Fatima was disturbed and angry at Kasali at the same time. He wasn’t like this when they got married and she feared that he may have impregnated another woman outside.
She picked her phone to call Kasali again but it was switched off.
“Maybe he is on the expressway now” she said to herself.
She dressed up to got to her shop.
Their marriage had been a blissful one until the pressure for children from Kasali’s family became too much and Kasali that was defending her had gotten tired of waiting.
”Five years of wasted effort, only God knew what you did to your womb before we got married” Kasali will say shouting on her.
Before he landed she would have replied on the top of her voice “Is it my fault? Am I the one making children or God? Maybe it is you that is impotent.”
“One day I will show you that I am not impotent when I come to this house with my child.”
“Won o bi e da, o to bee. I will kill that child”.
“We’ll see then.”
Fatima’s shop was about five minutes’ drive to the garage. It is a medium sized provision stores opened for her by Kasali after their marriage. He had said he wanted a wife that will have time to take care his children but unfortunately the children are yet to come.
About thirty minutes later, she tried calling Kasali again. This time it rang and Kasali picked.
He was unhappy at the fact that they are yet to have children. He had hoped that by this time he will be called baba ibeji. He didn’t really blame Fatima just that she was not even helping matters. They have been fighting over one issue or the other and why was she even calling him, he got home last night and there wasn’t any food to eat.
He was jacked back to life when the bus in front of him suddenly applied brakes. He shouted at him, cursing him and his generation.
Everyone in the bus shouted when Kasali applied the brakes suddenly and those that were fast asleep woke up from their sleep. Asking what happened from the few that were awake.
The bus came alive again.
The passengers at the back seat started cautioning kasali while Afolabi and Bankole tried explained that it wasn’t his fault but they won’t listen to them.
The argument went on and on, Kasali just ignored them picked up his phone to switch it on and was battling with the keypad. Fatima’s call just came in and he picked.
“What is it that you want?” Kasali shouting on her again.
“Kasali I am sorry for yesterday but I need to tell you something.” Fatima replied.
“What! Talk now before I end this call, you know I am driving.”
“I went to the hospital yesterday and the doctor confirmed I am two months pregnant.”
“What!” Kasali shouted.
The only thing Fatima heard was a noise and the line went dead. She tried calling him again but it wasn’t going through. She became really worried.
“What could have caused that noise?” she asked herself.
She tried to calm down.
“Maybe his battery went flat. The noise may be from the radio because she was even straining to hear his voice over the noise of the fuji music and the passengers that were shouting in the bus.” She said to herself.
After five minutes, she couldn’t bear it again. She decided to go to the garage to ask them to call one of the numbers on the manifest.
The only thing Kasali heard was his wife telling him that she is pregnant. He was so overjoyed that he didn’t see the oncoming truck that had left its own lane coming on a very high speed from the bend and the ditch by the side of the road. Before he could swerve, the truck hit the bus, threw it into the ditch and it somersaulted several times down the valley flinging the passengers out. The truck also followed them somersaulting into the ditch.
At the point of impact, the only thing that was on Afolabi’s mind was his wife and children. Bankole screamed because his leg was pinned before he lost consciousness when the bus started somersaulting.
Kasali died instantly because he hit his head and chest against the steering.
Within five minutes crowd had gathered, other buses stopped to rescue the survivors but it was difficult to get them up the valley. It wasn’t clear who died or was still alive. The truck driver was the only one that was conscious and was shouting for help. They started picking the bodies as fast they could because they were scattered everywhere.
The Federal Road Safety Corps arrived at the scene and took over the rescue efforts. The victims were rushed to the nearby private hospital for first aid; it was there that eleven of them were pronounced dead including Kasali.
Aisha, Mama Precious, Muyiwa and Bankole were alive but unconscious. The doctor told the FRSC staff to rush them to the state hospital because they needed urgent intensive care.
