By Sunmola Olowookere
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The whole room was silent after the statement made by Eniola. The men could not look at each other’s face. The shame was palpable. The silence was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.
Then the chairman croaked in a voice thickened with unshed tears ” you are lying! Do you really meant what you just said?”.
Eniola now realizing the error of his outburst became sober and he could not answer. The slap given him by the police man seemed to have served in calming him down somewhat.
He seemed to realize the enormity of his claims by then. His reaction was like that of a drunk that was brought to his senses when he was drenched with water.
The man was looking at him with apprehension as he waited for him to say that he was lying or that he made a mistake in mentioning the name of his wife.
When the silence dragged on uncomfortably, violence erupted as the landlord in question grabbed the lapel of Eniola’s shirt and shook him roughly.
“What do you mean? You and my wife? Its not possible, tell me that you are lying?”
He was beside himself with fury. It took the intervention of the other landlords present and the police men on duty to get him off his victim as he had him against the wall in a tight grip which made Eniola’s eyes to bulge.
As he let him go, he was panting from the exertion. Even Eniola could not stand straight. He had been sapped of the remaining vitality in him and he fell on his knees.
The police men calmed them and advised “As you have all said, this man is a drunk and you should not take his words seriously. For all we know, he may not be in his right senses when he was making those claims. Also he might be bragging about what might have not happened. Now does anybody have anything to say regarding this matter?”
Silence greeted his answer as the men looked away from each other.
When the police man observed their reluctance to speak, he warned “if anyone have any grouse, let him speak now or else keep mute on this matter after here. We must not hear of any trouble making after this meeting here.”
Then he turned to Eniola after the other men have left “And you, what is wrong with you? Do you want to die? If you don’t have a death wish, its better you don’t move after dark in order to avoid assassination. Be careful with these women, leave their wives alone if you don’t want to die an untimely death. Do you hear me?. If you walk in the dark, you might be hit and killed”. He warned direly and pulled his ears for good measure.
With the sudden death that came calling on Eniola, people are now wondering where the death came from. Was he just sick? Who killed Eniola?