*       *        *

"O-J-O" echoes Cosmas.

"Yes chief!" Shola responds.

"I need you to finish those two designs by tomorrow.. The magazine and the event flier."

"Okay, no longer Thursday?"

"Yeah, the customers want them earlier than expected because their launch deadline has moved forward. The yeye man called me yesterday night at around past ten." Cosmas says, as he prepares to leave the Graphic Design and Print shop to pick his children up from school.

"Ohh.." Shola exclaims before breaking into a smile.

"The thing vex me ehn. I almost cut chain for am. After we don already agree time, the man con dey try lie sey no be the time wey we talk."

"No mind am, chief. Na so the guy be. Even when he came here the other day, he was talking to one of our customers very rudely.. just because she no gree stand up from chair for am. People like that, na so so problem."

"I swear!.." Cosmas exclaims.

"Na to just ignore their excesses, do their work make de comot. If no be sey I get papa like that, I for neva learn to handle dem." Shola adds, breaking into another smile whilst shaking his head.

"But ehn.. see bro, your papa different. This guy ehn, na just wickedness and frustration dey worry am. For the past how many years, I don dey wait make he vex comot, he neva gree vex comot."

Shola bursts into prolonged laughter, "Ahh, chief.."

"Yes o. All these types of customers.. they are problems. I don't need them at all. How much person dey gain? No be sey na even contract sef."

"Ehen.. And he knows the kind of work he gets here, which is why he will always keep coming back. You ti sey ee no know sey you good? Compared to other places wey ee'o go. Ee know. Na'im make am neva vex comot."

Cosmas scoffs, "Ee neva see my other side yet, na' im make am."

Shola smiles chummily, "Ahh.. bros. You too good o. You to good."

"Na age ee, my guy. Gra gra don comot for body. I don too old to dey make trouble."

Shola smiles in respectful acknowledgement. Clicking on the desktop computer before him on the work panel, he asks, "Need dey to justify this front page quote or na to just leave the normal alignment?"

Cosmas advances toward the screen and leans in to respond, "Eh.. No need to justify. Just leave the left alignment."

"Okay."

Staring again at the time on the computer screen, Cosmas yells, "Chai!.. Three twenty! I need to go pick these children o!.. I don late. Na to pay fine be dis so."

"No be three dem take dey close?"

"Yes, but this new Catholic school wey dem dey go now ehn, dem dey very strict. Once it is three thirty P.M. all parents must pay a fine for coming to pick their children late from school."

"Ahh.. Wow." Shola exclaims in perplexed shock.

"Yes o. You said you have a class at four right?"

"Yeah, CPS 216." Shola responds. "But I'll go by four thirty. The lecturer usually comes very late. Let me see how much of this work I can finish before then."

"Okay. If I don't come back before then, just tell Mama Efe to watch the shop."

"Alright." Shola nods in full comprehension and Cosmas exits the scene. This place is a small shop amongst the forty within a long single floor commercial building known as the 'Social Sciences Complex' close to the Faculty of Social Sciences, which happens to be located in the far West end of the 17,000 acre premises of Wellson State University. Shola attends this university as a student of Computer Science and for the past one year, has also worked part-time in this Graphic Design and Printing enterprise owned by his very good friend and mentor, Mr. Cosmas Ofure who is married and a father of two children. This commercial complex or 'shopping complex' as many describe it, is a public wellspring of small-scale entrepreneurial boom with bustling shops and enterprises left, right and centre where packaged products, drinks, cooked food, stationery and a variety of services are being sold. This diverse hub of traders and service providers helps to cater to the needs of students, staff and other individuals who may be around this region of the campus. There are several complexes, shops and commercial units like these spread across the entire campus, to more effectively cater to the needs of both residents and visitors of the school, and each shop and business owner pays rent and levies to the university administration.

