A Tale From The Ghetto

 

Content Warning: This story contains themes of poverty, teenage pregnancy, financial hardship, and mature language including Nigerian Pidgin English.

The Story of Kola: A Tale from the Ghetto

A Raw and Educational Story About the Price of Ignoring a Father's Warning — Told in Nigerian Pidgin English

Intro

"The street fit teach you how to survive, but only education fit teach you how to thrive."

Meet Kola, a young man who thought he was "street smart" when he ran away from his father's "nagging" about school at sixteen. Living under the bridges of Lagos, he believed he'd finally hit the jackpot when he found a bag filled with half a million naira. But fast-forward to age twenty-five, and the "good life" has turned into a crushing reality of four hungry children, a crumbling home, and a job as a labourer that barely pays for bread.

Just when Kola thinks things can't get any worse, life deals him a "quadruple" hand — four newborns at once — and a phone call that could send him to prison. This raw and educational tale, told with a blend of authentic Pidgin English, explores the heavy price of ignoring a father's warning and the desperate regret of a man who realizes that without a certificate, the world only offers "bad cards." It's a story of accountability, the harshness of the ghetto, and the moment a man finally realizes that the biggest gamble he ever took was betting against his own education.

Author's Note

I want to tell you a story. It is a story about the life and challenges faced by poor people in the ghetto in a city in Nigeria. This story may be fiction, but it captures the daily lives faced by ordinary poor people. It is a story to educate others on the idea of taking responsibility in life and the consequences of the choices we make.

This story also has a blend of Pidgin English, and I hope readers can find it educational and be able to learn a new culture.

The Story Begins

Kola was a young boy growing up in the ghetto in the city of Lagos. In those times, life was simple and no one knew what poverty or lack of things was. It was a time when inflation in the country was low, and fifty cents could buy you a lot of goods. Even ten dollars could pay your rent for a year.

Kola's father was a civil servant and he advised his children to take education as seriously as the air they breathe. He told them a time would come when it would be difficult unless one had the required professional and educational certificates.

Kola never took him seriously. He saw the talk as the rambling of an old man. He would mutter, "This man done craze oh *(This man has gone mad),* na me him dey preach for eh *(he is preaching to me).*"

When Kola was sixteen years old, he ran away from home and started living on the street. He was not happy with his father's constant preaching and nagging about getting educated. It was an argument one night that led him to run. His father had called him and asked, "Kola, my son, when are you ready to go to school?"

"Papa, leave that talk for Mathias, I no dey do school abeg *(Papa, leave that talk for Mathias, I am not doing school please).*"

"My son, school is very important. With education you can go far in life."

"Papa, abeg eh, e done do *(Papa, please, it is enough),* I no want to hear school talk *(I don't want to hear talk about school),* I be street guy, education dey the street *(I am a street guy, education is on the street).*"

"You know nothing," his father, Mr. Kolawole, had fumed. "The street can either lead you to an early grave or to a prison cell."

"I be street smart *(I am street smart),* that no be my portion oh *(that is not my portion),* papa no jazz me abeg *(papa, don't disturb me please).*"

"Don't say I didn't warn you. Don't hold it against me and say I never tried to send you to school," his father said, shaking his head as he stood up to enter his room.

"Papa, go sleep eh, you dey worry sha *(Papa, go and sleep, you worry too much).*"

That night, after everyone had gone to sleep, he snuck out with just a small bag. And that was how his life had begun. He was sleeping under the bridge and doing labour to survive. The pay was nothing, and every night as he lay down, he vowed to go back home the next day. But when the next day came, he would mutter, "Life na challenge *(Life is a challenge),* if you fall once you go stand up again *(if you fall once, you will stand up again).*"

Finding the Money

One day he was scavenging in a dump site when he saw a black bag. His curiosity made him open it and he saw cash inside. He quickly looked around to make sure no one's eyes were on him as he casually carried the bag to his corner under the bridge. He put his hand inside the bag that night as he slept. He woke up at night and used his clothes to tie the bag around his body. He had come to understand that under the bridge, property could be stolen from you as you sleep.

