Sometime in the year 2021, I got a call from an unknown number, I reluctantly answered the phone because I don't usually like picking up calls from strange numbers. "Hello, who's on the line," I said calmly waiting for the person to respond but it was as if the person knows I wasn't interest in the call, so he didn't respond, I almost got pissed up because it looked as if the person was trying my patience.
"If you will not talk, I am going to hang up this call, I have other things to do," while I still making that statement, the guy burst into laughter and said" It's Wugi, oh! You thought it's one of those your girlfriends, Right? Copper, you will not change", he added.
We both laughed at that statement, that's what he often says whenever we meet. I was so excited to hear from him because it's been almost two years we spoke, he left town after we graduated from college. We spoke at length and he promised to come over to my place one of those days.
He subsequently fulfilled the promise and I was filled with joy when we met, he told me about the admission he got to the University of Jos and I was very happy to hear that. After the long conversation, we went out on his motorcycle. He took me to Zak's shop, one of our friends and we spent enough time there too. After which he brought me home.
After a few months, we spoke over the phone and he told me he traveled to Lagos. From that day we didn't talk again. Though Zak informed me that he was in town, he came to prepare for school. I wanted to reach him but work and other activities kept flushing the thought out of my mind.
On his birthday, I had to look for his trouble by posting his childhood picture, he laughed hard when he saw it. He begged me to delete it and use a recent one but I declined. It was such a nice day, even though, I didn't visit him, I didn't call as well, I only posted for him on Facebook and we chatted.
18th December, 2021. I was helping my mom wash plates that evening when I got a phone call from my close friend Zak, "Have you not heard?" He asked on the phone." Heard what" I replied. At first, I thought he wanted to inform me that the football match he betted yielded positive results, so I was like" Don't tell me the ticket entered?" I tried to laugh but his voice was not sounding nice at all. So I became serious, "what is the problem bro", I asked being serious this time around, "Wugi is dead", he replied.
You know what? For the very first time in my life, I forgot where I was." What happened to him?"I inquired. "He had an accident, he went to a football match organized by his high school for old students. On his way back home, their car had an accident and all of them in the car died," Zak replied.
I couldn't cry, I couldn't smile, I was just lost. " If this is a joke you better tell me now", I said quietly to myself. I logged into Facebook and went to Newsfeed and I was just seeing Wugi's picture with RIP (Rest In Peace). For days, I was not myself. This was the same person I met just a few weeks ago and was teasing me that his Christmas bills were going to be on me. His death was such a shock to me. I never saw it coming. To date, I find it very difficult to believe that he is no more. I really missed him. But that is life, we can't tell when the call to glory will land on us.
