Shut
up there!!!, Kunle yelled as he gave her a dirty slap across the face. The slap
was so powerful that she found herself sprawling over the mattress. Maureen’s
heart shook with fear, apprehension. This was the start of one of Kunles temper
tantrums and violent routines. Before she could even say anything, Kunle had
removed his belt from his trousers and started beating her mercilessly with it.
He whipped her hard with all his strength and she yelled out in pain with
nobody to rescue her. Kunle was her lover but then he was very violent and
aggressive. The beating had become a routine and by now, she was used to it.
Not only was she used to it, she in fact enjoyed it. The irony was that she
enjoyed being made love to just after she had been beaten and today was not
different.
Kunle
actually apoloised to her and kissed her after beating her and she enjoyed
every minute of it. “I’m sorry baby girl, but you cannot question my authority,
you must learn to obey me and you need discipline so you don’t do things the
wrong way he said”, while he held her in his hands. After that, Kunle made love
to her and she enjoyed every minute of it. She stayed with him over the weekend
until she at last went back to her apartment in school as she was a student of
Unilag (University of Lagos). She attended lectures normally throughout the
week until the next weekend when she decided to travel home for the weekend.
She did not always like it at home anyway as her father always turned her
mother into a punching bag. The weekend she got home was no exception. She and
her two brothers tayo and Biodun were watching television in the sitting room
when they suddenly heard their mothers voice in the Kitchen. She rushed to the
kitchen to see what was happening and as usual, her father was at it again.
This time around, her father was raining hot slaps on her mother and her mother
was begging him for mercy. “You this stupid woman, how can you dare resist my
authority like that!!!!!!!, her father said with a loud voice. Maureen just
stood there and watched. By now, she was used to it and even considered it an
essential part of life. After raining a few slaps and punches on her mother her
mother as it is came to her right senses, knelt down and begged him for
forgiveness. “I am sorry, my husband, I will always love and respect you”, she
said with tears in her eyes. Everybody in the family took this situation as
normal and nobody in the family questioned their father over his violence and
authoritarianism.
That
very day, she received a text message from her boyfriend but it was not Kunle,
rather, it was Mathew, the other guy she was dating. Like most Nigerian girls
her age, she dated more than one guy. Mathew was a very nice guy who treated
her with a lot of love and respect and he never laid a finger on her or
maltreated her in anyway. He was a student like her and so together, they
arranged a date two weeks after that in a restaurant near their school. She was
the first to get to the restaurant and as she sat there, she wondered in her
mind if she should not just end her relationship with Mathew. Mathew to her was
not a real man. He never showed her leadership and always behaved too much like
a mummy’s boy. Mathew arrived at the restaurant a few minutes late and as he
sat in front of her, he said “I am sorry, baby girl, I did not mean to be so
late, I hope you do not feel hurt in anyway”. “No, I am not”, dear she replied
while starring at him. “look I am sorry, I mean, real sorry”, Mathew said as he
knelt down on one knee. “No, get up you don’t have to go that far, Maureen
replied while looking at him. “This is just to show you that I love you”,
Mathew replied. As Mathew was professing his love for her different thoughts
crossed her mind. “This guy is too weak and cannot even lead a woman. Allways
apologizing for everything. I don’t even like the way he begs me every time,
this his kneeling down even makes him look like a coward”, she thought to
herself as he looked at him.
She
just tolerated him throughout the date he had but then by the time she got back
to her hostel that very same day, she sent him a text message that she was not
interested again. Mathew was of course devastated and wondered why. As usual,
she spent the following weekend with kunle her authoritarian lover but then as
usuall, they had an argument and Kunle this time around actually punched her on
the face and she had a black eye but then she did not mind as she really
enjoyed being ordered around and beaten by a man. When she got back to her
hostel from Kunle’s face, her face was swollen and it was so obvious that Toyin,
her roommate noticed. Toyin knew all about her relationship with Kunle and as
she looked at her, she said “Look, you have to leave that your boyfriend or
monster Kunle alone before he turns you into a punching bag or he finally kills
you one day. You just cannot go on like this”.
Toyin
did not agree with her, instead, she defended her boyfriend and proclaimed her
undying love to him. She even said she liked him because he was manly and
always in control of a woman which was what she wanted in a man. At this point,
Toyin decided to leave her alone as she seemed unreasonable but then she
recommended her to a phychologist who could understand her problems better.
Kunle
was always nice to her in order ways anyway as he often brought gifts for her
and her most romantic time with him was on this particular weekend when he
brought her an expensive clothes. She was very happy and that day she spent the
night with him as usual. It was a beautiful night together but then, his
unpredictable temper came up again and he started beating her up again the
following morning. It was a slight argument that caused the fight and kunle did
all he could to injure her. He actually boxed her like a real boxer and then hit
her on the head with a piece of iron and she passed out and had to be rushed to
the hospital by nieghbours who were around. It was a critical injury and she
was unconscious for a few days. By the time she woke up to full consciousness,
she looked around and saw that she was on the hospital bed. The doctors greeted
her heartily and explained everything that happened to her and made her know
the fact that it was her neighbours that rushed her to the hospital.
One
thing that suprissed her was that as she turned to her left, she also saw her
mother lying critically ill on the hospital bed. Her mother told her that her
father had also beaten her to a comma
and so it was mother and daughter on the hospital bed at the same time. At this
point, both mother and daughter hugged each other in tears and they both
realized that they needed help and like toyin her friend had said before, they
needed counseling.
THE
GOVERNOR
Mallam
Usman was a very rich business man in Ibadan. He lived in the high brow area of
Ring Road and had many friends and even a big company in Ibadan.
