Saving A Life

Me and my long stories sef!!


You know those movies with a story line that has a person, usually female, in some kind of trouble, and then someone, usually a male, unexpectedly comes to the scene and saves that female in danger? I remember them. Infact I can even list some right now….maybe later. I better get back to this post before I diverge. I’m used to doing that a lot. I could be saying something one minute, and the next I’m saying something else. Like once, I was telling my friend about how I asked….Shit, I’M DOING IT AGAIN. Can we get back to saving a life please!!?


Eeeh, I know ya’ll are wondering, how the hell did my big head save someone. Well it did happen, and I’m gonna tell all about it.


Some weeks ago after church on Sunday, I was getting into my car to go home when someone called me a couple of times from afar. I didn’t know who he was. He had to come up to me and explain himself a bit before I recollected. He was from my confirmation class from way back. I tried to show some excitedness in seeing him again, cos he was beaming from ear to ear. We spoke briefly but with lots of enthuse since it had been a while. I later explained to him I was rushing off somewhere (na lie o!) and had to leave. He asked for my address, that he would like to come visit sometime. I hesitated at first, cos I noticed he was acting kinda funny: Always jerking like he was on something, laughing too hard when there wasn’t nothing funny, those kinds of reactions that keep you on the alert. So yeah, I hesitated about giving up my ad. But I thought to myself, why not, notin dey happen(na so tuface talk, mean while robbers don attack the poor boy twice!). So I gave it up. He said he would come around later in the week. No problem, right? Wrong.


And so I entered the week, going about my daily chores like any patriotic family member would. I guess I had forgotten I met Buchi at church the past Sunday cos I wasn’t really ready to see him when he called on Wednesday saying he was free now and was wondering if I was home. That’s me o. I have to prepare beforehand to host someone, even if its just a social call. And in preparing, I mean my state of mind and basically keep my system in the required mode. I assure everybody reading this, I’m ok o. Anyway, I wasn’t ready to see him but didn’t really want to put off the visit for another day cos something told me he won’t mind rescheduling 72 times over! So I said I was home that he could be on his way.


In about 45mins he got here, with that trademark smile of his. I couldn’t resist asking him why he was smiling so much, ceaselessly that is. He said he had “a very nice trip to my place”.


El: A very nice trip to my place??!!
Buchi: Yes my brother. A very nice trip.
El: But your house is just about 15mins away. Or are you coming from outside lagos or something?
Buchi: No o. Just that the journey was very comfortable. The bus I boarded had very comfortable seats. I really enjoyed the seats.I did.


Really enjoyed the seats, he said. I was beginning to have the feeling I was on candid camera or something, maybe to get my reaction to what he was saying. I took note of the distance between us. Something told me our discussion was not going to be about girls or football, or both.


From the fist 10mins of our talk, I gathered he schooled in Benin, studying Physics (I hate pure sciences) just got into his third year. Cool. We talked basically about school and every other adjoining gist. He now revisited stories from his school and how life could be so hard and frustrating there. I concurred, that things were the same in all Nigerian higher institutions. Then he went ahead to say that the case of frustration in his school was peculiar and was indeed unlike the way any other school was having it. I was about to respond when he dropped the bomb.


Buchi: I’ve not really told you the reason why I’m here today.
El: Reason??.....


I was right! This wasn’t just a social call. I waited patiently for the ‘reason’. But nothing on earth could prepare me for what he dropped in my lap.


Buchi: I’m really tired of the way thing are going for me.
El: Ummmm, what do you mean.
Buchi: I really don’t know. All I know is that I’m fed up of life in general. And I’m thinking of ending it.
El: As in, you want to pack up and retire to the village or something? (I laughed out loud. He kept a face more straight that a 30centimetre ruler. I stopped laughing.)


Buchi: I mean to stop living. I want to kill myself. I’ve thought it over and it’s the best line of action. I’m serious. I’ve thought over it. I just wanted to seek your opinion…….


