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Uju was lucky to have escaped Jamiu’s onslaught, it was a close shave with death. However, Jamiu who was the brain behind the unfolding drama at 5, Otolorin street Lawanson was not so lucky. Asides destroying the fence adjoining the building, his leg was badly bruised.
“Oga Landlord, we must hold a meeting this weekend oh! We are living in utter fear. We now have two entrances to our compound. The one which is suppose to be the main and legal one is being locked up by LAWMA, and the other which was carved out by one of the new tenants you admitted into your property has become a free pass way. In fact this particular tenant is the most problematic one out of the lot that your unscrupulous agent admitted into our compound. They’ve turned this place into a mecca of some sort. I wonder why you let Oga Martins go sef. Oga Landlord, you really need to come address these issues as a matter of urgency. We can’t continue living like this.”
“Don’t worry, I’m in the country now. Things will return to normalcy ASAP”
“It had better oh! You know there are kids in this compound”
“Like I said, I will address the matter. Just let them know I will be having a crucial meeting with all the tenants on saturday by 9 a.m”
“Oh beautiful! I will notify them. Thank you Mr. Okafor for your understanding”
“You are welcome sir. Do have a beautiful day”
“You too.”
Mr Okafor ended the call immediately with a sigh of relief. That was the third time Mr. Udoh, Madam Ekaette’s husband was calling him that day, and the umpteenth time he was making a complaint about the same issues. Mr. Okafor had also received calls from Runo and Sylvanus . He was stunned to say the least about the way things had deteriorated in the compound.
There was still a waging war between himself and Runo who was yet to be paid damages for her condemned Toyota Matrix 2009 car. Martins had suggested to Runo without due consultation with Mr.Okafor that he would ensure the he pays for the damages . Martins and Mr. Okafor had a spat over the matter just before the former threw in the towel as a result of Jamiu’s entry into the compound. Martins was sure the man had some skeletons in his closet and was going to be bad news to the other tenants.
He had warned Mr. Okafor about it but the middle aged man had paid deaf ears to his admonitions. He was more interested in the extra cash he was going to get from Jamiu who had become a cash cow due to his desperation to get a worthy apartment where his past won’t come looking for him, than he was for the welfare of co-tenants.
The situation at Mr. Okafor’s residential rental property was becoming too much for him to handle, even the agent who doubled as caretaker had gone AWOL due to the demands of his work. Mr. Okafor who had just returned to the country from his base in America decided it was time to convince Martins to re-assume his role as caretaker. He couldn’t agree more that until recently, the young man had been doing a yeoman’s job while he was away from the country.
He picked his phone to call him…
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Martins was working on some files on his desk when Mr. Okafor’s call came in. He was taken aback by the caller ID that appeared on the screen of his galaxy S5 phone. “Mr Okafor is in the country?” He had not heard from the man since he walked away from his job. He picked his phone where it laid on his desk to answer the call
“Good day Sir!”
“Good day Martins. How are you doing?”
“Very fine sir. You are in Nigeria?”
“Yes oh! Came in three days ago”
“Wow! Welcome sir”
“Thank you Martins. Where are you?”
“I’m at work.”
“Same place?”
“Yes sir. Realty Point Limited”
“Okay I would like to see you. I want us to have a tete a tete”
“Now?”
“Possibly. When is your break?”
“12:30”
Mr. Okafor took a quick glance at his Daniel Wellington wrist watch “That’s like 15 minutes away. Anyway, I’m at Jevinik at GRA, you mind if I buy you lunch?
“Well…it’s not a bad idea.”
“So would you be here in fifteen…?”
“Let’s say twenty sir”
“Okay, I will be waiting for you then”
“Alright sir.”
Martins drifted into deep thoughts the moment his conversation with Mr.Okafor ended. He wondered what it was Mr. Okafor wanted to discuss about though deep down he knew it wouldn’t be unrelated to his residential rental property at 5, Otolorin street, Lawanson. Without being told, he was certain Jamiu was giving them a hell of a time already.
Martins had left the office moments after speaking with Mr. Okafor on phone. Driving down to Jevinik was not much of a ‘biggie’ due to its proximity to his office. As he drove into the parking lot following directions from a security man on duty, he noticed a familiar figure from the rear mirror of his car.
“Why does this person look so much like Deji or is it my mirror?” He quickly alighted from his car to be certain he did see well but the man had left the premises before Martins could get a full glimpse of him. He then darted out of the parking lot to the entrance of the exquisite restaurant. By this time, the dude had mounted on a bike and Martins could only see the back of his head as the bike sped off. That was not enough for him to draw conclusions but he still thought about the possibilities anyways.
Had his ex-roommate and best friend returned from Hades without his knowledge? Martins hoped his assumptions will be needing no validation as he turned around and walked into Jevinik to honour his appointment.