When Mr Alagbaye told Idris that he was not going to survive one more week if he does not pay back his debt of a hundred thousand naira by sunset, the young man thought it to be an empty threat. One can't possibly blame him either especially if they knew who Mr Alagbaye was. A poor driver who made his living off transporting people to the dilapidated slums of Lagos was in no capacity to issue threats - or so Idris thought.

The next day was a Wednesday and as Idris rose from his bed - one that had been consecutively “eaten” by rats and roommates who needed to tidy their shoes - the first thought that slammed into his head was Mr Alagbaye's threat. However, he waved it aside after convincing himself that there was no need to panic.

Afterall, the reason he had borrowed the money from the poor driver was because he had no plans of paying back. Most of the streets boys at Oshodi got free transportation from Mr Alagbaye for simply running little errands for him and it was from one of them Idris had gotten the idea of taking a loan from the man.

“ Wan hundred taaaazon? ” Mr Alagbaye had bellowed the day Idris came to ask for the loan. It was an outrageous amount for a man of his calibre but since Idris told him it was for his wife's surgery - Mr Alagbaye's daughter, the man had to break his “kolo”.

However, that was many weeks before the man figured out that his daughter was never ill and that the twat who had impregnated his daughter had squandered the money trying to get another street urchin into his perforated, bug-infested bed. Now, he wanted his money back and Idris would not give it back.

Idris, however, knew that whether or not Mr Alagbaye could do him any harm, he had be ready for whatever the old, frail man might throw at him. So when Sunny, the leader of a small cult group that terrorised the inhabitants of the slum showed up, he didn't hesitate to relay his evil request.

“ I wan make you kpai Mr Alagbaye ”, he told Sunny while staring ahead into the traffic that struggled to move.

#Fiction