I've heard so many stories of people who got lucky in dangerous situations and faced no consequences, and I've always thought to myself that if luck is a person, it sure lives in my family. There are circumstances that make me believe that luck does indeed exist.
When I saw this prompt, it brought back to my memory the story of my uncle, who presently lives in the United States of America due to sheer luck and an unexpected situation. He is a man who got saved by the skin of his teeth in an attack that would have cost him his life and that of his wife and first daughter.
I have quite a good relationship with some of my uncles, though not all of them, so it was a privilege to hear his story about his visit to Nigeria last October. I was discussing with him the situation of things in Nigeria when his daughter, who hadn't been to Nigeria in 10 years, wants to go to a gym in Tanke, an area in Kwara State, Nigeria,Nigeria just because she searched online and saw that the gym was good.
She was so adamant about going to the gym that she said she would navigate her way if she booked a ride online. Then I laughed and advised her to sit at home or take a stroll in the compound if she wanted to go out.
"Nigeria is so different from the USA; once they notice you are not living here, anything can happen; none of us would be victims of kidnappers," I said to her, and she angrily went to the room.
"Everything is wrong with this country," she angrily said as she walked inside the room, banging on the door behind her.
"This girl doesn't know anything about this country; it's been 10 years since she last visited Nigeria, and she thinks she can go anywhere by following the map; she thinks she is in the USA," my uncle, who is her father, said with a smile.
"Things are different here; those of us living here are scared to go out at times because of all the things happening around, not to mention her, who doesn't know anywhere," I replied to my uncle.
"That made me remember sometimes, twenty years ago, if I'm not mistaken, when I had to run for my life with her mother and the little girl who is now a big girl," my uncle said.
"Nigeria's problem didn't start today; it has been on for several years, and as at the time I was saying, Nigeria is still being considered to be in chaos, not to mention the present situation," my uncle continued.
"I'm sure it's better then, sir; it's so chaotic now; nothing is working," I replied.
"A damage of over fifty years cannot be corrected in four or eight years," my uncle further said.
"Then I was living in the north. I just got married two years ago, and Temmy (real name withheld) was just a year and some months old when this religion crisis broke out in the northern part of Nigeria," my uncle further said.
"And that wouldn't be pleasant, I can tell," I said, looking soberly as if I were there when the event happened.
"The Hausa men are breaking into houses and killing everyone that doesn't practice Islam; it wasn't a palatable experience. We couldn't go to work, the market or even church; we had to stay indoors to save our lives," my uncle continued.
I was listening with keen interest because I wanted to know how they finally escaped being killed.
"We had no where to run; we couldn't come back home because we would be killed if they found out we were Christians; we had to keep hiding, sending our Muslim neighbor, who at that time was a Hausa woman, to help us get things into the market. You can imagine how tough it was for us then," my uncle intensified in his story.
"I could imagine, sir, the fear of living in an unwanted place; there won't be any peace of mind whatsoever. It will look like the whole world is against someone," I said, nodding my head pitifully.
"My neighbor got the news that they would be coming to our house, and she decided to help us escape. I never knew she could do that for us. We just got lucky; she decided to give me one of their jalabias (a cloth known as the hausas) and a cap while she gave my wife one of her ijabs (a head cover for Muslim ladies) and also one of her children for Temmy," my uncle said, nodding his head like he was seeing himself in the scenario again.
"We had to leave in the evening like we were just strolling out; we couldn't take any of our luggage, and that was how we went through different short cuts to get to the motor park. On our way while going, we met some hausas who greeted us in the Islamic way, and thankfully we were able to respond to them. ,That was the number one life saver for us that day," my uncle further said.
I was nodding my head, imagining how tough it must have been for them that day, where a little mistake can cost them their lives.
"We met one that asked for my wife's and Temmy's names, and I had to quickly think of a name for them. Luckily, we escaped, and amidst this, there were gunshots and people running helter-skelter," my uncle said. Taking a sip of cold water, he ordered his younger daughter, who was sitting with us in the living room, to bring it for him.
"That day was sheer luck, my dear, thanks to the favor we received from our neighbor. It was an escape through the skin of our teeth because if she hadn't helped us that day, the story would have been different from what you are hearing and seeing today," my uncle further said.
"That was how we were able to escape and come back to Kwara State, and that was my parents's house with nothing at all before I was able to work and gather some money, then traveled to Lagos to begin a new life, though things were so rough too when we got to Lagos. We had to struggle on a daily basis to survive, then finally luck shined on us and we had the chance to travel out of the country," my uncle concluded.
"What a journey, what luck! The story would have been truly different, but all that is history now, all thanks to your neighbor who didn't snitch on you. She deserves some accolades for standing up for what was right," I replied.
"You can imagine how things were then, and we were complaining. Now see how bad it has become. She will get over it; I can't let her step out of this house," my uncle said as he stood up to go to his room, tapping me by the cheek.
"Thanks for your time, mummy of the house," my uncle said as he left for his room.
"You're welcome, sir," I replied with a smile, then laid on the sofa in the living room.
Thanks for your time, and your comments will be appreciated.
