An Inch Away From Death! ( 1)
COLLINS Osuji was a happy- go- lucky guy. He was a very skilful plumber and a dashing young man. He lived life on a fast lane. Some people hated him with passion because of his rough and bohemian lifestyle, while he had some few friends in the neighbourhood. He spoke very arrogantly and pompously. He lived by his wits as a plumber. Whenever there was any problem pertaining to plumbing and he was called he would hurriedly attend to the customer, and before you know it he would milk the customer dry.
He would do the work haphazardly, in a careless way and the very problem would persist. If Collins was in a good mood he would do the work well and the customer would be happy. He always had mood swings, and his close pals knew this. He would be happy now, and the next minute he would be sad for no glaring reason. Despite his often weird and strange character, he had a couple of girls ‘ chasing’ him because he was always ‘ loaded’ and you know girls are attracted to guys with enough money in their pockets, just like the way ants are attracted to honey or sugar.
Collins was a handsome and tall guy, fair in complexion and with a smart carriage that made ladies swoon at his feet begging for love. He had a sugar- coated tongue. If he greeted you good morning, you should please take a proper look at your wristwatch or clock, it must be evening time. Such was his tricky traits and falsehood.
Collins was dating a very beautiful lady by name Monica. And he was quite happy with the relationship. Marriage plans were on the way between Collins and Monica. Monica had been complaining of the low standard mobile phone Collins was using and this fact actually gave Collins sleepless nights and made him sad. So, he was on the look out to get a fairly used phone, which would be cheap. He had a phobia for brand new things. His room was filled with all sorts of fairly used gadgets, ranging from the television set, the CD player, the fridge and the ceiling fan. He could be called Mr. Tokunbo with regards to his penchant and love for second- hand products. On a blissful Saturday afternoon, Collins was at the popular Oshodi Market in Lagos to get himself another handset that would put him on a higher pedestal and level in the eyes of his new lover and people in general.
“I’ll make sure I get a ‘ powerful’ and sophisticated handset that would impress Monica today!” he mused. At Oshodi Market, there were lots of young men whose stock- in- trade was selling expensive handsets at cheap and give- away prices. As he was strolling amid these sellers of secondhand phones, they started whistling at him and calling him with endearing words. He surveyed them quickly but he was yet to find the right kind of handset that would impress his darling. Then outof- nowhere appeared two young guys putting on a torn, patched and faded jeans trousers.