FIVE DAYS TO

FREEDOM

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 FIVE DAYS TO FREEDOM
Copyright ©2022 by Demilade Omoniyi

All rights reserved. No part of this book

may be reproduced or transmi ed in any
form or by any means without the wri en
permission from the author

Published by:
DO PLAYHOUSE PUBLISHING
info@doplayhouse.com

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 FIVE DAYS TO FREEDOM

Aleboro is a landlocked rainforest town

but blessed with a tributary of the Tesse

river that courses through the outskirt of

the town. The great Tesse river is of

much importance to the communities

she spreads her five fingers of

friendship. Suteru, a town along the

north eastern border of Aleboro,

accommodates two of the fingers and

so had more fishermen. While there are

a handful of fishermen in Aleboro, the

predominant occupation was farming.

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Other notable jobs were hunting,

blacksmithing and trading. Of course,

there were those in the entertainment

industry. They do their best to spice up

the prevailing level of civilization.

One more interesting feature about

Aleboro is that work is stratified by age

and gender. Even in households where

the breadwinner is a farmer, not all

members of the family would be on the

farm. The usual pattern would be that

the males follow after the man of the

house, and at near midday, the younger

males return home often with farm

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proceeds. These are to be handed over

to the mothers to prepare meals ahead

of the arrival of the rest of the farming

team. The girls are with the mothers to

get the food ready, but that is not before

going to the river to do necessary

laundry and fetch water for use at

home.

Among the daughters of this beautiful

town in its right were Lola, Adeola and
Titi. They were best of friends from

early childhood. A few times, they have

tried to remember how many years

back they met, but they have not been

5
able to agree on one date. The
circumstance surrounding their knowing

each other however remained fresh in

their memories. It was by the riverside

where they had come to wash their

clothing. Lola and Adeola had been
friends for a little longer and so went to

the riverside together a certain morning,

the morning they met Titi and eventually

became friends. They got into some

child’s play while washing and
inadvertently hit the bowl they had kept

a soap. The soap had rolled off into the

river before they could rescue it.

Unfortunately, they were not done with

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the laundry. Titi who was a few metres
away from them was watching quietly,

being entertained by their play and also

witnessed how the soap rolled of the
shore. Attempts to retrieve the soap

proved abortive and the duo were

getting worried. They would not be able

to finish their laundry, the distance they

had trekked to the river was not small,

not to even mention the abuse they

might suffer when they get home. Titi
could imagine and understand their

plight as she studied their countenance,

and declared her offer from where she

sat, ‘you can come use my soap. It is

7
more than enough for us all.’ They
turned around to be certain the voice

calling out was directed at them. The

beautiful smile from the brown skinned
girl beaming at them was reassuring.

Almost in unison, they said, ‘thank you.’

The rest was history as their friendship

consistently grew from that point.

The trio were twelve years old already,

except for Adeola who was two months

away. That was the official age to

undergo the rite into adolescence in the

community. Thankfully, the rite was still
four months away, so they were all

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happy they would be initiated the same
day. The rite into adolescence was a
tradition peculiar to Aleboro community.

It was quite different from that of

neighbouring communities because

only the female gender was involved.

Yearly, every female child of the

community that clocked twelve years

must be circumcised as a rite of
passage into adolescence. For a few

centuries, this had been a highly

revered and celebrated culture in the

community and especially among the

concerned families, that is the families

who had daughters participating in the

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rite that year. Eligible young girls of the
community looked forward to it because

it literally was their official license to get

talked to by a man. Prior the rite, it was

a taboo to see any young girl anywhere

alone having a conversation with an

older male. This culture enjoyed favour

especially from the pro-chastity elders

despite the instances of complications

recorded following the rite. This year,

the trio would be eligible for the rite, and

they anticipated it each day. The rite

was often heralded by an

announcement from the king’s palace

stating that the occasion would be three

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market days away, equivalent of about
a fortnight, as the main market held

every five days in Aleboro as also in

many other surrounding towns.

The friendship of Lola, Adeola and Titi

continued to wax strong as they often

met by the Tesse river and market

square. They also visited one another

at home a few times and their parents,

except Lola’s, now know them as good

friends. Lola was the only child of her

mother who died shortly after her

delivery. She was brought up by her

maternal grandmother who also died

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five years later. She was then reunited

with her father who by then had married

another woman. She had learnt to be

independent from an early age because

of these, a feature that added to her

more matured manner of handling

matters when compared with her peers.

