Jiddah's POV
The atmosphere is cool, and the farms by the road side looked all green from the plants ready for harvest. Men carried farming tools on their shoulders and walked hurriedly while the girls chit chatted and walked slowly with their pot for fetching water from the river. This village is still the way it is, nothing has really changed.
We walked side by side with Aunty Ainau each of us dwelling in their own thought. She agreed with my plan of taking back my inheritance from Kawu and we arranged to come here the next day and now here we are, we are heading straight to the Mai gari's palace. I am confused and scared, but I still have to make an effort right?
We arrived at the palace and greeted the guard outside. "Jiddah ce ko?" He asked. "Yes, I'm the one" I said. "Mai gari is having an important discussion inside, you should sit here and wait for him" he said. "Okay" we replied him and sat on the mat he pointed at. "Jiddah an Zama Yan binni an manta damu ko" he grinned while I just smiled.
"They said you are married to a very rich city guy, is it true?" He asked yet again, this man is a talkative and will Keep on pock nosing so I ignored him, he hasn't changed a bit, he's always concerned about what's going on in other people's lives.
25 minutes Later
"You can go in now" he ushered us. "Okay Thank you" Aunty Ainau said and we went inside. "Gaisuwa muke Mai gari" we greeted. "Barka da safiya Mai gari" Aunty Ainau added. "Kuna iya Zama"
"Godiya muke" we stated and sat. "Hauwa?" Mai gari called. "Na'am" I answered. "Mai ke tafe daku?" He directed the question to Aunty Ainau.
"Ranka shi dade dama munzo ne muna tafe da wata bukata, ka taimake mu Kamar yarda Allah ya taimake ka, we want you to help us out regarding My Niece's Inheritance that is with her father's Brother...." She went on and explained to him that kawu has never done anything for me with the inheritance my father left me, the agreement was that he'll handle the farms and in return take care of me.
"He Didn't buy anything for her when she was getting married, he collected the sadaki and even extra money from her spouse but never shared any of them with Jiddah. Yanzu dai maganan da nake ma auren ya mutu, he has divorced her. We want Mai Gari and his elders to help us out" she concluded. "Aure ya mutu" one of the elders spoke and we both nodded our head. "Matsalan auren yan birni kenan ai, but you overlooked it for selfish reasons" he blurted. "Haba Alhaji Tanko, let Mai gari speak let's hear his opinion" another one said to him.
"Malam Barau" Mai gari called the guard outside. "Go to Salmanu and Idrisu's Houses and tell them to report to the palace immediately" he uttered. "An gama Ranka shi dade" he bowed and left Ina hurry.
Few Minutes later the three of them came inside the palace and greeted Mai gari. All this while Kawu's gaze was on me, he looked scared, shocked, and angry. Malam Barau must have overhead our conversation and tell him.
"Salmanu" Mai gari called. "Na'am ranka shi dade" he bowed.
"Kasan ita gado hakkin maraya ce Kuma dole a bashi ko?(You know Inheritance is a right of an orphan which must be fulfilled right?)" "Eh tabbas hakane, Mai gari yayi gaskia" he nodded his head.
"Hauwa'u, Your late brother's only child has come of age and is requesting to have authority over her inheritance. Few years back, we had a meeting here with the both of you..." He pointed at kawu and idrisu, my father's close friend.
"We had a meeting with the both of you regarding what your brother has left behind and we came to a conclusion that they will be left under your custody" he said. "Hakane ranka ya dade" Idrisu nodded his head.
"The elders are here, Malam is here, The child is here, and both of you are also here, so Malam zai Raba gado yau Kuma yanzun" he said with a tone of finality. Kawu started sweating and using his cap to fan his self. "What are the inheritance your friend left?" One of the elders spoke.
"Two farm lands, the house where they lived, Ten bags of maize, Fifteen bags of rice, and also some money" Idrisu spoke. "Tell us the details of the money" he asked again. "My Friend died while we away from home for business, so I gave His Brother Salmanu the profit he made which was N70,000. We also gathered N40,000 from the people owing Him money. That's a total of N110,000" he said. I wasn't excited about all this things he said because I know he has used the money and also sold the farms out.
"Is What idrisu said true?" Mai gari questioned Kawu. "Y...Y..Yes....yes" he nodded his head. "Mai gari ayi mun alfarma, can I talk to my Niece in private, just five minutes" he begged. "Hattara, how dare you try to excuse your self when Mai gari is not done talking to you" one of the elders spoke.
"Malam meye kason ita yarinyar?" Mai gari asked. "She's going to get 70% of it while he the brother will get 30%" the Malam spoke.
(The method used in sharing the inheritance in this story is not based on the Islamic rulling or calculation but rather just to suit dramatic purposes, islamically, Inheritance is not shared with a percentage)
"Salmanu go home with malam Barau and bring the documents for the two farm lands and the house"
"Ranka ya dade ayi mun Rai" he bursted into a cry,or should I say he was yelling. "What are you insinuating?" One of the elders asked. "It's only one farm land that is remaining" he cried. "Innalillahi wa'ina Ilaihi raji'un" the elders lamented.
