It started on a normal day. My phone's been off the day before and I had thought they would definitely bring light by midnight, but guess what, it never showed up. It didn't even blink.
I checked my wall clock and I was shocked, when did I start waking up this late. I quickly dashed to the bathroom, brushed my teeth real quick, turned on the tap so I could rinse my mouth, but it only gave me a,"shush" sound. No water. How come, what's going on, what's all this I am experiencing on a Monday morning. I can't seem to wrap my head around it. It was when I heard the wailings and shouts of people that I knew I wasn't the only one in these, I stepped out and heard everyone talking about it, and I got to know that that situation of ours would last for a whole month.
I didn't think much about it. I just used the little water in my bucket to bath and rinse my mouth, then I stepped out. At work, we even joked about it, this is Nigeria and we've seen worse, so what's this one that we won't navigate our way through.
It was after three days that it finally hit me. Wait, am I going to continue like this for the next 27days. I know within me that I can't cope. It was water that actually made me have a rethink. At least phones dead and everyone everywhere is facing same. So, that's understandable, it's obvious we won't be able to reach out to each other, but those things that we really need to survive so we would see and hear from each other later when all these is gone is nowhere to be found. Even if there was gas to cook, where's the water, even if there's garri to eat, where's the water.
At that point, money didn't really have much value. People began seeking help from each other, there's no bigger person anywhere, some even go about exchanging what they have to get what they want. There are times I give out my gas just so to get a bucket of water as well, cause I just filled it before all of these start, so I exchange my gas with water for those who has some saved up as well. I began measuring water before doing things, I began to bathe once in three days, I made sure my clothes weren't so rough and dirty so I could wear them up to two to three times.
Well, as you would have expectedy gas finished, and I switched to firewood. Smoke isn't a friendly friend, it dealt with my eyes, with my clothes and all. But then, "wetin man go do." There was also no way I could continue doing the online work I do, I was just there, not living but surviving. The phone that used to be everybody's partner and friend has now turned into something else, we began relating with ourselves more.
One thing I have come to realize and appreciate is people. Is good to be surrounded with people, good ones, ones that you could navigate life and every situations with. It got to a point that we all just share what we have, either you have what to exchange it for or not, it has gone beyond now, and we all really need to survive. People who usually put on their generator had run out of funds and all.
It was a season that really made us appreciate people and our community more. At that time, your neighbor and community members are your family. You can't reach out to your bloodlines, your neighbors are the first in everything now. What really affected me most was water. It wasn't easy having to navigate through.
But then, as Nigerians that we are, we adapt to it and we survived it.
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