In the morning, as everyone went about their hustle, he made sure no one was around — or those who were around were focusing on their own wahala *(troubles).* He stylishly opened the bag and counted the money inside. His eyes bulged as he came to the final count of half a million. "Na this I dey talk oh *(This is what I have been saying),*" he muttered. "I tell my papa say I go make am with no school *(I told my papa that I would make it without school).*"

The Good Life and Trouble Begins

He took about fifty thousand from the cash and went to town to ball *(have fun).* It was fun all night and he ended up in a motel with a young woman. After that, they kept going out. A month later she came to him. "Kola, I done get belle oh *(Kola, I am pregnant).*"

"Na me give you? *(Did I get you pregnant?)*" he had asked her as he sat in his regular spot under the bridge, thinking about what to do with the remaining money. By now he had blown *(spent)* a hundred thousand.

"Yes na, abeg no deny am oh na you *(Yes, please don't deny it, it is you),*" his girlfriend Shola had said, looking at him.

"Okay na, I just want make sure say no be another man pikin you want give me *(Okay, I just want to make sure it is not another man's child you want to give me).*"

"No make me vex oh, how you go talk like that? See I go break your head oh *(Don't make me angry, how can you talk like that? I will break your head),*" Shola had gotten angry.

"Abeg calm down, no be fight na *(Please calm down, it is not a fight),* I go take care of am *(I will take care of it).*"

"For under this dump way you dey love eh? *(In this dump where you are living?)*" she had asked with a frown.

"I say relax na, abi I no be man again eh *(I say relax, am I not a man anymore?)*" Kola had said, not even perturbed by her outburst.

"I done calm oh, so how e go be? *(I have calmed down, so how will it be?)*" Shola asked him.

"First I dey go rent house, then I go come marry you *(First I will go and rent a house, then I will come and marry you),*" he replied with a confidence that made her soften and feel safe.

Kola rented a house in no time and married Shola too. It was great as they lived a happy life even though they had nothing. Then the baby came — it was a boy. In no time, the toll of caring for a family started hitting him and he hit the road again looking for a job. He landed one as a labourer at a construction site. The money was small, but he could buy food and meet their basic needs.

Until his wife Shola got pregnant again. He started complaining about her not giving him warning. "Why you no tell me say you want to get belle? *(Why didn't you tell me you wanted to get pregnant?)*" he had asked her angrily.

"Abeg no be my fault oh, me sef no know how e happen *(Please, it is not my fault, I myself don't know how it happened).*"

This kept happening. When Kola was twenty-five years old, he had four children and all were crying for food. It drove him crazy. When he saw his age mates doing well, he regretted not going to school — he had seen a lot of opportunities but all needed a certificate, which he had none. The street is hard and he looked like a fifty-year-old man as his poverty and responsibilities had hit him hard. He would sit there not seeing anything as he thought of his father and the warning he had given him.

The Fifth Pregnancy and the Shock

One day, he had just finished having his dinner when his wife told him she was pregnant again. He just said, "Okay."

He had resigned himself to the inevitable. Nothing shocked him anymore. All he cared about now was to provide for the children he had fathered. He figured if it got worse, he would drop some of them with his parents — after all, they were their grandchildren.

On the day of her delivery, he took her to the hospital and waited outside while the birth took place. He was pacing up the passageway and muttered to himself, "This one no be ordinary thing oh, e done tay sha *(This one is not an ordinary thing, it has taken long).*"

"Wetin I go do na, I no fit go inside oh, I no be Oyinbo *(What will I do? I cannot go inside, I am not a white man).*"

After about three hours, the doctor came out. Seeing him, he smiled and said, "Congratulations sir, your wife has delivered safely."

"Thank you doctor, na wetin she born? *(Thank you doctor, what did she give birth to?)*" Kola asked the doctor, who was still smiling.

"You're a lucky man," the doctor said, beaming. "Your wife born quadruple."