Adeola and Titi had visited her twice,

and each time, her father was not

around and her stepmother always

encumbered with the twins she was

nursing. Despite the frequent verbal

abuse and deprivation from her

stepmother, Lola had remained

respectful and obedient.

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A few times, they had sat together to
talk about more serious matters such as

their inability to access education. They

lamented about the collapse of the

primary and secondary education the

town once boasted of. Kunle, Adeola’s

brother had been a beneficiary of such

education. The girls were still in the

primary school when it was learnt the

government had not been paying the

salaries of their teachers for months to

the point that the teachers stopped

coming. Their hope of becoming a

learned like Kunle was dashed by the

turn of events, with no signs of

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resurrection in view, at least, not while

they were young. ‘If Boda Kunle was

not learned, he would not have gotten

that government job with the local

government authority’, Adeola retorted.

‘Imagine what would have become of

me and my brother after the death of

our parents had he remain

unemployed’. ‘True. Thanks to God for

not leaving you both alone to suffer’, Titi

said with her both hands suspended in

the air in appreciation to God. Last year,

Adeola and her brother Kunle became

orphans following a fatal road traffic

accident that occurred on the way back

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to Aleboro from the city where their
parents had gone for a social function.

Luckily, Kunle had secured a job as

clerk with the local government just a

year before the tragic event.

Since the dearth of education in

Aleboro, the rite into adolescence

remained the only thing the young girls

looked forward to. Following the rite,

they would be free to engage in

emotional exercises with the males who

would be potential suitors. They have

each daydreamed about their beautiful

home with a loving rich husband,

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preferably one of the prosperous sons

of Aleboro.

One very sunny morning, the

anticipated notice was released through

a town crier. The rite into adolescence,

Balaga, was around the corner. The

young girls expressed no little

excitement at the news. They again

talked about it all day. The euphoria got

Kunle’s attention who just returned from

work and was trying to observe siesta.

‘You girls have to keep it calm there’, he

called loudly from inside the house.

Kunle was ten years older than Adeola

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and so he did not have to call out the
second time before the girls ensured

decorum. The appellation boda often

preceding Kunle’s name was an

acknowledgment of the fact that he was

a big brother hence the respect

accorded. The girls continued to gist

happily at Adeola’s balcony until

darkness drew close.

************

Kunle came back from work on a

certain afternoon - exactly one week

after the girls had converged at

Adeola’s house to discuss the

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upcoming Balaga celebration. ‘Adeola!

Adeola!’ He called out to his sister in

excitement. He had received good

news from work and was very eager to

shared it with his only immediate family

member. She had perceived the

urgency in the call and was wondered

what could be wrong. Seeing her

brother, the smile beaming on his face

was contrary to her thoughts. She could

count the number of times Kunle ever

got excited. ‘Good news! We are

leaving for the city!’. ‘I don’t understand

boda. What is happening? How?’ Still

bewildered, Adeola kept asking

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questions, requesting for more details

from her brother who was as excited as

a lottery winner. Kunle finally spilled out

the details, ‘The government intends to

expand the capacity of the state civil

service and would be recruiting two
persons from each local government

within the state. Unknown to me, my

boss nominated me and another female
colleague at work. The nomination has

been approved and we will be joining

the state civil service. There is a bonus

attached to this promotion, I will have

the opportunity to run my degree
program at the state university on a part

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time basis, all sponsored by the state’.
Adeola spontaneously took to dancing

and singing

O ti se o, Baba ti se o

Ohun ti o n bawa leru

Baba ti se o

‘How I wish baba and mama were still

alive’, Kunle muttered. Adeola stopped
singing when her brother made mention

of their parents. Both were quiet

momentarily as though observing a

minute silence for them. Adeola broke

the silence thereafter, ‘I know they are

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forever proud of us’. ‘Adeola, they want
us to resume at the city in earnest. So,
we need to get our luggage ready to

embark on the journey in three days.’

Adeola’s gaze widened at hearing this.
‘Do you mean I will be going to the city

with you? Looking surprised, ‘Were you

expecting me to leave you back here?

Even if I wanted to, we practically have

no reliable relatives here you can stay
with. I thought you should be happy.

