Growing up I've always admired the length at which people go to, for what they love and believe in.
I'm about to take you all down memory lane, let's get started.
I recall a certain event, a tragic one that led to too many regrets and unfading scars.
A certain lady, living in my area had this obsession with wildlife, snakes to be precise. Her name was Miss Ana, she adored their beauty and spoke of their uniqueness at every given opportunity and even when the opportunity isn't given she tries to slot it in.
She was also a photographer. Myself and few kids that were fortunate to have been in her apartment couldn't help but notice the drawings and framed pictures of different species of venomous snakes in their natural habitat, due to curiosity we would always ask;
"Aunty Ana why do you love snakes so much, aren't they dangerous?",
"Not at all they're not dangerous, they are just scared and tend to hurt humans when they're scared, they are a reminder of possibilities, without fore and hind limbs they still move and swiftly at that", Miss Ana would reply with a smile on her face.
She often ventured into the wild to take pictures of wild animals especially snakes in close contact with them, indeed she was fearless but most people considered it to be stupidity as she was dancing with fire.
They would say in Nigerian pidgin English;
"God wey put snake inside bush know wetin e do o", translating to: snakes were created by God and were put in the wild away from humans for a reason.
Miss Ana didn't mind their tantrums, as she journeyed six times every week into the wild to take photographs of life there.
"They're all small minded"
She would say.
A day came when tragedy struck.
The keepers of the wild life territory had a certain boundary limiting further movements of people inside the forest, it forbids anyone from going beyond that point.
Rumors had it that beyond that point dwelled dangerous animals and the most venomous of them.
To others it was a caution and something to be scared of, but to Miss Ana it was beautiful news and it fueled her passion more to see what intriguing new species she could discover.
On an certain evening, under a full moon she ventured into the forest, knowing fully well that the forest guards and regulators must have retired for the day, she snuck in with her camera hung round her neck, a head lamp and a bag pack.
She successfully moved passed the boundary and was indeed amazed at what she saw, she saw a green mamba hung up on a tree and tried to take a picture of herself holding it.
Unfortunately for her, it bit her on her neck and after few minutes she collapsed.
She was discovered by the forest guards later in the morning lifeless, with the camera capturing the exact moment she was struck by the venomous snake.
Myself and my friends were sad at the incident but most of the adults were happy saying;
"That will serve as an example to the next person obsessed with wildlife".
