Tomorrow Is Pregnant: The Story

Tomorrow Is Pregnant: The Story

Ama was not the first son of the family but was loved by his father. He was tall and fearless. Those were the qualities that endeared him to his father. Mr Uzo had always thought that it was only a man built in the frame of Ama that could protect him from any external aggressor. He had fifteen children; ten sons and five daughters. He had married two wives shortly before he converted to Christianity.

The white man brought Anglican church to his village and having been doing business with them, it was not difficult for him to convert. Mr Uzo was a man of great riches who was well respected across the length and breadth of Umuka village. He had many barns filled with yam. He was one of the first people that started doing business with the white man across the Niger river. This brought him riches and great fame. He was so successful to the point that popular traditional high-life group used his name to sing a song.

It was, the arrival of riches that had increased a sense of vulnerability and the desire to live forever in Uzo. This was probably what made him to look at his children from the point of who could defend him at old age. He had just acquired an Astra double barrel gun from the white man. The people of his clan had not seen such before. They where familiar with dane gun. He was not a hunter. The gun was only a symbol of influence and a weapon of defense. Once in a while like at the eve of Christmas or the burial of a relative, Uzo would release two shots from the gun to show his presence.

Ama has just finished secondary school and was planning his university entrance exam. He was the second son of his first wife. A fine young man with some weird behaviour. He was always doing everything wrong but that did not stop his father from loving him. Ama will beat up his siblings at will, quarrel with his mother and sometimes will not talk to her for months with no reason.

Mr Uzo had decided that Ama would go to the white man's land to get his university degree and so he took the entrance exam for Oxford university. Ama passed the entrace exam and was preparing to travel. But something was not okay. Uzo was afraid that the gods were angry with Ama and thus were influencing him negatively. He had to see Akirika, the servant of Ogugu.

Early Eke market, Uzo woke up Ama and informed him of their planned journey to Akirika. They set out on the journey and arrived Akirika's shrine by noon. "An animal that grazes while being hunted; a killer of human the day he desires to live; the great oracle of Ogugu," greeted Uzo smiling. Akirika smiled back. "Welcome my visitor" he grinned. "What brought the hand that prints money to Ogugu?" Akirika asked.

"This boy, Ama is traveling to white man's land. Tell Oqugu to deliver him from his strange behaviour and also preserve him as he goes to a strange land to acquire knowledge," Uzo answered. "What did you bring to Ogugu?" Akirika queried. Mr Uzo brought out some cowries and dropped them on a small wooden plate in front of Akirika. Immediately his countenance changed. Akirika had thought" How can this rich man be giving Ogugu cowries," "Ogugu collects real money now and even white man's money." Akrika stated. This made Ama to smile in his heart. "Sharp man," he thought.

Uzo immediately reached into his pocket and brought out fifty naira note. Suddenly Akirika's face beamed with smile. He was not ready to let this unique opportunity slip away. He was not always visited by the richest man in Umuka. "Afo Ogugu Eke Ogugu, Nkwo Ogugu, Orie Ogugu see your son Ama. Fortify him, protect him, deliver him," Akirika chanted in some esoteric sounds. After all the abracadabra, Akirika assured Uzo that everything was alright so they departed.

Uzo thought that Ama could marry a white woman when he got to London. He arranged for his junior sister Ngozi to travel with him. The first son of the second woman, Ebube, would be taking his university entrance exam next year. Ebube was average in height, more skinny and very intelligent. He was a very respectful child who respects everyone unlike Ama. But those qualities are not what Uzo needs in his male sons. Those are better with females. Uzo had thought that those qualities would make a man appear weak.

Women were not that important to Uzo. After all they would be married out. Why would he train a girl so well for another man to come and marry. That would be waste of money he had thought. None of the five girls he gave birth to studied beyond secondary school. He married them off as soon as they got to the age of eighteen. This sentiment was prevalent in this period in Umuka. Uzo was not alone in it.

"Ko Ko Ko Ko, Ko Ko Ko Ko Ko," The village gong sounded. The gong was used to tell people that something important was happening. It was kept in the house of the head of the clan in the most senior clan of Umuka which was Umueze. Every adult male child of Umuka would gather to know what information that was to be passed whenever a gong sounded.

"Ndi Umuka Kwenu," a voice sounded. "Iseeeee Iseee," they all responded in chorus. "A toad does not run around in the day time in vain," the voice continued. "The chief of Umuka has directed that every male child in this village from the age of fifteen should pay tax." The voice said followed by shouts and murmuring from the crowd. Every male child of age would pay eighty kobo as income tax. Uzo wondered how things had changed. He was not scared about paying tax but younger people had never been taxed before. The money they were asking is nothing to him and his children but it does not stop there.

His senior brothers all looked up to him in this kind of situation. That means he would have to pay tax for at least hundred male children from his relatives. He had no choice. In such issue, he does not even discuss it with anybody. He had to pay. Umeje the oldest brother had about twenty-five sons. The first son of Umeje, Obia had another three grown up sons. His immediate senior brother had twenty sons. The list continued. Eighty kobo for hundred people would be about eighty naira. He smiled. That is no money to the richest man in Umuka.

"Multitude is the pride of a king," muttered Uzo as he trekked back to his house trying to reassure himself that the numerous children they had given birth to was not a mistake. Whenever Uzo had any work to do like cultivating the farm, he usually exploited this numbers. Things are different today. For the first time, the number of children they had given birth to became an object of thought. This time negative thought. What if the levy was very high like say one hundred naira each for every male child.
"That would be inconceivable," he reassured himself.

To be continued.....

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