A Touch Of Madness by Adetokunbo Abiola

Justin wiped his face with the back of his hand and stared through the doorway. Night had fallen over Benin City, and sprinkles of stars hung in the sky.

“Has Mr. Aghahowa come?”

“Tomorrow,” Wilson said impatiently. “I want to lock up.”

Justin lifted himself to his feet and staggered out of the office to the corridor. He climbed down the stairs to the ground floor and headed for the main road. Staring at the pavement of the block as he passed, he saw many pensioners sleeping on the ground in the dim light. When he got to the side of the road, he found that there were no taxis to convey him home. As he mused about this, he heard the sound of a car behind him and through the light on its headlamps he saw Wilson behind the steering. The car swept past him and swerved into the main road. As Justin watched the car speed away, he felt a surge of bitterness run through him, and he spat in the direction of the car and sat on a cement block by the side of the road. He spent about ten minutes ruminating about his situation. If what it took the pensioners to submit their documents was sleeping on the streets, he thought, why should he act differently? He turned this around in his mind for a long moment then shook his head as he came to a decision. He got to his feet and brought out a mobile phone from his pocket. Dialing Agnes’ number, he told her that he would not be coming home for the night and that she should not expect him. He then moved towards the pavement of one of the blocks of building house the Pension Board, resolving that he would find somewhere to lay his head until the next day.

He got to the spot where the other pensioners slept: many lay on torn cartons spread on the ground as bed, while others lay on blankets spread on the sand; a few sat on the floor and leaned their backs against the walls of the buildings, others lay on top of the grasses on the lawns of the premises. Justin saw some fires already lit and smelled the scent of the rice being cooked. He decided to sit on the ground and lean against a wall of the blocks. He found a space, sat down, leaned his bulk against the wall, and slept. He hadn’t slept for more than twenty minutes when the sound of commotion among the pensioners jolted him up.

“Policemen!” someone shouted, and Justin stood up.

“What do they want again?” someone mumbled.

“They came to chase us from here.”

“Won’t these people leave us alone?”

Someone barked a command, and a flood of torch lights lit up the place. Many pensioners scrambled to their feet and started to run in the darkness. Not knowing where they were headed, Justin stood up and ran after those in front of him. Someone howled from the pain from a fall, and the sound of gun shot rend through the air. Cries of panic and anguish rose from the old men. Justin ran for what seemed a long moment, stopping when the others did. Justin joined them in looking at the compound of the Pension Board.

“They’re taking some pensioners away,” someone said.

“Where to?”

“To the cell, then to the court tomorrow. They’ll be charged for wandering.”

“I’m not leaving here until I get my pension.”

“Me, too. And I’m sleeping here.”

It was then that Justin realized that he was under the bridge that cut across Sakponba Road. Tired and beat up, he sat on the ground with the others and placed his palms on the sand. Looking at his side, he saw pensioners sleeping in abandoned vehicles, others sitting and discussing on makeshift beds made of sack. He felt anger shoot through him over the spectacle which revealed itself around him. As he sat, he felt a swift breeze blow through the night and shivered from the cold, and he clenched his hands and his teeth. After the breeze subsided, he prayed for sleep to come, but his eyes remained wide open. As he lay his back on the ground, he felt the whine of mosquitoes around his head, and he beat at the insects with his hands, but many of them still bit at his arms, his legs, and his face. While he struggled with the mosquitoes, he felt the stink of human waste deposited under the bridge assail his nose, and he tried to cover his nostrils as well as to keep off a resurgent breeze. As he struggled, he heard the sound of two pensioners quarrelling and saw them almost falling to blows. Overhead, the lightning flashed in the sky, followed by the rumble of thunder. After a long moment, he fell into a fitful sleep.

The honks of motor cycle and car horns woke him up the next morning. As he stared ahead of him in the darkness, he was angry that he had wasted an entire day looking for Mr. Aghahowa and had not seen him, and that he had not submitted his documents and that for the first time in his life he had slept under a bridge. He felt very bitter that he had come this far without achieving anything, and he swore that he would never leave the premises of the Pension Board without submitting his credentials or seeing Mr. Aghahowa. When Thomas and Agnes came to meet him at about eight o’clock, he told them about his decision.

A hour later, the Governor, in a convoy of twenty vehicles, drove into the compound of the Pensions Board.