"Doctor, wetin be this talk na, I no understand oh *(Doctor, what is this talk? I don't understand).*"

"Ha," the doctor exclaimed, "sorry, I mean your wife delivered two boys and two girls."

"You say wetin again? *(You said what again?)*" Kola asked him, not believing his ears.

"She delivered four," the doctor said, counting them on his fingers.

"Sha, this woman done kill me oh, how I go do na, my own done finished oh *(This woman has killed me, what will I do? My own is finished).*"

"Are you not happy?" the doctor asked him.

"Happy, say wetin make na *(Happy for what?),* no be me go feed all of them *(It is not me that will feed all of them).*"

"That is not a problem. You're a capable young man."

"Doctor, abeg leave English oh, I no get money *(Doctor, please stop speaking English, I don't have money).*"

The doctor's face darkened at that. "Who is going to pay the hospital bills?" he asked.

"I never chop *(I have not even eaten),* you dey ask me for bills eh, you dey okay *(you are asking me for bills, are you alright)?*"

"Young man," the doctor said, furious now, "what about your insurance?"

"Wetin be insurance? *(What is insurance?)*" Kola asked him.

"You know, a financial institution that you pay a percentage of your earnings to, and when you're in need they come and help — like health insurance."

"I no understand wetin you dey talk oh, see I dey come abeg make I go reach house first *(I don't understand what you are saying, please let me reach home first).*"

The doctor held him by his belt. "Are you planning to run?"

"Run go where na? Doctor abeg leave me or area go burst oh *(Run to where? Doctor please leave me or there will be trouble).*"

"You think me too I don't have madness?" the doctor shouted. "Try me and see."

In the end, the doctor let him go, hoping he would come back to take his wife and kids.

Regret and a New Resolve

Kola was on his way to see his father, whom he had not seen for almost ten years. He was ashamed of himself. As he walked, he regretted so much. He would have gone to school — and now he was uneducated and even unable to take care of his own family. He walked as tears slipped down his cheek. Everywhere was blurry. Then his phone rang and he struggled to answer it without even looking at the display name.

"Yes."

"Kola, na me Shelly *(Kola, it is me, Shelly).*"

"So, I say no call me unless I call you na *(So, I said don't call me unless I call you).*"

"Things done change oh *(Things have changed).*"

"Wetin you mean na? *(What do you mean?)*" he asked her.

"I done get belle *(I am pregnant),* my papa dey come arrest you with army oh *(my father is coming to arrest you with an army).*"

Kola stopped in his tracks. How could this be happening to him? He looked around and sat down on a loose stone along the street. He wondered how life could deal him such hard dice. He sat there weeping, knowing he had made the wrong choice the day he ran from home and the day he refused to be educated.

He vowed to be a pillar and advocate for everyone to be educated, because education is the best thing to happen to humanity. It sets you in a way that you can either choose what you want to do — and not let life choose it for you.

Pidgin English Glossary — What You Learned in This Story

Here is a summary of the Pidgin expressions used throughout this story and their meanings in standard English:

Done craze — has gone mad

Na me him dey preach for — he is preaching to me

I no dey do school abeg — I am not doing school, please

E done do — it is enough

I be street smart — I am street smart

That no be my portion — that is not my fate

Papa no jazz me — papa, don't disturb me

Life na challenge — life is a challenge

Wahala — trouble or problem

I done get belle — I am pregnant

Na me give you — did I get you pregnant?

Belle — pregnancy

Ball — to have fun, to spend lavishly

Blow — to spend money

Oyinbo — a white person or a foreigner

I never chop — I have not eaten

Area go burst — there will be trouble

Wetin be insurance — what is insurance?

Nigerian Pidgin English is one of the most expressive and linguistically rich creoles in the world. If this story introduced you to it for the first time, consider this your first lesson in a language spoken by nearly 100 million people.

Go to school. Stay in school. And if your time has passed — make sure someone else's hasn't.

Did this story move you? Share it with a young person who needs to read it today. Leave a comment below — your voice is part of the lesson.

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