The man who has deep eyes

However, it rained heavily in the last three days and the cane chairs I put there are now wet, so it is not nice to sit on them. That is not even my most important reason for not sitting in the garden. I had told my gateman to tell whoever comes to my house that […]

However, it rained heavily in the last three days and the cane chairs I put there are now wet, so it is not nice to sit on them. That is not even my most important reason for not sitting in the garden. I had told my gateman to tell whoever comes to my house that day that I had gone to Abuja. I had to do that as a cost saving mechanism, as we used to say in the civil service. The money I budgeted to spend for the whole fasting period had finished in one week. Incessant demands of people; this one will say this, this one will say that. Haba! People come asking for money as if I pluck it from a tree.
So I sat in the living room and told my driver to remove my Mercedes 450 and my Prado Jeep from the garage and take them to my guest house down the road. Only my wives’ cars remained visible in the yard. From where I was sitting in the living room, I could see the main gate and the battle my gateman was going through to ward off people. “Alhaji has gone to Abuja on an urgent business,” I heard him telling many people who came to the gate. “He does not like travelling during this fasting period but the matter is very important.” He even told one man, “I think he will be proceeding for the lesser hajj from there.” He is a trained liar, this my gateman. I never told him to say I was going to umrah. I think he added that because the man was very persistent.
Presently, I saw this ox-blood coloured Volvo car pull up at my gate. I was surprised to see it; I haven’t seen any Volvo cars around in years. I thought they have all finished. They used to be quite common around here when we were growing up. I was expecting the gateman to also send the man away. To my surprise, I heard murmurs and before I knew it, the gate swung open and the man headed straight for the living room. It was too late for me to dash upstairs. Besides, I didn’t know whether the gate man had told him I was in. So I just sat there and waited.
The man walked in confidently but as soon he entered the living room he spread flat on the carpet saying, “Your Excellency! Your Excellency!” His face looked familiar but I could not remember his name. I remembered Maikaho’s advice that I should pretend to recognize everybody who comes. Politicians like it very much when you pretend that you know them, even when you don’t. I smiled broadly and said, “Ah! Long time no see! Is it only today that you found time to come and see me? Since I came back home from Abuja, I never saw you in my house.”
The man apologised profusely, saying he always wanted to come and see me but that he travelled out of town and only just returned. After we finished greeting, he said, “Your Excellency, I know that you know me very well but because you see so many people these days you are bound to forget some things. It is only human. My name is Alhaji Illo Danbarmu, even though people around here call me Mutum Dubu. When I was the cashier at the Sub Treasury, they used to call me mutum dubu jiran mutum daya [a thousand people waiting for one man], because of the number of contractors that used to stand there waiting for me. Yes sir, that was how I got my alias.”
He rearranged his crossed legs, bowed his head even lower and continued, “Your Excellency, I have retired but just like Your Excellency I am fit and ready to offer my services to the community again. Our grandparents say that the man whose eyes are fixed deep inside the sockets must start crying early because it takes time for the tears to travel to the outside. That is why I come to you to make my modest request before other people beat me to it. The way I know the people of this town, they will be requesting for things that they don’t even deserve. Me sir, I want to be your Commissioner of Finance. There is nothing I don’t know about government money. All the mago mago things they do in the sub-treasuries, in the Accountant General’s office, in the Ministry of Finance, how they hide money in accounts that even the governor does not know. When you appoint me as your Commissioner of Finance, you will be able to sleep very well in the Government House because all your problems are solved.” 
Just as he was reaching a full stop, the housemaid walked into the living room with a file in her hand. She had a message for me from Hajia Babba but before she could speak, Mutum Dubu spread flat on the carpet saying, “Your Excellency Madam, Ramadan kareem! I am the number one supporter of His Excellency in this town. He knows me very well because we grew up together before he went to Abuja…” I had to stop him midway and say, “Mutum Dubu, sorry, this is not Madam; she is only here to bring a message.” He sat up again. I thought he would be embarrassed by what he did but trust these people. He merely grinned and said, “That is okay sir. Everybody in this house deserves respect. The companion of an elephant is also an elephant. Sheep cannot be found in the company of an elephant. Who is he? Never!”