Our landlord had a dog named Bingo. Bingo terrorized everyone who lived in the compound. On numerous occasions, he would bark at fellow tenants or their visitors; probably out of habit to remind them who owned the house.
There were also times he would steal unattended food from the back door/kitchen that tenants left unattended. Like the time mumsi prepared one delicious roast chicken. She only turned her back to get the foil where she would wrap the chicken in, only to turn back and discover the chicken gone! She peeped out of her kitchen door to find Bingo jogging away with her roasted chicken dangling from one end of his mouth. The hot pursuit around the compound was beyond hysterical. I came home to an exhausted mother and an angry father. Apparently, popsi had demanded that the Landlord buy the chicken back but he refused. After a heated argument, the Landlord grudgingly agreed; but came knocking on our door the next day to tell my dad that the rent had increased. I ran away to lesson before I could hear the outcome of that incident. According to Mama Roy, the Landlord’s wife, mumsi deserved it because she tempted her "darling" Bingo; not that Bingo stole it though, because she fed him well at least twice a day (meaning garri mixed with leftovers- clearly the dog had better taste!).
Bingo was a 130-pound Alsatian with sharp canines that he flashed at any and every opportunity he got. Bingo misbehaved a lot. There were times he would scatter the already cleared trash all over the compound- he would drag nylons or torn cartons from the back of the house all the way to the front or worse still, decorate the front of the house with the trash!
The Landlord hardly did anything about Bingo's behaviour. After all, according to the Landlord, the Landlord's dog is also a landlord, so... we had to respect Bingo. If we shouted at Bingo or chased him away or even tried to beat him, our Landlord would lay all kinds of curses saying all we did to Bingo, we wished we could do to him but his ancestors would not allow it. He warned us severally and severely to never touch or trouble Bingo.
Mschewww!!! Stupid dog!
One time my friends came to visit me. I ran to the gate to welcome my friends with joy, as they had come to save me from this boring rat hole called my home. As expected, Bingo skipped happily behind me to welcome my friends. As soon as I opened the pedestrian gate, Bingo acted like a legion of demons had possessed him. He lurched forward to attack whoever stood outside the gate and he barked furiously. I was so scared. I had to push him back in and meet my friends outside. I didn't like the whole episode one bit; but what could I do? The bloody Landlord had called the stupid dog my landlord- can you imagine?! It was not the bloody dog's fault; my parents were still living in ‘mairent’
This incident happened twice.
One of my friends, Bola, was fed up on my behalf and on another visit (they successfully entered and left, surprisingly) suggested that we taught the foolish dog and our Landlord a lesson. Others liked the thought except me because they weren't going to be the ones to be kicked out if the Landlord found out.
One sunny afternoon after JAMB lesson, my friends and I walked back to my house to hang. My parents had travelled to Ijebu for the day and would not return till morning. On the way, Bola asked me, "Is there pepper soup spice in your house?"
I wondered why she asked me such a question. "I think so", I replied.
"That's ok"
As we walked home, I noticed Jide, Osas and Edika were excited. They spoke in hushed tones and walked behind Bola and I. Most of our neighbours weren't around, so the compound was quiet when we got in except for stupid Bingo's barks to show that he was excited to see us and he tried to bite Edika. On getting into the house, Bola put some water on the stove to boil. She wasn't a visitor to my house so I didn't stop her. I didn't see the guys after they had dropped their bags in the living room. I didn't bother because that was how they were.
Bola and I were chatting in the living room when we heard an inhumane shriek.
“What was that?” I shouted
“Probably some rough kids outside or one of your neighbours. Jo, forget about that! Let me tell you how that mumu ‘Niran tried to toast me”
My ears were keen on hearing the so-called gist. Some minutes later, I heard Edika's voice call from the kitchen, “Bola! Oya o!”
“Let's go!” Bola beckoned me to the kitchen. As soon as I entered the kitchen, I saw what looked like pieces of beef. Some still in large chunks, some in bite size. My mind rummaged where the meat would've come from...
