known as allawee paid by the government wasn't enough to cater for my needs, the money gets finished even before I start to spend it looking at my budget list monthly. Myself and two other of my friends agreed to contribute 20k each monthly. When one person packs the contribution for this month, then another for the next month until it goes round according to our number. I wasn't the first, I wasn't even the second, but the third. It meant I was going to survive two months with 10k left from my allawee , but that wasn't a problem because I had other sources of income.
I survived the first month with not much struggle because I had some funds outside the monthly allawee. The second month wasn't that easy but I managed to scale through knowing the following month was my turn to pack the contributed amount. The third month was a big struggle for me and that was because I rarely ask for help. I was brought up in such a way, so I was determined to stay strong until it was time for the government to pay. Unfortunately after much endurance, managing the little foodstuffs I had, the government delayed payment for that month. The more I tried to persist, the realization that my foodstuffs are finished could only make me imagine the worst.
I had a neighbor who sold provisions and foodstuffs. She would have given me some on credit but I don't feel comfortable owing someone. I may keep running from her if I don't have the money to pay back, so I decided to bear the hunger. The month ended with no salary from the government, so I was hoping for a miracle. Every message tone makes me rush to check if it was an alarm but no, MTN were at it. I slept that night without eating anything. I was already weak the next day, I just couldn't imagine surviving another day on hunger. I may have endured if I was fasting, but my body system was aware that I had no food, so fasting was impossible because my mind will always remind me that I have no food.
I looked at the corner where I'd dropped my foodstuffs, only the empty sacks stared at me. Even garri which was common hid itself from me. All I had left was water. If the government delayed payment one extra day, then our country would lose an active citizen, I thought as I laid on my flat student bed hoping for a miracle. At around 2pm, my strength was gone and I was already considering how to survive the night when I heard my phone beep. This time it was an alert from my friend who sent in his contribution. It happened his bank had paid him but the bank I was using was delaying their payment. My bank didn't even pay the same day until the next, the alert from my friend became my saving grace, I wondered how I would have survived another night without food.
