My Provocative Landlady | #SackYourLandlord

One of the greatest achievements on earth is to be a landlord, one of the reasons why our fathers in those days preferred building houses above every other thing. The many bitter experiences these days also warrant or should motivate every young person to aspire ‎in building even if it’s only a house.

‎MY EXPERIENCE:

I reside in Lagos, Nigeria, ‎and I stay in a three bedroom flat, my landlord stays in the front bungalow while I stay at the back. Ordinarily, the way the house was constructed, I can stay in my apartment for weeks without my landlord knowing, except if I go out.

The landlady came this very day, just because I collected the NEPA bill when she wasn’t around and i clipped it to their door; she then came knocking my aluminum door with her shoe heels. Actually, this was not her first time of doing this, but because I have been consuming and condoning it all, she felt she would do it as usual and go free, thank God my husband was around,  he came outside and a quarrel ensued between them which nearly led to a physical combat. My husband began to reel out all the wrongs she has been doing, and which we have been condoning.

There was a time, just because the control to open the whole water tap in the compound is in their apartment, she locked the control and they all traveled for a week. Leaving us with the pain of going outside to over five kilometers area to fetch water.‎

Also on a particular day, I was still pregnant then. I took my two children just outside the gate to purchase an item; and while coming outside the gate, we met and I greeted her. I went outside the gate, i just jammed it, and I didn’t put the padlock because I was not going far. To my greatest surprise, she locked the gate from inside before we came. We began to knock for several hours, without answer; meanwhile the landlady’s apartment is just by the gate. Thank God my husband was at home sleeping that day, I would have stayed outside in the sun with my pregnancy and my two young children.

There was also a time she was peeping into my sitting room through the Window, not knowing I was seeing her, up till today, I don’t know her motive for doing that.

I can go on and on writing about my experience with this my landlady, ‎but one thing I never allowed or will not allow is for my husband to have physical combat with them (landlord & landlady) despite their provocative reactions; Why is because, i know one day we shall also be landlord and landlady.

AUTHOR: Victoria Akinyemi