You will have the opportunity to go to

school, you know.’ ‘Boda, I know, and I
am very grateful for all the care since

our parents left. Just that Balaga…my

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friends.’ Adeola stammered as she

expressed her mixed feelings. ‘Lola

may not be able to survive without us

for too long. She practically lives as a

neglected child in that house, no thanks
to her stepmother. Her drunkard father

is of no advantage either. You can

recount the several times she came to
us for shelter even when our parents

were alive. It will be quite cruel of us to

leave her behind.’ ‘What do you want us
to do now? I cannot leave you behind in

this town.’ Kunle realized Adeola

remained resolute. He heaved and
suggested having a discussion with

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Lola’s father personally. ‘And you

should do well to carry Lola along with

this development.’

Adeola could barely wait to break the

news to her friends. The discussion
started by the riverside the next

morning. Adeola told them about the

relocation to the city and the
opportunities for her brother and then

for herself. The girls were so happy for

Kunle. They had known him as a very
responsible and hardworking young

man. The meeting however did not end

without some tears because of their

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friendship. Adeola is certainly leaving
and Lola being a probability. Titi tried

her best to convince Lola to stay with

her in the town. She had become so
fond of their company within a short

time, and she could not imagine the

thought of losing them within a short
notice. Titi felt an impending loneliness.

Just before they dispersed, as though

looking for another potent reason to
convince them about not leaving within

such a short notice, Titi raised the

matter of Balaga. ‘I cannot believe you

both will just shelf our dreams of

freedom. We have planned so long for

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this, you know.’ ‘I know Titi.’ Adeola
interjected. ‘It is not my desire to leave,
at least not now, but I really don’t have

a choice here. Lola should be joining us

also because my brother and I feel it is
best for her wellbeing. Please, try to

understand Titi.’ Their eyes were laden

with tears as they discussed the fate of
their friendship in the coming days.

Later in the evening, Kunle came back

from work, had lunch and headed for

Lola’s residence to discuss the
possibility of Lola following them to the

city. He did not meet Lola’s father at

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home, but he did meet Lola’s

stepmother along the path as he was

returning. After respectfully exchanging
banters with her, Kunle asked when he

could see her husband. ‘Hope all is

well?’ She inquired. ‘Nothing much ma.

It is concerning Lola.’ The mention of

Lola did not create any further
enthusiasm for her stepmother. With a

sigh, she responded, ‘Come back

tomorrow evening’. Kunle was not
surprised by the response. He however

thanked her and continued his journey

home.

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The day of departure for the city finally
came. Lola was ready with her little

luggage very early in the morning. She

however had to wait for her father to

wake up before she could set out. She

wanted to bid her father farewell.
Although he had not been a caring

father and especially one to be proud

of, she still loved him. She sometimes
wished he had not taken to binge

drinking following her mother’s death.

‘He would have been the best in the
world and the idea of leaving for the city

would not have been entertained at all’,

she thought. The sound of footsteps

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dragging towards the balcony where
she was jolted her back from her

thoughts. It was her father and she

knelt to greet as soon as she sighted
him. ‘You are ready’. ‘Yes. I was just

waiting to bid you farewell.’ ‘Go well my

daughter. May our ancestors guide and
protect you. You know I will miss you,

so do well to come home as often as

you can.’ Lola’s eyes were engorged
with tears already. She would definitely

miss her father too. The hostility

suffered from her stepmother and the
seeming fading attention from her father

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were the paramount factors for opting to
go to the city with Adeola.

Lola arrived just as Kunle and her sister

were also set. They would miss the
community of Aleboro, but they were

leaving for good and hoped to be

ambassadors that would make Aleboro
proud. On arriving at the terminal, the

only bus left had four spaces left and

they soon boarded. Thirty-five minutes
later, the city-bound bus roared to life,

made some reverse negotiations and

zoomed off.

