on RAUL STREET #projectNigeria

4~ THE DUBEYS

oh my gosh! See Mallam Dubey's suya! I want!

Mallam Dubey was an exceptional man of many colours.

He was a type of man who although loved his family, had no time for them. He had chains of Suya joints all over the state. He started from scratch.

He was known as Aminu Suya among his colleagues and clients. He and his colleagues had an exact location where they would gather when it is almost evening and the trade of suya would begin.

It was very easy for Mallam Dubey to make sales because he was generous with his meat, so at least every night he went home with no less than twenty-five thousand naira but if the sales were really good, he could make up to fifty thousand naira.

His goods were of high quality. He even made salad with suya. It had a close resemblance to Sharwama. The 'suya salad' consisted of spiced meat, cabbage, cucumber, carrot, sweet corn and kidney beans(which was optional). He would pack it into foil paper and that made it costlier than the other ones sold in newspaper.

Most of his customers bought them on regular basis because they fell in love with it immediately they tasted it.

Another added quality was that Mallam Dubey was a freakishly neat person and that drew customers to him like moths to flame.

Mallam Dubey used his hard-earned money to attend educational classes for adults and he was dedicated to it.

One of his teachers urged him to start saving in banks, buy stock, improve his business by getting a place for himself which would be convenient for him and his clients but Mallam Dubey was obstinate.

He did not heed to the advice of getting another place even though he did the others, until one of his colleagues almost killed him.
It was business as usual in the evenings and Mallam Dubey was selling well and conversing with one of his clients when a colleague, Abu, came by.
"Aboki, ara mini wuka!"(Friend, lend me your knife) Abu said, pointing to the knife Mallam Dubey was holding. Mallam Dubey just ignored him and continued to converse with his client.

"Aboki! Ara mini wuka a yanzu!"(Friend! Lend me your knife now!) Abu said furiously.

Mallam dubey glared at him and replied swiftly, "ba, kai ne kuma m!"(No, you are too dirty!). Mallam Dubey looked at him up and down and scowled distastefully at Abu's untidiness and dirtiness.

Abu, who was quick to anger, moved swiftly and hijacked Mallam Dubey's knife, scraping Mallam Dubey's palm with it. Blood started to ooze from the injured part. Mallam Dubey shouted at the swiftness of Abu, thereby calling attention. Mallam Dubey's client moved back quietly and ran to his car amidst the chaos. Other fellow traders gathered around Mallam Dubey and Abu. Abu was swinging the knife and Mallam Dubey was unsuccessfully evading it. He had been cut in a few places.

All the while Abu had been shouting, "kada raja your 'yan'uwanmu hausa mutum! Kai ne m!! Ka yi magana da wanda Yoruba mutum da kuma watsi da ni! A ne kawai saboda kana yin yawa riba! Zan nuna maka a yau!" (You disrespect your fellow Hausa man! You are shameless!! You talk to that Yoruba man and ignore me! You call me dirty, you are crazy! Just because you are making much profit! I will show you today!).

When the others were finally able to hold Abu back, Mallam Dubey had not only sustained injuries but lost his goods for that night as well. He had lost so much blood by the time he reached the hospital.

His wife, Zahra was just weeping and crying, "Mijina! Mijina!"(My husband, my husband).

Mallam Dubey never returned to that joint again. He learnt his lesson the hard way. He wasted money on treatment and recuperation. He never followed up on Abu and didnt know if he was arrested or not. He left him to karma.

He got a shop where he made into a suya resturant and it grew until he had lots of branches across the state. He was so much loved by the people because he never changed from what he was and does.

Mallam Dubey made so much profit and later moved into Raul street with his family.
***
"Amina, did you invite daddy to the acting stuff you have tomorrow?" Aisha asked her sister, Amina Dubey would was busy knitting a scarf.

Amina scoffed and spared Aisha a quick glance. "Why would i go through all the trouble and invite him? It's not as if he will come and I am not prepared to listen to some ill-fated apology." Amina replied.

Aisha chuckled and did an imitation of their father. "Amina, i'm sorry. I didnt know a meeting was scheduled for the time you told me your program would begin and i needed to attend. My attention was needed. Don Allah yafe ni."(Please forgive me)

Amina dropped her knitting pin and laughed shakily. She shook her head.

"Aisha!-" she called playfully, "how on earth did you learn that? You are so funny." Amina laughed too. "Is that not how he does? You should know what comes next..." Amina interrupted, "Yeah sure. Peace offerings like Suya, gifts, etc. It's so tiring but i cant deny i dont like it sometimes." She resumed knitting.

Both of them sat in thoughtful silence until Amina broke it minutes later.

"But you know what, Aisha 'yar'uwar(sister), i just wished mahaifinsa(father) could just create time for us a little bit." She dropped the knitting materials on the table beside her and faced her sister. "I do appreciate the efforts he makes in making sure we have all we want...paying our school fees on time...making sure the house is stocked and all that..but i wish he could just give us himself. You know sis, i get jealous at times in school when my classmates talk about stuff they do with their dads on daily basis and holidays. Trips, vacations, excursions, family outings..."

Amina's eyes had gotten so thoughtful and her eyes were so low.
Aisha wiped a tear and climbed off the bed to hug her sister. Amina forced a smile and held her sister by her shoulders. "It's gonna be alright..."
Aisha nodded and asked cheerfully, "Where's mother?" Amina shrugged and answered, "She might be parking for another trip. I heard one of her assistants say she is going to Cotonou this evening."

Aisha shook her head in annoyance. "Didn't she just come back from Dubai two days ago?" Amina scoffed and laid on the bed, flailing her legs playfully, "Eh! What's my own?! What's my business?! I am just praying i should start my WAEC next month and get out of this hellhole."

Aisha sighed and made a sad face. "You are so lucky. You have only a few months to go. Anyway, i only have a year to spend too." She consoled herself. Amina made a 'mmm' sound and stared thoughtfully at the ceiling. "But you know what, Aisha 'yar'uwar(sister), it is not mother's fault that she travels everytime. You know father barely has time for any of us. She had to fill the void with travels."

Aisha sighed heavily. "Maybe you're right..." She shrugged and continued, her voice changing into a gleeful one. "Do you remember the guy i told you of? The one i met during inter-school debate..."

Amina furrowed her brows, trying to remember. " Oh...you mean that quarter caste?" "Oh yeah!" Aisha replied excitedly. "What did you call his name again?" Amina asked teasingly. She knew his name, she just wanted to hear it again.

"Bingo" replied Aisha sheepishly.

Amina doubled over, laughing so hard that the bed shook. Aisha frowned, annoyed. "It's not funny, you know. Dont make jest of people's names like that..." She mumbled.
Amina chuckled, "I'm sorry, i just cant help it" she held her ribs that were aching from too much laughter. Amina smiled deviously and shook her head. "But seriously, i cant imagine why his parents gave him such a name...maybe he looked like a dog when he was first given birth to...some parents are just so weird."
Aisha kept a straight face all along, "it isn't funny and you know it. Bingo is a very handsome guy."

Amina bit her lower lip in order not to laugh again. "Okay, so what happened to him?"

"You are such a killjoy. Anyway, he's transferring to our school." Aisha replied not so gleefully.

"Oh why?"

....
Who likes the dubey sisters?

Me!! Lol

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