One thing my mother dislikes is a child who is greedy and without self control. And especially a child who takes stuff from people. I was a monster in the food-eating department but today, my story has changed.
Unsplash
There's this festival that normally happens in my village. One Christmas, we traveled back and the festival was to hold around that time. During that festival, different families cook in large quantities because people would come and troop in to say, 'hi' and also to merry. Just like a festival for food - give freely, eat freely and as you please.
On the day of the festival, my mother prepared; melon soup, vegetable soup, fufu, white rice with stew, chicken and abacha(African salad).
She called us, her children, dished portions of whatever dish we chose and told us, "..eat now and to your fill. When people arrive, I don’t want anyone sitting around or watching the visitors eat. Go over to the other house or go play outside."
Shortly after, visitors started trooping in, I was still sitting at a corner of the room. My mother asked the visitors what they wanted and they requested rice.
My mother used her legs to push me so i can look at her face and get the information she was passing...it was time for me to leave. I threw my face to the other side. My mother passed by me, stepped on my foot, even pretended to be carrying water and splashed some on me. I did not say zilch. I didn’t even complain about her acts. I knew what i was doing or not.
I was too lost looking at the visitors as they ate. Maybe the visitor noticed my un-shifted gaze at her, so she said to me, "my child, go and get your spoon. You go eat?" I waited for my mother to leave the parlour and stylishly, I nodded his head. Not one word left my lips. Just a nod.
My mother who had heard the visitor's words spoke from the other room, "who should go and get spoon again? Him done eat already."
Without thinking, i said, "I would eat again."
My mother wearing the typical Nigerian mothers grin when it’s about to go down for you said, "Nna, you say you go eat again? Okay, you go eat again."
Any 9ja kid will know that their mothers chest was burning. Normally, we can differentiate our mother’s fake from true smiles and their body language but this one was a no go area.
"Leave your auntie to eat. After, I go put for you," my mother said.
"Don't worry. Let him join me. I'll be unable to finish the food," the woman said.
Meanwhile, the visitor brought along an empty take-away plate to put some of the food in to take home.
Wearing a faux grin and putting up a faux niceness, my mother said to me, "Nna, go outside and play. Me and your auntie get talk."
"Mummy, I think you say you go give me give me nau," i said.
"Okay, Carry that fufu and soup in that plate nau."
"No o. Mummy, I said I wanted rice not fufu"
"Allow him join me to eat. I can't finish this serving alone," the visitor said.
" No o. Eat. I put this one for you. I will give him his own well. The rice sweet. He likes it. (turning to me wearing an evil smile) you go eat rice. You go eat am well-well.
Visitor wey come our house ,make she eat. Go first, go play outside."
"Mama I'll wait here. The right sweet and e they hungry me well-well."
After everything, the woman left.
Almost immediately, another group of people dropped by.
My mother asked what they would prefer, they said rice. I started complaining and crying to my mother, "see, these visitors are requesting only rice. You go give them all our rice finish. Long-throat people."
My mother was furious but masked it for the sake of the people around.
When all of the visitors had come and gone and it was evening, my mother called my eldest brother and asked him to boil some cups of rice. After he was done, she called me, asked me to sit down, set a stool before me, went into the kitchen and came back with a tray loaded with a mountain of rice.
"Oya chop rice!"(Eat rice!), she said.
When i asked who and who the food was for, she said it was just me.
Guys!! Food that could fill at least 5 hungry-eaters.
At first, I smiled. I started to eat and eat. Then it got boring. I made to stand up but my mum declined. She got a cane and sat next to me. She told me that if i needed to ease myself, I should not hesitate to do it there, and then, continue eating. That she'll clean the whole place up.
I eat wetin no good that day. I did not know when he burst into tears. The naija mother in her was unmoved.
Ha!
I was looking like who Amadioha(the god of thunder) struck. I ate until my eyes were bulging and my stomach felt like the only living part of my body. I did not dare stand up because my legs could not have been able to carry my weight.
My mother released a devilish knock on my head. That knock changed the position of my brain and the shape of my head.
I ate, cried. Cried, ate. Threw up, ate, cried. I did not even know when i fell asleep. Woke up the next morning to see the food still in front of him.
Omo! Ever since then, I disliked rice. I can not even bear to sit close to my mother while eating. Rice? That thing that is not even sweet. Tsk!
Why do you think my best food is beans? You see!
But, forget! Naija mothers no get chill.
And hey!
Lest I forget, here's a link to the COMtest
Hope you enjoyed this.
Thank you for stopping by.