Here Comes the Bride 4
Picture from: THE FEMINIST WIRE Bimbo Omotosho woke up wanting to pee. She went into her bathroom and when she returned, sat on her bed and stared at the night light. She wasn’t sure she could fall right back to sleep. ‘Maybe a glass of milk would help’, she said too herself. She looked at her bedside clock and saw that it was 2am. Her mother always snapped about having late night snacks and Bimbo really didn’t listen. When she was hungry, she ate. She had a stash under her bed which helped her cravings. Bimbo bent down to pull her goodie bag and was shocked to see it empty. There was a note from her mother saying, ‘I was born way before you and I know all the tricks you can possibly pull young lady. No more unplanned snacks!’ Bimbo was mad! Why did she always do that?! Well then, she had to find another way. Bimbo knew her mother slept like she was in a coma but like most people in a coma, you never knew what would make her start. So Bimbo opened her door as gently as she could and, thanking God for the plush carpets that lined most of the house, tip-toed past her parents’ room and downstairs. She prayed her father didn’t wake up but knew that even if he did, he would most likely help her get her milk and share a cookie. When she got to the kitchen, she poured herself a glass of milk – the real stuff and not the 2% milk her mother always insisted she drank – and took out one cookie from the jar. Her best bet was to eat it in her room. As she closed the fridge door, she could have sworn she heard a moan. She shrugged it off as a figment of her imagination and set out to her room. As she passed her maid’s room, she heard the moan again. This time, coming in slightly louder. She was scared but curious and in the end, curiosity won. She kept her milk on the floor and oh so gently turned the doorknob. With his back to her, her father was naked and kissing their maid; who was also naked. They were running their hands all over each other but what was more disturbing was the fact that a similar scene was playing on the television. Bimbo stood there, cookie in hand, transfixed as she watched her father, their maid and the actors they were copying. She may be eight years old but she knew what she was seeing was wrong. However, she couldn’t avert her eyes. She was so transfixed that she didn’t hear her mother walk up to her, gently pull the door close and point upstairs. Bimbo didn’t need to be told to go to her room. She ran to her room, locked her door and laid on the bed. The screams began, followed by the crash of glassware. Bimbo buried her head under her pillow and soon enough, fell asleep; cookie in hand. The glass of milk remained where Bimbo dropped it, unbothered by the destruction that went on for hours. *** The divorce was quick. Turns out Bimbo’s mum took a couple of pictures that could ruin her husband, the very respectable Pastor Biodun Omotosho, senior pastor, Live Church, with a congregation of over ten thousand people. After her crazy tantrum, she piped down and made her demands. She would keep Bimbo, the house, two cars and a steady allowance to continue living as she was used to. In return, she would not publish the pictures to his loving flock. She would also pretend she was the one who got tired of the rigors of marriage to a ‘man of God’ so his impeccable reputation remained untainted. He jumped at the offer, promising to do all she asked. In less than a week, a joint statement was released and as expected, Bimbo’s mum was labelled the bitch! She wasn’t worried because in truth, she married Biodun for his money and wasn’t into all that religious stuff anyway. To ride out the drama, she took her daughter and went off to Canada. In all these, no one spoke to Bimbo about what she had seen that night. Even when she tried to bring it up, her mother shut her down by saying, ‘You did not see anything! And next time, when I say don’t do something, you better obey me! In fact, this is all your fault! If you had obeyed me, I wouldn’t have known…just forget it. You did not see anything.’ But how could bimbo forget it when every night she went to bed, she kept seeing the actors doing things to each other? *** As Bimbo grew, she realized what she had seen her father do that day was have sex and what was playing on the television in her maid’s room was porn. As she became more internet savvy, she spent time finding and watching porn, and erasing her internet activities. It wasn’t as if anyone cared. Her mother was too busy dating rich men to be bothered about what her daughter was doing online. Bimbo started craving sex like she wanted food. As soon as she became a teenager, she wanted to practice what she had been watching for four years so she could find out if all the feelings she got from watching porn could be felt in reality. She began to make moves with the boys in school but they were all so scared. They kept acting like she would eat them. Bimbo knew that if she was to satisfy her urges, she had to aim higher; older. It was no wonder that the moment she saw Ricardo Esteban, her mum’s newest boyfriend, she knew he was the one she wanted. Ricardo was a tall, ripped bodied, dark-olive skinned hunk of a Columbian millionaire and it wasn’t surprising that her mother was dating him. She told
Feigning Innocence
Lost Innocence.Image: Monster’s Closet Adakole looked at that body and he felt she was begging him to come to bed. He had always considered her a tease; especially because she was constantly hugging him, sitting on his thighs, or on the floor with her legs wide open and feigning innocence like she wasn’t deliberately arousing him. Well, it ends here. He is going to have her today! He began to take off her clothes. Where she should have been afraid, she laughed! He felt a twinge of anger. Was she laughing at him? He got angrier and slapped her. Today, he was going to show her who the boss was. He began to touch her and she didn’t respond. If anything, she stiffened. That got him worked up and he used his knee to forcefully spread her legs apart. She started to whimper and soon enough, she was crying; loudly. Adakole took a pillow and pressed down on her face as he continued touching her. ‘Now you want to act like this isn’t what you always wanted?’ he kept thinking to himself. Well, she shouldn’t have thought she could tease him and go scot free. He felt searing anger pass through him, doing the only thing he could to break her spirit. He whipped out his penis and forced himself into her. He kept ramming until she stopped moving; she stopped resisting. When he was done, he asked her to get up. No response. He shook her. No response. He shook her harder. She didn’t move. She was dead. Adakole panicked. He knew what would happen to him when her parents found out about what he had done. He also knew he had no other option but to run for his life. *** Senator Ibikunle held his crying wife as they addressed the press. ‘Our driver went to pick our daughter from school yesterday and has since not returned. We urge you to please help us with whatever information you have. Her name is Bolanle and our driver is Adakole Emmanuel. Please help us find our little girl. She is just three years old.’
Here Comes the Bride 3
Nollywood actor, Foluke Daramola, campaigns against domestic violence.Image: Kokolife Iniabasi look her husband wit corner eye as he dey sleep. Ukeme just dey roll up and dan like say spirit dey purshoo am. She don bone tire! Why dis her mumu husband dey snore like olden days Volkswagen? Ha ahn! One day, she go fit carry pillow press press im head make he for quiet! Ah ahn! As if Ukeme know wetin she dey tink, he turn im nyash face her come release one kine mess wey smell pass egg wey done rotten. De mess go straight go her face like say na wetin in bin dey target. She slap am wit one mind! ‘Your papa! Why you go mess for my face?! You dey mad ne?’ Ukeme wake up with vex. Dis time, she no even prepare herself before he start dey blow blow her. As he dey beat her, he follow dey bite her for her neck, for her breast, for her belle, and for her lap. After he done swell up her body well well, he tear the remaining cloth wey for dey her body come dey drag her for ground. Deir neighbors bin don tire for their fights so tey nobody even comot from their flat. Na so he drag her body for their compound till them reach outside. As people gather dey laugh, he pour spit for her face come waka dey go. Like say something push am, he turn back, waka come her place, open in trouser, comot in prick, come start dey piss for her body. All de agberos wen dey her area come dey laugh dey hail Ukeme. Na den she faint. *** Iniabasi Unwana was the first of 8 children in a family that was piss poor! Her father was a mean mechanic who spent whatever money he made on Ogogoro. He drank so much that his natural odor was the stench of stale alcohol. They lived in a one-room apartment where they literally had to sleep like sardines. Her mother seemed to give birth every 10 months, such that at Iniabasi’s 8th birthday, she had 7 siblings. Her father didn’t hit them but her mother more than made up for that. What her father did though was…nothing! He didn’t pay bills, he didn’t provide money for food, he never sent any of his kids to school and he definitely didn’t work…much. Her mother on the other hand worked enough for 10 people. She was a street cleaner between the hours of 6 and 7am and a maid for an Alhaja from 8am to 5pm. When she got home, it was to begin her business as an Akara seller at the motor park. She would do this until about 10pm before returning home. Even with what she did, she was only able to raise enough to ensure that her kids ate and wore the cheapest clothes. She paid the rent also but the bulk of her money went into treatment for her ailing mother in the village and clearing her husband’s debts at different Ogogoro joints. Anyone looking at Iniabasi’s mother would never believe that she is a young woman; she looked old, tired, angry and very bitter. Iniabasi started helping out when she was 4. Her mother would prepare Akamu and it was Iniabasi’s job to hawk them on the streets. As she grew older, it fell to her to wash the beans, take them to grind in a bucket heavier than her and then peel the yams and potatoes as she waited for her mother. She would then put all of them in a truck and push them to the spot where her mother cooked. She had to do all this while taking care of her younger ones. It was on one of such days that her father returned home early. She was washing the beans when she heard a grunt behind her. She jumped, startled, as she faced the person who had made the sound. She saw her father rubbing his penis while looking at her. She was 9 but she knew that what he was doing was wrong. ‘Papa, wetin you dey do?’ she asked as she took a step back. He approached her, swaying, still rubbing his penis, and still wearing the weird look. ‘Come here. Come and take.’ Iniabasi looked behind her. She was boxed in. Her only escape route was through her father. As she contemplated what to do, Iya Kemi came out of her room with her broom held high. Iya Kemi hit her father repeatedly, with each well placed blow punctuated with a scream. ‘Neighbors! Neighbors! Make una come see abomination! Come see wetin Unwana dey do for front of im pikin oh! Aiye ma baje! Ko ni da fun e! Olori buruku! Oloshi!’ Iniabasi ran to Iya Kemi and used all her strength to try to pull her off her father. Iya Kemi wouldn’t budge. She kept hitting her father as he tried to protect himself. Neighbors from other compounds came in and men started beating Unwana. They stripped him and continued to beat him. Someone shouted, ‘Bring tire’ and out of nowhere, a tire materialized. They had just put the tire around him when sirens of an approaching police vehicle and shots fired into the air sent the crowd running. Unwana was rushed to the hospital and someone sent for her mother. When her mother came home and asked what happened, Iniabasi trembled in response. She told her mother everything and watched her expression change from worry to extreme anger. Her mother went to the door, locked it and faced her. ‘Come here. And make devil punish you today say you shout.’ Iniabasi went to her mother for what she knew was a certainty; she was about to get the beating of her life! *** That was the beginning of her daily beatings. For the slightest misdemeanor, her mother would look at her and beat her black and blue! Sometimes the neighbors helped and other times, they didn’t. Iniabasi’s body was
Here Comes The Bride!