“Just what we’ve been waiting for!” shouted a pensioner, a man wearing a torn yellow shirt. “He must hear about these useless pension officials.” He got to his feet and joined the throng of others dashing towards the convoy, shouting on top of his voice. Seeing him and others running towards the secretariat, Justin knew what must be done. He got to his feet and ran after them, Agnes and Thomas following him. When they got to the convoy of cars, they saw the Governor questioning some pension officials. One of the officials said the fault of the rowdiness of the registration didn’t come from the Board, but that there was shortage of logistic materials. The Governor shouted at him and said he would be queried. Agnes was ecstatic, saying to Justin: “God has answered your prayers. You’ll submit your documents now.” She said this for such a long time that Justin snapped at her, “Quiet woman.”

The Governor’s orderlies started to drag a pension official towards the parked cars as the pensioners began to form a line. At first, Justin thought it was Wilson being dragged about, but it wasn’t him. It was the young official in tie and white shirt. Justin saw an orderly slap him across the face and then order him to frog-jump. The pensioners who stood by hooted at the young man in tie and clapped their hands with joy. As the queue moved past the yelling man, Justin nodded his head and allowed a smirk to cross his lips. Just as the Governor’s convoy drove away and Justin got to the desk where he was to submit his documents, the official on duty, a man he had passed on the steps while going to Mr. Aghahowa’s office the day before, got to his feet, and Justin sensed that that there was a problem. He put his documents on the table, but the official shook his head. He was not on duty, he told Justin. He was only drafted to work because the Governor was around. Agnes shouted at him: “But this is scandalous!”

The official shrugged. “Its not scandalous. Protocol must be obeyed.”

Remembering that this was no place to play the gentleman, Justin pounded his hand on the desk. “Why now?” he shouted. “Is it because the Governor is not around?”

Agnes went round the table and planted herself in the path the official was about to take blocking the way.

“You’re not going anywhere” she said.

“Get out of the way!” the official shouted.

“Get out of which way?” Agnes said. “Are you hoping to be bribed? Are you hoping to be bribed?”

“So you want me to continue to sleep under the bridge?” Justin asked the official.

The official had controlled his temper. He was pushing his way through. He kept saying: “My superior will explain the situation to you.” And he then left.

Justin felt apprehension grip him. The exit of the official could mean a replay of the chaos of the previous day. While he was ruminating about his next line of action another pension official appeared by the desk.. He was holding numerous files in his hand.

“Your colleague said he is not on duty,” Justin told him.

“That’s the truth.”

“So what do we do now?” Justin asked.

“I think you should wait somewhere,” the man said. “The man on duty will soon be around. Come to queue when he comes.” He spoke with a nonchalance that annoyed Justin.

“But that’s foolish on my part. It means I’ll have to start all over again. This is not fair at all.”

“Protocol is protocol. Protocol must be obeyed.”

“Your protocol is rubbish!” Justin said with anger.

“You’ll attend to my husband now!” Agnes shouted. “You’ll attend to my husband now!” She and Thomas went to stand by the official.

Justin watched them, the smell of dirt and unwashed bodies assaulting his nose. Everyone was speaking at once. As the impasse continued, he remembered from the depth of his brain what Johnson Ossai, the grey haired pensioner, had told him in the bus the day before. He had said it would be hard for Justin to submit his documents unless he had a touch of madness.

“No!” Justin yelled.

Moving around the desk, he grabbed at the files in the hand of the official, shouting. The official tried to push him away with his shoulder, but Justin clutched at the files, and they started struggling over it. The official kicked at him, missed, fell over the desk, and upturned it as he and the table crashed on the ground. Pandemonium broke out. A man in brown coat and trousers arrived on the scene, followed by Janet.

“What’s happening here?” the man in brown coat yelled.

“Mr. Aghahowa!” Agnes shouted. She ran to meet him and started to narrate the cause of the fight. His face livid, Mr. Aghahowa turned to the official.

“Haven’t I told you many times to treat pensioners with decency?!” he shouted. “Now, start work immediately! If I come here and hear complaints, I’ll issue you a query.” Turning, he marched away, followed by Janet.

The official held out a hand and Justin placed his documents in it. The official closed his fingers over them and walked away. Ten minutes later, he returned and informed Justin that his documents were being treated and told him the date for the next appointment. Leaving him, Agnes, Thomas, and Justin pushed through the rank of pensioners and headed for the bus stop. The only time Agnes opened her mouth to speak was to remind Justin about the contract he was pursuing at the MTN office. Justin did not hear her mention anything about a divorce.


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