"The Rise Of Empress Hatinu"

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“ THE RISE OF EMPRESS HATINU”

MY name is Hassan Mai Wurno. It's pronounced wuruno, I am 42 I am about 5’8, hair black curled as if jerry curl was applied, but I tell you truth, I never touch any oil on my head since my secondary school days. I am a fulani man from Sokoto State Nigeria, that is why my hair is like that. I weigh about 68kg. I has many profession, some changes with season, somethings, it doubles per season but I am permanent staff of local government as record indicated. I came from sokoto like i have mentioned. I passed through schools, primary to tertiary. I passed through university school proper where I studies agricultural science, but considering situation I found myself in now, I am not sure whether the school I passed through really passed through me. If it does and I still found myself in this predicament i am in due to my stupidity, I swear, when I balanced again Allah permitting, None of my children will wast money as school fee anywhere for It is of no use.

I worked in my local government secretariat as deputy bursar, I was happy with my work, the pay was good enough for my family of six. I was married to fatuah, happy with her. Very beautiful woman, educated and wise, managing my family affaires smartly till February this year when I started listening to those nonsense group known as colleagues in my work place. If not for those group called colleagues, I will still be a happy family man today.

This February, they started advising me to be a man, a real man as they put it. Meaning I should add to my wife another one as our culture demands for me to command respect due to my status as educated. It was true, my people don’t respect you if you marry only one wife, it means you are not man enough. So, I started given thought to advise I should have thrown into trash can. My best friend then kabiru was the most outspoken of all those so called colleagues that were pressurising me.

“why must you allow your colleagues to be talking down on you?, Why give people opportunity to rate you low?” kabiru began.

“Man, I don’t want to marry two wives, one is enough headach?”

“Enough headach?, you mean you’re not in control in your own house?”.

“Of course, I am”.

“am saying this because this persistent advise is turning to insult”.

“Why two?, how come our former presidents marry one and still command respects?”

“You said former presidents, they were military and had money, people follow money” .

“I work in local government, one day, I might be chairman and command money too”.

“I am saying all these as a friend, I know what is being said behind your back. Soon, they will prevent you from coming near them, some believed that you are odd man in their midst”

That was how I started searching seriously for second wife in order not to be odd man again. In fact, if you lay eye on my first wife, you will know without being told that I was a man of high taste. I like them beautiful, educated, tall, wise. I was looking for who will surpass my first wife in all those qualities. The ones I saw refused to be second wife, some urged me to divorce the first. I got confused, I was planning to increase, I am being advised to drive away first before new ones will coming. The one’s that were recommended by colleagues were cargos, old cargoes for that matter. Even my first wife with four kids were more fresh than most of them. I said capital 'NO' to all those ones.

Then in April, one colleagues recommended one by name Hatinu. She was 28 according her, she was about medium in height with a golden gold complexion(ever heard of that colour?) that can only be possible at 28 in sokoto weather through constant staying in air conditioned room. Her hair was black and smooth, to be honest with you, I was smoothed immediately I saw her. Her eye was blue like those Russian girls that walk the street of Guangzhou. Her voice was like melody that I got smoothed again and again. Her shape was exactly what was referred to in sokoto as ‘asaraba’.

I said to myself, it must be this one. To my surprise, I never knew I have to start spending money again in the name of wooing, I learnt that she had boy friend that was selling cows and other things, that were planning to marry her soon.

I started spending after finding out that although the boy friend is little bit wealthier than I, I am more educated and Hatinu being educated will choose me over the guy i thought.

This Aiba, that is her boy friend was around 35 or less, I am not sure, he looks like 38 to me, his physique was like that of Anthony Joshua. Height, just like me, hair Is black, whether he was herder before becoming a seller, I will not contest that, most are one and the same. I heard his education stopped at secondary level, how he made his money with that education level and maintain it, made me to start questioning the need for ivory education.

Another out of order thing I noticed about this Aiba guy was his hygiene. He usually look clean from outsides, I thought he was one of those people that use perfume to dampen the offensive odour oozing from them due to lack of bath and over all hygiene, I cunningly went near him on some occasions to confirm my suspicion, but in each, I was highly disappointed he was genuinely clean, I knew from that day that I had formidable opponent, so, I went Home to plan my moves. I came out totally committed, after all, I am up there and he down as far as education is concern i assured myself. This is Nigeria, education has it’s own invisible power just like money, if you add politics to it, you become semi god.