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Four days after Titi’s friends had left for

the city, the eve of Balaga, her parents

summoned her. Titi had been
melancholic since her friends left and

every attempt by her mother to cheer

her were unfruitful. In her parents’
room, ‘Titi, tomorrow is Balaga, and you

know this year’s is for you along with

other girls in the town.’ Titi’s father was

chairing the conversation with their

daughter that morning. ‘We understand
what it means to part ways with a friend

you are not sure of when you would see

again.’ Titi’s father paused momentarily
as though ensuring that Titi was fully

30
engaged in the discussion. ‘We want
you to know that you are not less

fortunate. Going to the city is not the

best that life has to offer. Your friends
left five days to Balaga, the celebration

of freedom. No matter the luxury they

come back with, they will never be true

daughters of Aleboro, but you would

be.’ Titi seemed to lighten up a little,
and this served as the awaited signal

for her father to continue. ‘Your mother

and I have made plans to celebrate
your freedom tomorrow. With the goat I

have arranged for, you can trust your

mother to make the best delicacy.’ The

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thought of her parents celebrating her
did the magic. Titi smiled.

The following morning, Titi was

accompanied by her mother to Iya

Abiye, the elderly woman in charge of

the Balaga rite. Her task was to
circumcise the girls and present them

afterwards to the community as the

latest true daughters of Aleboro. Iya
Abiye was in her mid-seventies and has

served as the town’s midwife for

decades. She had two assistants who
helped with many tasks as her frailty

worsened. The circumcision at Balaga

32
was however one task she has never
delegated. She meticulously performed
the rite as though an act of worship to a

goddess.

On the queue, Titi was fifth of the seven

girls for Balaga. They took turn to enter

into a dimly lit room and well screened
from the surroundings. Each girl came

out crying with streaks of blood on their

clothing, and are quickly supported by
their mothers who make every attempt

to console them. ‘Only the weak cry’,

mothers would say. Girls considered
motherless were accompanied by the

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most senior woman figure in the

extended family. It was Aleboro’s way

of welcoming them into womanhood as
well. Other older women around join

voices singing and chanting in praise of

their freedom. When the circumcision
was over, Iya Abiye declared to the

community of women around, ‘Behold

the newest women in our community,
the true daughters of Aleboro. May they

be fruitful and become pillars of integrity

in our land.’ And they all chorus ‘Ase.‘,

implying so shall it be. The occasion

came to a close by the gifting of a white
piece of clothing from Iya Abiye. It is the

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clothing to be laid on the bed whenever
the girls would be having their first coital

experience, expectedly with their

husband. It would be their scoreboard
of chastity.

Titi was recovering well from the trauma

inflicted on her at Balaga. The herbal

concoctions had been judiciously

applied. Titi’s mother had been of great
help. She undertook most chores Titi

should have done. Titi personally did

not like the scar that was forming, but

was grateful she was not bleeding

excessively as her mother reported

35
concerning one of the girls. By fortnight,
Titi had resumed most activities again.
She however noticed an unusual feeling

as she went to urinate just before

sleeping a certain evening. There was
pain to an intensity she had never

experienced. ‘What could this be?’ She

thought as she laid on her mat and

drifted into sleep. The pain persisted till

the following day, at almost every time
she had to urinate. By the third day, Titi

reported to her mother what she had

been experiencing. Her mother
reassured her of the brevity of the

symptom.

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Titi went to fetch water one morning

and noticed she had to stop twice along

the way to ease herself. This was

strange to her. ‘Why the sudden urge to

urinate?’ She sought for answers within

her but nothing was coming forth. Later

that same day, she also noticed a lower
abdominal pain had added to her
troubles. The dual pain of the lower
abdomen and urination continued to
worsen. There were instances of

sudden urge that she had to run to the

make-shift lavatory in the compound in
order to avoid getting soaked. None of
them were considered by Titi’s mother

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to have been troubles from Balaga until
her daughter came up with a fresh
complaint. ‘Mama, I see a whitish
discharge from my private area and it is
not smelling good.’ Titi’s mother was
bewildered. She had never heard girls

complaining of such. She believed it

was a problem of the older women who
were married with one or two kids.
Quickly, Titi’s mother called her aside
so she could see for herself. Her

daughter’s complaints were real. She

was taken aback especially by the fishy
odour emanating from the discharge.
She knew this time there was real

38
trouble. She trusted her daughter not to

have eaten the forbidden fruit with any

man. It must be from Balaga, she
concluded. ‘We will see Iya Abiye
tomorrow. Sorry, my daughter. You will
need regular bath to keep you clean till

we find a solution to this.’ Titi nodded in

agreement.

