"When a lion eats a bad person and it is not killed, tomorrow it will eat a good person" - Zambia It happened eight years ago.
To be precise on Friday, the 17th day of November, 2006.
After a stressful week, Bode earnestly looked forward to his TGIF (Thank God It's Friday) night out.
To start off, he left home at 6pm to relax at the popular OJCool joint on 21 Road at Festac Town, Lagos.
He sat at his favourite spot, a sitting area outside the restaurant.
The service girl promptly voiced out, "Oga Bode, as usual?" With a purposeful smile, he made an order for his favourite goat meat pepper soup (isi ewu) and a cold beer.
Just as he was being served, it started drizzling and heavy rain was soon to follow.
Bode started eating in haste because the sudden change in the weather made him uncomfortable.
The wind blew fiercely and scattered particles of dust fell into his eyes that he couldn't open them.
Without thinking, he used his hands to quickly wipe his eyes.
He felt some relief but it was short lived because as he tried to open his eyes, he started feeling a serious burning sensation.
Little did he realize that he just engaged the same hands that were earlier immersed in the delicious pepper soup to rub his eyes.
He literally set his eyes on hot pepper soup fire.
The more he tried to open them, the more pain he felt.
Bode could not see clearly as dust and pepper blurred his vision.
He got anxious and started feeling nervous.
People began to run helter skelter as the rainstorm grew.
Even OjCool restaurant was not spared as business was disrupted.
His nervousness soon gave way to fear.
At this time, people around had scampered in for safety.
He needed some urgent attention and started screaming for help.
Suddenly, much to his surprise, he felt four arms on him; two men had appeared and were leading him out.
He felt so relieved that help had come to him.
"Thank you!" he said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"I just need some water to wash the dust off my eyes.
" The men didn't say a word, they simply tried to lead him out.
Bode was led out of the spot where he was sitting and into a dark room.
His confusion began when he sensed that he had been led into a strange room but before he could make sense of his surroundings, an unfamiliar smell wafted through his nostrils.
At first he thought it was from the beer he had.
He sneezed three times and fell into a deep sleep.
Few hours later, Bode woke up.
The dust and the burning sensation from the pepper soup seemed to have vanished from his eyes.
As he adjusted his vision to his environment, he also tried to remember how he got to where he was.
He looked around and fear gripped his heart.
This was strange, he was in a place in the middle of nowhere.
All he could see were shrubs and weeds surrounding where he lay.
He tried moving his hands and realized that his hands were tied to the tree he was leaning on.
It dawned on him that he had just been kidnapped.
Bode broke down in tears.
"Somebody help! Anybody, help!" He screamed out loud but heard nothing.
"Is this how I am going to die?" He cried aloud to himself.
He had heard stories of people who had gone missing or were kidnapped but he never thought that it could happen to him.
He blamed himself for deciding to visit that good for nothing restaurant.
This Thank God It's Friday Night was definitely going to be his last.
Oh! Was it the goat used to make the pepper soup that brought him this ill luck? He lamented to himself.
"I should have stayed back at home", he said to himself in regret.
Even his wife's nagging was nothing comparable to this dilemma.
As his heartbeat raced against time, he began to reminisce on his life.
He thought about his lovely daughter, Feyikemi and fresh tears flowed down his face.
How would she feel when she grows up and learns that her father would never be there for her? The news would definitely crush her spirit.
He would never be there to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day.
The more he reflected on this, the more broken, empty, helpless and hopeless he felt.
What about those unfinished projects, his plans, and so many things he wanted to put in place.
It is such a pity that he wouldn't be able to do them anymore.
He thought about his wife, how she would cope on the news of his death.
She would certainly be devastated.
What about his mother? The news of his demise might send her to an early grave.
He prayed to God from his heart to save him.
He was truly humbled.
He prayed and groaned in his dialect.
He screamed out repeatedly with little or no decorum - "God of Elijah, Esau, Jacob, Jabez and Abraham save me, save me, save me.
" Surely, he would need a miracle to get him out of here.
Not long after, he started hearing voices of people at a distance.
"Alas! Help is near!" He spoke softly to himself.
He tried to make sense of what they were saying.
At first, he couldn't decipher the words but as they came closer he heard very clearly.
"Are you sure that this man's body parts would be better than the last one we delivered?" asked the first man.
"Why not?" the second man replied laughing out loud.
"Have we ever delivered body parts that were rejected?" "Alright then, there's no need to waste anymore time, let's get down to business.
" The first man replied.
Hearing those words, Bode lost his manliness.
Gripped with fear, he shivered so much, that urine flowed from his body uncontrollably.
He knew that his fate was sealed.
This is the end.
The worst was his family would never find his body in order to give him a befitting burial.
He groaned in serious pain at his misfortune.
The men appeared and Bode tried to plead but they didn't say a word to him.
The first man tied his legs together with a thick rope and started touching his neck probably looking for the right spot to pierce into while the second man kept sharpening the already sharpened knife against a stone as if they were going to slaughter a goat.
At the instance of their action, Bode had developed a big lump in his throat.
He began to say his last prayers, but he didn't seem to remember any words of prayer.
The only one that came to his mind were;...
"two corners of my bed, two angels there are spread and if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take"...
As the first man raised the knife at a precise angle to yank off his neck, Bode woke up from his sleep drenched in sweat.
THE END.
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