PRICE OF A NAME

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