"Salmanu!, Amma anyi mutumin banza, do you know the right of an orphan, do you know the gravity of unjustly eaten up an orphan's wealth?" Mai gari asked but he kept his head down and kept saying they should forgive him.
"Malam Tanko go with him and collect the documents for the farm land" Mai gari said.
"Take heart Hauwa'u, indeed Allah is with the patient, صبر will take you to beautiful places" Malam spoke and I nodded my head.
The came back minutes later with a paper in Alhaji Tanko's hand. "Jiddah please don't do this to me, that farm is my only source of income, will you like to see I and your cousins starve to death, please leave the farm land for me" he begged. "Shut up you shameless Man" Mai gari shouted at him. "You still have the mouth to talk, you should be ashamed of your self salmanu, kaci Amanar Yan uwantaka" Alhaji Tanko said. The elders went on and on condemning his behavior.
"Mai gari idan gonan ta samu, we'll like to sell it" Aunty Ainau spoke for the first time since the conversation started. "Is there any interested buyer here" Mai gari asked. "I'll buy the farm, ko dan a taimke yar nan" One of the elders spoke. "Okay, you'll go with them and check the farm and a price will be fixed" Mai gari said.
I, Aunty Aina'u, Kawu,idrisu, the elder who wants to buy, the man in charge of fixing prices for farm kansa in the village, and malam Barau went to the farm and the man checked it. "Will you like to harvest the maize or you'll sell the farm and the plants all together?" The Man asked. "We'll sell everything" I said after making eye contact with Aunty Ainau.
We went back to the palace, and the man told Mai gari the price. "N150,000, The farm is very wide and big and he has planted maize which will soon be harvested and it'll yield a good profit" the man told Mai gari his findings. All this while, kawu's head was on the floor, I'm sure he feels like strangling me to death. "Kin siyar a haka?" Mai gari asked and I nodded my head. "Bude Baki zakiyi kiyi magana, say it let everyone hear" Alhaji Tanko said. "Yes, I agree, I'll sell it for 150" I said.
"Alhaji Bashiru ka siya a haka, will you buy the farm land at the fixed price of 150,000?" Alhaji Tanko asked. The man agreed and the deal was concealed. He went home and brought the money.
"It's 150,000" Alhaji Tanko counted the money. "Hand it over to her" he said and I collected the money, it's a bundle of N500. "Nagode ranka ya dade" I said. "Count the money first" he ordered, I did and it was complete. "Mungode Ranka ya dade, Allah ya ja zamani, Allah ya ska da alkhairi" Aunty Ainau appreciated.
"How about the rest of her inheritance Malam?" Mai gari asked. "He has to pay it off unless if she forgives and let go" Malam answered. I looked at Aunty Ainau and she gave me that if you dare forgive him look, even if I don't forgive him, he won't be able to pay back.
"Okay, Hauwa'u Kin yafe ko zaki jira zuwa har ya samu ya biyaki?" Mai gari asked, "I'll wait for him to get the money and pay me back" I said looking at kawu who is now eyeing me profusely. I would have forgiven him if he treated me right when I was in house or he's now realized his mistake, but no, he was even asking me to leave the farm for him. I don't even want to begin comprehending what I went through in their hands again. "Salmanu you heard her right?, I and the elders give you Two years to gather this child's wealth and report back to the palace immediately" Mai gari said.
We thanked Mai gari and the elders and took out leave, kawu was still inside when we left.
"It went smoothly and easier than I thought" I said to Aunty Ainau and she laughed. "That evil man, can't believe your father left all that for you, but he lavishly spent it on his self and his family" Aunty Ainau exclaimed. "Hmm, kawu" I whispered to myself.
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Later in the evening
"Jiddah yanzu dai kudi ta samu" Aunty Ainau who I sometimes call Goggo clapped her hands. "What will you like to do with the money?" She asked adjusting her sitting position. "Aunty Ainau I don't know, give me your advise and suggestion" I said and she nodded her head.
"Why not learn a skill or a business first instead of using the whole money to invest In a business, cause there is this saying and beleif that kudin gado baya albarka a sana'a, so I think it'll be risky if you invest all of it to start buying and selling" she said. "Okay" I said not clear about what she said regarding not using the money you inherited to start up a business, that's just myth and belief in my own opinion but I think it'll be better to learn a skill too.
"You Didn't say anything" She said, "Tohm Aunty Ainau I'll go with what you said, but I also have an opinion if you'll agree, I'll like to learn tailoring, how to sew clothes" I said. "Okay but how and where?" She asked.
"Dr.Zuwairah told me to contact her when I'm need of any help, I think she can get me a tailoring shop inside Kano where I can go and learn, one of my class mates In University told me she learned how to sew in just 3months so I think I should give it a try" I said hoping she'll reason with me. "Okay that's a very brilliant idea, you have an Aunt who lives in kano, I'll ask her a favour to allow you live with her" she said.
"Okay, thank you Soo much Aunty Ainau" I hugged her.
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Things are beginning to work in jiddah's favour😃😃