This particular complex is one which for a lot of reasons, Shola has come to grow quite fond of. Unlike most other lucky university students who are able to find viable side jobs to support their schooling and welfare expenses in a severely hardship riddled economy that disenfranchises the poor and chokes the middle-class, he is one of the very few who would be willing to get involved in one within the very school they study at. Status based concerns are a big priority to the average Nigerian, even in hardship. Hence, a lot of students would be more open to working in environments far or at least different from their school. However, Shola is one of those people who doesn't really think that way, and most frankly doesn't really care because his life philosophy regarding this is very different. By virtue of this, he works part-time on most days of the week at 'Shop 13' of the Social Sciences Complex, where he earns pay in daily commissions from the graphic design works he does majorly or assists in creating, and document typing and printing works on behalf of staff and students who require these services, especially those who don't have graphic design, spreadsheet and other document formatting or quick typing skills and those who don't have personal computers, smart phones or other modern gadgets required for these things. Shola himself does not have a personal computer or laptop. One of the ways he is able to get access to these facilities and services for himself is by working at this shop, using its WiFi and other facilities, as well as his low grade and faulty smartphone, which he has now been using for the fourth year.

As he gradually finishes up with designing the flier, he brings out his phone from his pocket to take a look at some of his numerous incoming chat messages. Looking at the app, he finds replies from over forty of his active personal chats from yesterday which he needs to respond to whilst at the same time sift through the clutter of over a hundred and fifty active group chat messages, of which he is only active on about twenty five. With the speed of lightning, Shola begins to respond to his favoured messages and drop comments on his most favoured group chats. After recharging his social battery for about fifteen minutes, giggling and laughing profusely along the way, he minimizes the page and then moves on to other more public social media platforms for sports news, entertainment and other hot topics. While in the middle of replying to several posts and giving his hot take on a number of topics to certain individuals kilometres away, he is interrupted.

"Wey Oga Cosmas?" a middle aged woman asks, standing at the threshold of the shop which is just next to hers. She is a cooked food vendor. And one of the only two in the building and vicinity.

"Ah, Mama Efe, good afternoon." Shola looks up and continues, ".. He go carry ee children from school."

"Okay. I be wan give am my waste management money." she says, as Mr Cosmas is the man who compiles the contributions for waste management payments in the building.

"Ohh.. Ee go soon come back sha o. Abi you wan comot now?" he asks.

"No, I neva sell finish. You know sey I come late today. Na just small food from second batch remain. I be just wan give am the money now. No wahala. I go wait make ee come."

"Okay. Ee be like sey I go even come buy food from you now o. I just dey hungry like mad." Shola says.

In response, Mama Efe asks, "Okay, wetin you go take? Rice or swallow?"

Shola answers by asking, "Which swallow dey?"

Resting relaxingly on one side of the door, she answers, "Eba dey. Starch dey. Fufu, na only one remain."

Upon hearing this, Shola winces in confusion, "Which one be fufu?"

Bewildered but amused, Mama Efe radiantly responds with laughter, "Ah ah.. Santana nau. You no know sey na santana dem dey call 'fufu'.. for Igbo?"

"Eee.. Okayyy. No mind me." Shola responds in embarrassment, and then with a smile he says, "Abeg, give me the santana and one eba. Then egusi."

"Egusi no dey." she retorts, "..Na only ogbolo and banga."

"Okay, give me banga. No put meat." Shola requests, although not because he is on a vegan diet, but because he is unable to additionally afford a piece of meat.

"Okay." she responds.

A few minutes later, Mama Efe returns and enters into the shop, handing over a tray with two plates and a sachet of water in between. As Shola receives it, he says with gratitude, "Thank you, ma."

Subsequently, she then proceeds to leave the shop but before she exits, Shola exclaims in shock, "Ahh.. Mama Efe, I say make you no put meat o."

Then like a wise sage, Mama Efe turns back and says with a positive nod, "Na me put am."

Thereafter, she exists the shop. And in a few seconds, thin streams of cold and grateful tears begin to run down from Shola's eyes. This woman's unexpected and genuine kindness turns out to be more than his heart can process right now. In 2021, a skimpily cut piece of meat costs about ₦200 and is no small gesture when given freely by an average street-food vendor known as 'mama put' or a small or large scale local restaurant owner.

