a picture showing moyo okediji poised for the camera

My mumu is too much.

ByMoyo Okediji

My mumu is too much.

Hear my story o.

They just fixed the electricity at my place in Nigeria.

To get it fixed, I bought four poles, and hundreds of yards of cable.

I contributed hundreds of thousands of naira to get the transformer.

I bought the meter.

And paid to have the entire thing installed.

But I understand that none of these things that I bought belongs to me.

They all belong to the government.

If I default in payment, the government will come and remove the wires that I bought with my money. And I have to pay to have MY wire returned to me, should I want power back.

The government sends bills not according to the power that I have consumed, but according the whims and caprices of the government.

The transformer? Mine. I bought it.

The wires? Mine? I bought them.

The meter? Mine. I bought it.

The poles? Mine. I bought them.

But are these items bought with my money mine?

No o. They belong to the government.

What a mumu I am.

What a total mumu I have become.

My mumu don pass mumu sef.

Man done become Mumuni.

Interested in some of my published works?
Check My Works On Amazon

Follow Me

Similar Posts

a post showing Moyo OKediji art piece

TEETHING TROUBLES

ByMoyo Okediji

“Come here and swear, you this adult, that you never were a troubled youth,” Iya Oyo said, when I told her the story of my friend, Gift Krani-Rijal. Her comment is a Yoruba proverb that says, “Àgbà wá búra péwe ò ṣe ọ́ rí.”

Being young is probably the most dangerous thing anybody could experience.

a picture showing moyo okediji poised for the camera

ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1981, (Part Three)

ByMoyo Okediji

They took Obaseki to a native doctor in Benin, straight from the police cell.

I ran into him about six months later when he was released.

His condition had deteriorated remarkably. He looked gaunt and shrunk. He must have lost about fifty pounds, (and he weighed not less than 175lbs and stood at 6’ tall when he assaulted Steve). His face had dark blotches and rashes all over it, and he moved with a stoop that made him look much shorter, as he gingerly carried his tray of food from the counter to a table.

I knew that he saw me as I entered the Ekewan campus cafeteria. But he quickly averted his face, pretending that he didn’t notice me. I went to the food counter to place my order. I decided I would surprise him by joining him at his table once I got my food.

a picture showing moyo okediji sitting in fornt of his artwork with his hand placed in his chin

SONG OF THE BANDIT 1: The Stupid Man

ByMoyo Okediji

“Ina jin yunwa, Sule,” said the short, stocky man holding the cellphone.

“You are always hungry,” hissed the tall one. “Yaro will soon be back. Then you can eat yourself silly. I only need a cigarette. Really, really. bad. If I don’t have a smoke soon, walahi, I will kill this stupid man. He makes me jittery with his stupid coughing. If he coughs one more time, walahi, I will blow off his head.”

With his heavy boots, he delivered a severe kick to the fellow sitting on the ground. The blow caught the man in the ribs.

The three of them were directly under the shade of a large mango tree, its huge branches drooping from the weight of fruits hanging all the way from the top to the lowest branches.

ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1981 (Part Eleven)

ByMoyo Okediji

It’s much better now, but in those days, when I felt embarrassed, my nose would break out in beads of sweat. My nose was clammy, and I knew that my entire face would soon be covered in sweat.

Rufus laughed, saying, “You didn’t bring your handkerchief Moyo.” I didn’t know whether he was mocking me or being sympathetic. I shook my head.

Leave a Reply