MAIDEN ✔️

Chapter Six

Bello Shehu Baqi(meaning black) is a very rich man in Sokoto state, Nigeria. The family name Baqi was a result of the complexion in the family. They are all ebony or even darker. Surprisingly, they did not marry fair people, making them keep the family name successfully. Baba Baqi, who the name originated from, is the head of the family. He has 7 children, who are all married happily, other than a few mishaps marriages have. He's got 29 grandkids all from his children.

Alhaji Bello Baqi is his 5th born, an exceptional business man who has multiple shops in markets and multipurpose malls in town. His business made him popular as most people from Sokoto are aware of him and his siblings who are into one fancy business/trade or the other. Bottom line is the family is a wealthy family. Alhaji Baqi has a wife named Asiya, 3 sons namely Abdulhafiz, Abdullah and Umar farooq and 3 daughters Saratu, Anisa and Hadiza. 

Abdulhafiz and Abdullahi are in 400level in the prestigious Usmanu DanFodiyo University in Sokoto, while Farooq the youngest of the boys is in 200level, Saratu is in 100level, Anisa in SS2 and Hadiza in SS1 schooling in Federal Government College, sokoto. There wasn't much age gap between them so their school is cramped up. Abdulhafiz who is the first born didn't get into the University as a result of an illness he suffered for a whole year, when he got better Abdullahi was already through with secondary school. So they were both admitted together studying law and Medical laboratory science respectively.

Unfortunately for Farooq the 3rd born, he did not belong to Asiya-Alhaji Baqi's first wife, like all the other children. He wasn’t born dark, like his siblings. In fact he is as fair as an Arabian man and the silky soft hair didn't help matters.

Alhaji Baqi had married Farooq's mother from Katsina, A fair petty lady he had met during his numerous business trips. He went through hell to get approval from his family; most of them were not in support of the wedding because of Farooq's mother's complexion, a dumb reason if you ask me. They showed their displeasure but that didn't stop him. He had made up his mind and nothing was going to stop him. The story took a sad turn when she died while giving birth to Farooq. Farooq got the trait of his mother; the complexion, the silky hair, the gray eyes and of course the beautiful dimpled smile. Farooq is the polar opposite of the rest of his family. 

While growing up Farooq suffered stigma from his family. Being the only fair person in a large family was a lot to handle. He's always the last to be initiated in whatever fun thing going on in the family. Family time was torture for him. They even teased him by calling him Fari (fair), the opposite of his own family name. He even overheard his Auntys from Alhaji Baqi's family saying he was an illegitimate child. Farooq had it hard, because none of his immediate family members paid much attention to him. They did not notice how depressed he was becoming by the day. Farooq became totally withdrawn, no friends or family to call his own. It pushed him into removing Baqi(the family name) from his name in school. The silly questions he had to answer were equally vices that pushed him into it.

"Are you sure you're Alhaji Baqi's son?"

"How come you're fair?"

"You don't look like them at all"

"Were you adopted?" 

"I don't believe it" 

A teacher from his school once waited for their driver to come pick them up, so he could confirm his suspicions. At the age of 10, Farooq had turned cold, he neither laughed nor smiled, had a blank expression to anything and most of the time a permanent scowl. It became hard to approach him. He would lash out all the time, pull tantrums and cause a lot of trouble. He wasn’t liked by his teachers because he was always in trouble or the other. He came last in class, and in a blink of an eye, Farooq had turned himself into an ugly duckling. Whenever they were to go to their family house, Farooq would have to listen to things like;