Hatinu herself seems to enjoy being the grass on which two elephants fight. She refused to tender any definite answer to me, my ego and arrogance will not allow me to think clearly, The situation I supposed to be controlling seems to be controlling me without my knowledge. From the last census in sokoto state, the population of females was said to be 2,234,280, and I could not find a woman to add to my wife from that number only Hatinu that was manipulating both of us then without our knowledge.

On August, I was in my office trying to balance expenditure that refused to add up, whether as result of me not concentrating or Hatinu, I don’t know. Two men I was seeing for the first time in my life knocked and entered without waiting to be invited in first even before they introduced themselves, I know who they were.

Cops, it was screaming all over them. I stopped what I was doing eyeing them, The taller one about 38, hair blacks with waves which points out his tribe out naturally, height about 180 cm, eye black and might be weighing about 78 kg from my observation introduced himself as sergeant Usman dikko and the other one I considered rightly to be his junior he introduced as corporal Isa.

My offer of drink was rejected as being against their regulation. The sergeant cut off my attempt at small talks and went straight to the business.

“Do you know one Mr. Aiba?” the sergeant asked.

“I know one business man that deals on livestock’s by that name” I answered.

“Yea, he is the one, is it true that you both are not in speaking terms because of a girl both of you are trying to marry?.

“Ah, officer, who is feeding you this rubbish?, I am not into enemity with anyone, Aiba and I might be interested in one woman which is normal, but we understand each other perfectly. What is the matter, is anything wrong with Aiba?”

“Yesterday, 50 percent of his cows was rustled in farm where he feeds them around 6:30 pm yesterday. Mr Hassan mai, where were you around that time?”

“I was in central kasuwa(market) buying clothes for my daughter”

“daughter!, you married?”

“Yes of course”

“How come Aiba added your name in the list of his suspects?, and yet you two understand each other well according to you”

“Officer, I am not in position to answer that question, some people don’t see you as you seeing them.”

“How are you seeing him?”

“Ah!, I see him as a younger brother that is interested in what I am interested in finish.”

“How long have you worked in this local government secretariat?”

“I have been here since June 2001”

"You are sure of all you told us"

" Sure"

“Ok for now, we might come again”.

“I am always here sir,”

Could you imagine the insinuation?, now I am crippling Aiba financially. Some people are crazy.

But, that was when I should have put an end to all these, but I took it as accusation of a loser trying to stay above water. He was playing dirty game. I suspect that nothing was missing, I concluded, feeling very happy of myself.

Two weeks later, I was in my office when sergeant Dikko burst in without knocking or being announced and stood before me eyeing me with hatred that can melt the whole ice in Antarctica. Then he trusts his face almost into mine and shouted.

“You think you are smart, well this does it, nothing stands on your way ah?, well nothing stands on mine too, certainly not you”

“Officer, what's going on here, you can’t burst in here talking to me like that I can’t …….”

“Oh, I can’t ah, well I can even go a Step further. You are under arrest for murdering Aiba and rustling his remaining cows, and snatching his car”

“What are you talking about, I didn’t kill anyone I want to call my lawyer”

“You will need presidential handshake to free you from this wickedness, lawyer is not enough”

That was how I spent three months in detention house being feed once a day. I was refused bail till last week when by magic, yes magic for I did not remember Allah for a day throughout those three months. So, He could not have been the one that saved me from police net. I was freed last week when officers found out by chance that Aiba was murderd by Hatinu the same girl I was sweating to marry, all that had been happening to him and the ball point pen that belong to me that mysteriously disappeared from my office officers found at the place Aiba was killed that made them to arrest me was all Hatinu’s plot. It happened that the gold ring and neckless that Aiba wore on the day he was killed which wasn’t on him when he was found was fenced to a dealer as original but the man later found out that they were fake and was furious with Hatinu, He went back for his money and found Hatinu gone, he contacted officers whom spent five days searching all over Nigeria for a woman that is resting in beach in East Africa bearing another name and living like queen.

My wife had packed her things and went back to her father's house wiping out my account. My colleagues all kept their distance even spreading remours that i am a murderer. No first ir second wife, i am not even sure that my kids were still bearing my surname. All of because of culture and paying attention to the nonsense advise from outsiders.