Iya Abiye’s comment did not settle well

with Titi. She tactically shifted the blame
on Titi as she said, ‘Ah, mama Titi, this
kind of thing occurs when the herbal
concoction given is not applied
appropriately.’ Titi concluded she meant

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she brought this upon herself. There

was a strong disapproval within her, but

who was she to let out her contrary
opinion? She would rather choke on it
than be further crucified for being rude
to the elders, and worse still to a living
deity like Iya Abiye. Titi wished for once

that Balaga would also come with the

freedom of speech. Soon, Iya Abiye
brought out a mix of herbs from an
inner chamber and explained the
manner of application to Titi and her
mother. She further saddled Titi’s

mother with the responsibility of

overseeing its use. ‘You can never trust

40
the children of these days to handle
such serious matters alone you know’,

Iya Abiye added. Both knelt and

thanked her, parted with a few coins
and left with the concoction. Little did
Titi know she would have to keep
coming to acquire one treatment or the
other. The mess never cleared

completely, far from the freedom Balaga

had been painted to usher in.

Two years later, Titi still battled with

these complaints. She was beginning to
hate being a woman. She kept
wondering if this was the freedom

41
Balaga was all about. ‘This was no
freedom at all’, she concluded severally
in her mind. What made the matter

worse for her was that she had no one

to share her pain with. Titi missed her
friends. Adeola and Lola would have
reasoned with her, shared her pains
and frustrations with her. The thought of
whether or not Balaga was superior to

leaving for the city was creeping out

again from where it had hibernated over
two years ago.

**********

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Ten years later after they left Aleboro,
Adeola and Lola had reasons to visit
again. While away, they were enrolled
in school by Adeola’s brother and had

just completed their secondary

education. Both of them would be
needing a certification from their local
government of origin as a requisite for a
University scholarship.

‘We must endeavour to see Lola before

we go back’, Adeola declared as they

journeyed to Aleboro. ‘Certainly,

provided there would be no delays at
the local government secretariat. It is

43
best we plan to leave no later than
5pm’, Lola responded.

In no time, the young ladies got the

documents they wanted. Then came
the seemingly harder task - the search
for their friend. From where would they

begin? What if she longer stayed in the

town? By now, it was past midday and
that implied they had less than five
hours to locate Titi. Navigating their way
did not pose any challenge as they
could still remember the footpaths as

though they left the town yesterday.

Most of the new buildings the town

44
could boast of were at the outskirt,
leaving the interior parts essentially
unchanged. They secretly wished for
more development in the town.

Adeola suggested their friend’s house

was a good place to start the search.
‘Even if she is not there, we would find

someone who will tell us where to see

her’, Lola added. It seemed like a
disappointment as Titi was not at home.
No one was at home. Only a few goats
and hens paraded the compound
housing three buildings of varying sizes.

As they made a U-turn out of the

45
compound, they ran into Titi’s mother
who was just coming from the market.
‘This is great!’ Lola exclaimed! Quickly,
they offered to help with the loads she
had on her head and right hand. Back
into the compound, they exchanged

banters excitedly. ‘My daughters, how

are you doing?’ ‘We are fine ma’,
Adeola responded quickly. ‘We came
briefly to town and will like to see our
friend’. ‘Titi no longer stays here. She is
married. Her shop is a better place to

find her at this time of the day’, Titi’s

mother happily reported. It was an
atmosphere of excitement as she also

46
took time to ask about how life has

been for them in the city. ‘Allow me to

offer you some refreshment.’ ‘It is not
necessary mama. We only came to see
Titi briefly.’ They however appreciated
her for the kind gesture. ‘Please, give
us a description of where her shop is

sited so we can see her before it gets

too dark for us to return’. ‘Ehn ehn, so
you are still going back to the city
today? I thought you would be here a
few days’. Nodding their heads in

disagreement, they declared, ‘Not today

ma. Surely at some other time.’ ‘No
problem my daughters. Her shop is

47
quite easy to locate. It is three buildings
away from the king’s palace. She is the

only one selling raw food items there.’

They both knelt in appreciation. ‘Thank
you so much ma. We will like to be on
our way now’. ‘It is alright. We shall see
some other time by God’s grace.’ Titi’s

mother prayed as she bade them

farewell.

