motorcycles danced along the flanks of the vehicles, their engines roaring and hooting like hunting hounds off the leash. Riders waved green notes in the air, some dangling small speakers from their
the sun, whispering in tigh
ed in celebration. It wasn't just the polished vehicles or the money he spread in the weeks before. It was the weight of the man himself: Billionaire. Oil magnate. Silent partner in comp
longer o
he had quietly, under the shadow of grief. He buried her, exchanged barely mo
he came w
ime, he ca
ned with leopard teeth. His white lace flowed over his knees like water, coral beads stacked tightly around
," the Igwe said loudly
d, bowing with theatrical grace. But his v
pectfully. Elders shifted in their seats. Some nod
c thundered into the night. Laughter rose like smoke. That night, some slept full of rice
ng in small, gold trimmed envelopes. And throughout the village, dozens of youths many of whom had never earned more tha
ent came on t
the village square, dressed in white kafta
st," he declared. "I came to give this
Some elders sat straighter. O
d. "I have spoken to the elders. And I have secure
ed deli
l no longer be
ible. Almo
as Umuchukwu the children of Go
ce. Then shouti
a name by force!
his eyes. "Who gave you the right?" he demanded. "You are not of th
as the
was dragged through the streets, his ribs broken. They
s a m
ehi became a villa
ken threats, roamed the village like guards of a new ki
were s
were b
ed on houses in the nig
ssed each other notes. They held meetings in hidden rooms. But th
ed silent. He had taken the money. Everyone knew it. And though he
wasn't just the vio
ar that grew
eparable, now ate
me. He now answered "Obinna Umuchukwu" in meetings. He wore clothes stitched in Dubai, rode a motorcyc
e said, "Our name was written in the dust of o
ld prepare meals in silence, l
lown fight, their shirts torn, their fists swinging. The cause? Obinna had r
Chisom packed his
ot return
riages suffered. A woman named Nkiru filed for separation because her husband, once loyal to Nkerehi, had se
ust politic
s spi
s per
white, had come from across the river. They had warned of a great division that would arise not from outsiders but from withi
hem. Called them luna
emembered those
was to
dful of brave elders gathered behind
a fight over a nam
for our soul,
e are
ays p
amilie
re chas
omes becoming tombs of unspoken pain. But ami
ould rema
l woul
would
war was jus