Photo: https://pixabay.com/es/photos/jirafas-entretenimiento-discusi%c3%b3n-627031/
Simba joined the army at a tender age when the civil war started. Everyone was happy when he came back after the brief war as he was loved by many because he was such a nice fellow.
Due to the disorganisation in social and economic order that came with the war, he didn't find it easy to cope with the village life so, he traveled with some people to a nearby town in search of a greener pasture.
Since everyone was starting life anew, he went with his father's old sewing machine to become a dress mender, a job he was not particularly trained for.
Still not finding life easy, he traveled to the northern town of Kaduna where had a brief stay before moving to a farther northern town of Gusau.
It was worrisome that he was not coming home like most people do, especially during the Christmas period. Hardly would someone say he or she saw him, not to talk of getting a message from him for his aged parents at home.
When his mother died, no one could reach him to let him know about it.
Not up to two years after his mother's death, his father died too. This posed a big problem because the father would not just be buried without his knowledge.
Tradition has it that, having not witnessed the burial of his mother, he should, if alive be present during his father's burial to cast some sand first into the grave before it's covered.
And since no one could testify that Simba was dead or alive, the elders decided to send someone to the North to search for him.
Uche, who had some knowledge of the Northern States was sent. He came back two weeks after without success. It was clear from the beginning that his mission was about an impossible task because it would almost be madness to go to a town you barely know and start asking for one unknown fellow.
The elders were forced to perform one uncommon customary rite to prevent a calamity from visiting the people before Simba's father was burial. As a consequence, Simba's name was put in the community's Black book.
Strange as it may, about 20 years after the burial, Simba came back home unannounced. It was a shock to everyone. He was ostracized. None went to him.
Personally, I even didn't want to see him, not to talk of talking to him. Everyone was angry with him because no one had done what he did in living memory.
For his case to be reconsidered, he must go and meet Umunne who would speak for him in case his offence was pardonable. Umunne is a village whose progenitor was a younger brother to our forefather.
He knew what to do. So he went to Umunne elders who listened to him. Those elders now came to talk to our elders. It was then that it was revealed that Simba had actually been in prison in Gusau.
No sooner had he arrived Gusau than he fell into the arm of the law for an offence he did not commit. It was a case of mistaken identity that the police arrested him. And by a twist of event, his case file was missing as he rot in jail. No one remembered him until the Chief Justice visited the prison one Independence Year celebration and granted amnesty to those who had stayed too long in prison.
With the true situation made known, everyone, including myself had a change of mind towards Simba. Like many others, I went personally to apologize and told him, I was sorry. I knew with time our friendship would build up again, and it did. We're good friends again.