Sighting the king’s palace ahead, Lola

counted out loudly with her right index
finger, ‘one…two…three. This must be
the shop.’ Adeola nodded in agreement.
As they drew closer, the typical

48
arrangement of raw food items was on
display. A feminine figure was backing
them and attending to a customer. It

was undoubtedly Titi from the stature.

She had not changed much except for
some more height she had gained.
They spontaneously planned to quietly
approach Titi from behind and do some

blind folding game. The smile from the

customer who saw them alerted Titi
who swiftly turned to see what her
customer was smiling at. ‘Oh no! Too
late! Adeola exclaimed. Titi shouted for
joy as she saw her friends. She

momentarily abandoned what she was

49
doing and jumped out to give them a
hug. The trio were together for some
seconds before Titi remembered she

was not done with the customer she

was attending to. She quickly broke
away to sort the customer and resumed
her banters. It was a sweet reunion
after a decade. They were excited to
see one another. Titi got them some

juices from the next shop and then sat

to talk extensively. There was certainly
a lot of catching up to do. There were a
few moments of interruption by
customers who wanted to buy one thing
or the other. At those intervals, Lola

50
also checked the time to be sure they
were still on schedule. Adeola asked in
the course of their updating one
another, ‘Titi, tell us about your

marriage. Who is the lucky man? Any

kids yet?’ Titi happily fed them with the
gist of her near three-year old marriage
- the good, the bad and the ugly. The
atmosphere of excitement changed
when Titi began delving into how she

has been trying to conceive. She

mentioned the efforts of her husband
and her parents. Iya Abiye had
prepared all sorts which she had taken,
but to no avail. She also talked about

51
how some medical personnel from the
city came for an outreach and told her
the recurring troubles she suffered after
Balaga were infections that might have
affected her fertility. Although the

symptoms were not frequent anymore,

they counselled her to come to the city
for full evaluation. Lola asked curiously,
‘Did you tell your husband about this?
What has been his attitude? Titi praised

her husband for being so

understanding. She revealed how he
has been saving money so they could
visit a hospital in the city before the end
of the year. Adeola and Lola

52
sympathized with their friend. They also
praised her for the courage despite
going through the challenges following
Balaga. ‘Who even brought up this idea
of Balaga by the way?’ Lola asked
angrily. With a wry smile, Titi told them

of the story she heard concerning

Balaga. Titi herself had asked similar
questions a few years back when the
challenges worsened. ‘Balaga came
into existence years back because of

the infidelity of the wife of an Aleboro’s

warrior. She was involved in a love
affair with another warrior from a
neighbouring town that later formed

53
alliance with Aleboro’s enemies. It was

said that the Aleboro’s warrior was

poisoned and killed by the enemy
through his wife who had been seeking
ways to elope with her concubine.
Aleboro since then concluded that all

females in Aleboro should be

circumcised to reduce the chances of
their sexual promiscuity especially with
people outside the town.’ ‘Every female
suffers this dehumanization because of
one random incident?’ Adeola asked

rhetorically. ‘This tradition must end’,

Lola added angrily.’ ‘I strongly believe
so as well’, Titi responded. ‘It is evil.’

54
‘Oops! Time up.’ Lola who was

obviously not happy about what Titi

went through stood up to announce
their departure. It was her way to
evade listening to further traumatic
experiences as narrated by Titi. The trio
hugged again. As they separated from

one another, Adeola and Lola promised

to stay in touch while Titi asked about
their location in the city with a promise
to attempt checking on them when she
and her husband come to seek medical
help. Adeola and Lola waved as they

parted with her, ‘Bye bye’.

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While the excitement of seeing Titi
lingered, they could not stop talking

about how sour Titi’s experience had

been since Balaga. Remembering the
teachings of some advocacy groups
that frequent their school, they both
concluded Balaga was far from
freedom. It was nothing less than

female genital mutilation. They had

been cajoled it was a rite into freedom.
No one ever talked about the evil that
could ensue from it. A part of them were
grateful they barely escaped the

pseudo-freedom. Perhaps their leaving

before the rite was the real freedom.

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They also learnt from their discussion
with Titi that Balaga was still
entrenched in the town’s culture. All

Adeola and Lola could think and

discuss as they walked back to the park
was how they would bring true freedom
to the girls of Aleboro. A fresh fire had
sparked in their minds. It was time for
change.

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