Marriage Ameera was shaking. The lavish wedding ceremony was over. She was finally married to Alhaji Aminu Dahiru, a longtime friend and business partner of her father. She was brought to her husband’s house by her mother and her friends. They met a number of the groom’s relatives who told everyone but her mum to leave. These relatives were there to collect the sheets after the first sexual communion. They wanted to be sure Alhaji married a ‘good girl’. Though Ameera’s parents had furnished the house to her specifications, the purple and gold royal interior decor didn’t calm her raging nerves. Her mother took her to the bedroom, watched as her small figure changed from the wedding attire, showered and donned her very sexy night slip. She pretended the air conditioner was what was giving her the chills, but her mum was not fooled. Her anxiety was clear to anyone looking. Her mum rubbed her back, reassuring her in her own little way. The door creaked open as her husband entered. Her mother eased out of the room, quietly keeping her eyes on the floor so she didn’t have to see the look of absolute smug satisfaction on Alhaji Aminu’s face. As the door closed, and Alhaji Aminu drew close to Ameera, the bulge in his trousers was very obvious. He slowly took off his clothes, a feral smile on his face as he watched his wife. When he was finally naked, Ameera’s gaze widened at the sheer size of her husband. He was huge! Her fear seemed to be turning him on more and his smile got even more feral. She didn’t know if it was her fear that seemed to make him bigger or if he really was getting bigger. All she knew was that, she felt like she could faint just by looking at it. He walked to her and pushed her on the bed. Alhaji Aminu was no seasoned lover, and he sure wasn’t going to learn how to be with his fourth wife. With no further ado, he pushed her legs open and thrust in…or at least, tried to. Her vaginal opening was so tiny that he almost couldn’t penetrate. Like all men who felt that their pleasure was paramount, Alhaji Aminu forced his way in. Ameera screamed. She had not felt this much pain in her entire life. Her vagina seemed to have been torn all the way through and it felt like a thousand razors were tearing her still. Her vagina was on fire and she just couldn’t handle it anymore. She screamed again. Alhaji Aminu slapped her, shocked that she responded to his fervent lovemaking by screaming. ‘Had her mother not prepared her?‘ he wondered. Well, if she was not prepped, he was not going to be her teacher. He slapped her again and this time she got quiet…really quiet. Alhaji Aminu was not bothered that she was unusually still. His pleasure heightened as he increased the pace of his thrusts. He was soon in cloud nine and ejaculating his masculine essence into his new bride. After his grunts had subsided and his breathing normalized, he eased out of her and readied himself for sleep. He only took one minute to pull out the sheets from under Ameera and toss it out the door to his waiting audience before he came back and fell into a very satisfied sleep. It didn’t bother him that Ameera’s head was lying at an awkward angle and her little face was already bruising. He got a new wife and that was all that mattered. He went to sleep with the satisfaction that his new wife would ensure his business investments with Alhaji Musa Kaltungo – her father – was solidified and expanded further. Ameera woke up when her mother shook her vigorously. The sun was streaming into the bedroom. It was morning already. ‘Wake up foolish girl! Do you want your husband to think we did not train you well? Get up now, get cleaned up and prepare his bath water. When you are done, get his breakfast ready’. Ameera couldn’t think past the shrill tone of her mother. She was still disoriented. She didn’t recall what had happened. She tried to get up and saw that her legs were spread. ‘Why was her legs open for all to see?‘ she thought. Mortified that her mum had seen her ‘private part’, she quickly tried to close them. As she tried, she regained all consciousness when a very sharp pain traveled up the walls of her vagina, prompting fresh drip of blood to flow. Then she remembered! She couldn’t close her legs. She just couldn’t! Her mother finally realized that her daughter was in pain when she saw the blood dripping and the tears on her face. ‘Don’t worry my daughter, it will get better’ was all she kept saying. Alhaji Aminu entered the room and bellowed at his wife. ‘Are you still in bed? Are you crazy? Who will prepare my bath water and breakfast? Who will take care of the house? Get up you lazy girl! Nonsense!’ He turned to her mother. ‘Hajiya, what kind of a bride did you give me? Still asleep at 7 am?! Is this the type of nonsense I should expect in my house? Better do something about it because I can assure you that even though Alhaji is my friend, I will not hesitate to take my koboko to her naked skin! So, get her in order!’ He said as he marched out of the room. Ameera’s mother helped Ameera up, struggling to get her to stand up straight. Ameera wobbled into the bathroom, wincing at each step taken and taking care to keep her legs apart as she walked. Her mother left her to herself when she got into the bathroom. She knew peeing would increase her pain, but she had to obey her bodily functions. As the pee slowly descended, she wanted to cry out again, but she stilled herself by biting her lips. The taste