Seek my opinion he says. He wants to seek my opinion to know if I share the idea of killing himself! He din’t want to seek my opinion about change of school, or about the shirt he was going to put on to an interview he was going to the next day. Naaah. He just wanted to seek my opinion about killing himself. I was waiting for that moment. The moment he would say “Just joking. You should have seen the look on your face, hahahaha”. But it never came. He just kept going on and on about it. Then something really scary happened. Really scary. I looked keenly at his face. Looked intently into his eyes. There was actually some amount of seriousness in what he was saying. What if he was actually serious about this killing business? I cut into his blabbing…


El: Buchi
Buchi: Yes?
El: Are you listening to yourself. You just said you’re planning on killing yourself. Take it back before something gets registered in the spiritual or something.


Omo, the guy no reply me o. He was just looking at me and nodding his head like an agama lizard. This young man had seeeeeeerious issues and God say make he come meet me. ME!!! Meeeeeen. I quickly did a overall summary in my head: Buchi had issues, lots of issues. He probably doesn’t have a lot of friends, He saw me at church on Sunday and decided to seek my opinion about killing himself. Okay. Fine. So…um…whut the fuck am I s’posed to do now??? I’m an engineer for God’s sake not a guidance and counseling consultant!! Lord, let this cup pass over me!!


After my short prayer session (I come dey bind and cast for mind, make the spirit wey dey the boy no enter me or rest for my house!), I took it from the top.


El: ….you’re serious?
Buchi: see eh….(he then lowers his voice for emphasis), I’m just sick and tired of what life is throwing at me, I can’t take all of it anymore, it just really….
El: wait wait, slow down. What exactly is happening. What’s worrying you. Problems at home?
Buchi: Home is fine.
El: your girlfriend? You guys having a bad time (I’ve seen guys go crazy from a breaking up wit their girlfriends).
Buchi: Girlfriend? I don’teven have one so that’s not a problem.
El: So what’s the problem…..


We both stay in silence for a something that seemed like a complete 4 to 5mins. I just let the silence linger. Finally he spoke up….


Buchi: Did you have problems at school?
El: School?
Buchi: As in don’t things bother you in school
El:….
Buchi: Sometimes I feel my head’s gonna explode. My courses are so rough and…..


This boy was really a nut case. Just school stuff was making him loose his mind? He then explained how ‘there is no future for this generation’ with the current state of things in the country, how ‘we all will go to hell if we don’t seek God’, and some other topics too mind boggling to commit to memory. He told me of how he usually takes time off in school and just sits somewhere he would ‘be alone and just think of what life was all about’!! This boy needed serious help. Meeeenn. He so came to the wrong person….or not.


I com start my own part of the talk.


El: First of all buchi, I think you think too damn much. How does Nigeria’s matter immediately concern you, how is it that…..


I can’t recall verbatim all what I said to him, but he took all my advice, taking it all in like a frightfully attentive student, nodding slowly and continuously with one of his palms supporting his chin….real shrink and patient stuff I tell you. At that point I began to think I was in the wrong profession!


He asked questions like.....


So you’re saying I shouldn’t kill myself?
You don’t think it’s a good idea?
Are will all going to hell fire?
I should leave tomorrow to take care of itself? (This one was asked after so many ways of explaining ‘tomorrow will take care of itself’. I wished I hadn’t introduced that!)


I hope ypu all get a picture of what I was dealing with.


Anyway at the end of our session, he agreed completely with me. He thanked me so much for ‘all what I had done for him’. Understandably so, I mean, I did stop him from taking his life! By now it was like past 8 in the evening. That was how he left.


I haven’t spoken to him since to know how he’s faring, but I guess he’s ok. At least I haven’t seen any ‘gone too soon’ poster anywhere….

By the way, ya'll should check out de-tente.blogspot.com. It has something on the female brain that i think um....even though could do with some modifications! :-), makes a lot of sense.