Wonders and
the mystery of Death will never end. Yesterday the 20th of December
2012 at the upper sokponba road area of Benin City, tragedy struck when a fight
ensued over #20.00 and a young/fresh University graduate lost his life. The
story was that the young graduate took Okada (a motor bike used as a means of transport in
Nigeria) to his house. The Hausa bike rider had charged the graduate passenger
#100.00 but on getting to the graduate’s destination/family house he paid the
bike rider #80.00 instead of the agreed #100.00. The bike rider refused the
offer and the graduate threw the money on the ground and worked away. The bike
rider insisted on getting his complete money and that the money should be
handed to him and not thrown on the flour. A woman in the neighbourhood who
watched for a while came out and added the balance #20.00. But the bike rider
refused and said the graduate should pick the money from the ground and give it
to him personally. After a long argument and persuasion from his neighbours the
graduate then agreed to pick the money up. However, as he bent down to do so the Hausa boy pick
up a piece of firewood that the boys mother sells and struck the graduate on
the head. The force was much that the boys eyes popped out of the skull and he
died on the way to the hospital. As the Hausa boy was about to escape the neighbourhood
boys apprehended him and handed him over to the police.
Some people
are of the view that if such a thing had happened in the North that they would
have lynched the non native instantly. The Benins they say are very accommodative. Others are also saying
that the late graduate and other youths in that area are always of the habit of
entering okada and not paying the riders
that the reason the people did not lynch the Hausa boy was that they did not
like the injustice.
The graduate
has carelessly wasted his life, caused pain for his parents and made the
Christmas a miserable holiday for all concern. I hear the graduate is from the
Royal Family of Ugo in Iyeke-Orhionmion. They say his father was the one that
held the enogieship unbehalf of the current Enogie of Ugo who was then too
young to ascend the throne.