UDEGBEBI’S MADNESS

 By Abraham Favour Olohigbe

“Ratatatatataatataaat,” we heard continuous shootings. Then came the running of people helter-skelter, some to the east and some to the west, each man for himself, forgetting their properties and loved ones.

“Hmmmm!! Udegbebi has started again!!” Mama shouted. “Kambili, get me your father.” I hurried down the hall in search of my father, my eyes wide with fear as I frantically searched for him. I found him in his study, unbothered by the commotion outside.

“Mama is calling for you, Father,” I said.

“A minute, Kambili, I’ll be right there,” he replied.

The onslaught of Udegbebi has been ongoing for as long as I can remember. Even as a fifteen-year-old, I still haven’t gotten used to the sounds of guns. My twin brother was killed a year ago when Udegbebi’s madness started again.

Udegbebi is termed the mad King of Afunwa. After he lost his lovely wife to a stir when she took a stroll to the village’s interior, he decided to kill her when the time of her death was close by. I have overheard the villagers talking about killing the mad king in hushed tones under the fruit tree in our extended family’s compound.

“What do you mean he is dead?” The voices of people jolted me back from my thoughts.

My parents and a few others were discussing this, and I later found out that Udegbebi killed himself after finding out that his wife was killed by his brother. I wished they had killed him themselves. His death wouldn’t bring my brother back, would it? I pray he meets the ones he killed in his afterlife to torture him as they were tortured.