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Glossary:
Chai - Damn
Ehen - True/Exactly
Yeye - Annoying/Stupid
"I swear!.." - "I know right.."
"The thing vex me ehn. I almost cut chain for am. After we don already agree time, the man con dey try lie sey no be the time wey we talk." - "It angered me so much. I almost yelled and quarrelled with him. Despite us already agreeing on a specific deadline, he was trying to act as though we had agreed instead on an earlier deadline, to put the blame on me."
"No mind am, chief. Na so the guy be." - "Don't mind him. That's how he is."
".. just because she no gree stand up from chair for am. People like that, na so so problem." - ".. just because she refused to stand up from the chair so he would sit. People like that are very problematic."
"Na to just ignore their excesses, do their work make de comot. If no be sey I get papa like that, I for neva learn to handle dem." - "The best thing to do is ignore their excesses and get their job done in due time, so they can leave. If I didn't myself have a father like that, I may not have known how to handle them."
"But ehn.. see bro, your papa different. This guy ehn, na just wickedness and frustration dey worry am. For the past how many years, I don dey wait make he vex comot, he neva gree vex comot." - "But bro.. your dad is different. This guy is just existentially frustrated, toxic and wicked. For the past several years, I've been waiting for him to storm out and never come back, but he keeps storming out and coming back."
"How much person dey gain? No be sey na even contract sef." - "How much do I gain from his patronage? It's not like he gives me some large scale contract."
"You ti sey ee no know sey you good? Compared to other places wey ee'o go. Ee know. Na'im make am neva vex comot." - "You think he doesn't know you're a kind person, and the many things he gains by remaining a customer here, compared to other places he might go to? He knows. That's why he always keeps coming back."
"Ee neva see my other side yet, na' im make am." - "Well, he hasn't yet seen my other side, that's why."
"Ahh.. bros. You too good o. You to good." - "Ahh.. chief. But you are a kind person though. You're almost too kind."
"Na age ee, my guy. Gra gra don comot for body. I don too old to dey make trouble." - "It's because of age, bro. I'm no longer as reactive as I used to be. I have other priorities now. I'm too grown to be getting into irrational fights."
"Need dey to justify this front page quote or na to just leave the normal alignment?" - "Is there any need to justify this front page quote or should we just leave the normal alignment?"
"I don late. Na to pay fine be dis so." - "I'm so late. At this rate, I'm likely going to pay a fine."
"No be three dem take dey close?" - "Don't the kids officially close at three o'clock?"
"Yes, but this new Catholic school wey dem dey go now ehn, dem dey very strict."- "Yes, but this new Catholic school they attend is very strict."
"Wey Oga Cosmas?" - "Where is Mr. Cosmas?"
".. He go carry ee children from school." - "He went to pick up his kids from school."
"Okay. I be wan give am my waste management money." - "Okay. I wanted to give him my contribution for the waste management bill."
"Ee go soon come back sha o. Abi you wan comot now?" - "He will be back very soon. Or do you plan to leave now?"
"No, I neva sell finish. You know sey I come late today. Na just small food from second batch remain. I be just wan give am the money now. No wahala. I go wait make ee come." - "No, I haven't finished today's sales. Remember I came in quite late. I just wanted to give him the money now. But no problem, I'll wait till he arrives."
"..Ee be like sey I go even come buy food from you now o. I just dey hungry like mad." - ".. I think I'll just buy some food from you right now. I am so hungry."
"Okay, wetin you go take? Rice or swallow?" - "Okay, what would you like? Rice or a compact carb and soup meal?"
"Which swallow dey?" - "Which compact carb meal do you have?"
"Eba dey. Starch dey. Fufu, na only one remain." - "There's eba. There's starch. And there's one rap of fufu left."
"Which one be fufu?"- "What is fufu?"
"..Santana nau. You no know sey na santana dem dey call 'fufu'.. for Igbo?" - "..It's santana. Don't you know that santana is also called 'fufu'.. in the Igbo language?"
"Eee.. Okayyy. No mind me. Abeg, give me the santana and one eba. Then egusi." - "Ohhh.. Okayyy. Please don't mind my ignorance. Give me the rap of santana and one rap of eba."
"Egusi no dey.. Na only ogbolo and banga." - "There's no egusi left. There's only ogbolo and banga soup."
"Okay, give me banga. No put meat." - "Okay, give me bang soup. Don't add meat."
"Mama Efe, I say make you no put meat o." - "Mama Efe, I said you shouldn't add any meat."
"Na me put am." - "I put it for you."

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