Palava! (Part 1)

The Big Question…

In Nigeria, it is common knowledge that “well-to-do” families, or the ones living in the “cities,” go to their hometown and select a child from the lesser families, often female children of their relatives, and these children go home with them and become members of their family for years. Mostly, the purpose of doing this is to have someone in the home to help with chores, as opposed to house help. Only a few homes didn’t practice this, and even till now, it is still very commonly practiced.

For Aunty S, her case was quite different.

Aunty S has been married for years, but she has not been able to bear children. Close relatives suggested adoption, which is the best method the average families in Nigeria are familiar with, and can also afford, but her husband kicked against the idea. So, to fill the emptiness of childlessness in her home, she brought Gift from the village to nurture and care for as hers.

This was about ten years ago, and Gift was just twelve years old at that time.

Being that she was born and raised in the village, Aunty S had a lot of work to do on Gift, from teaching her etiquette, manners, cleanliness, and how to speak “good English.” Gift was registered in a primary school, and even though her age was far beyond that class, it wasn’t easily noticeable because she was miniature in body size.

Aunty S raised Gift as her own, taking care of her, buying her clothes, and upgrading her fashion sense, and ensuring that she was well provided for, especially as she was the only “child” in the home. It took Aunty S years of patience and determination to shape Gift into the kind of child she wanted, and the kind that was like the others around her neighborhood.

Gift became her child, companion at home, and everything a child could be to a mother, including running errands, so much so that Aunty S always took Gift wherever she went. Both Aunty S and her husband are advanced in age, but they didn’t stop caring for Gift.

As she grew older and got into secondary school, a smartphone was handed to Gift.

Unfortunately, last year, 2024, things took an ugly turn.

Aunty S returned home one day, and her husband, a retired government worker, showed her what Gift sent to him through the phone. It was a video recording of Gift attempting seduction. Aunty S was shocked to her bones.

Was Gift trying to seduce her husband?

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Aunty S screamed!

She never expected something like this from a child she had been raising for over a decade, one that called them both “mommy” and “daddy,” but her husband cautioned her not to create a scene, as that wasn’t the purpose he showed her the video. He didn’t want the neighbors to know about what they were dealing with in the home, and he certainly didn’t want drama or gossip, which would eventually be the result if the news went out.

Aunty S and her husband then called Gift and confronted her about it, but Gift said it was a mistake. She hadn’t intended to send it to Aunty S’s husband.

Why she had recorded herself in that manner, where and how she learnt to do something like that, and who she actually wanted to send it to remained unknown to Aunty S.

She called Gift’s parents in the village, informing them about her decision to return Gift to them, but her parents pleaded profusely for Aunty S to still keep her.

They had seen the immense work that Aunty S had done in the life of their child. From the few times Gift had visited home, they had seen how improved she was, and the difference from the other village kids was obvious.

After her parents pleaded, Aunty S allowed Gift to continue living with her.

Gift was twenty-two years old at this time and in her penultimate year in senior secondary school (what is popularly referred to as SS 2).

A while later, she noticed that Gift bought a certain kind of drug. Another time, within that same period, Gift collected limes and drank them, and she was also sleeping too frequently. Aunty S asked her if anything was wrong, but Gift said she was fine. Then one day, a neighbor drew her attention to Gift vomiting at the back of the house.

“Are you pregnant?” Aunty S asked her.

Gift said she vomited because of stomach upset, but judging by everything that Aunty S had been noticing, she didn’t quite believe Gift. Not only that, Gift had also been spitting almost every minute. So, later, Aunty S asked Gift to get dressed for them to go out, but they ended up in a clinic. Then, Aunty S met with the doctor alone and asked him to run a pregnancy test on Gift.

The test came back positive.

Aunty S was devastated, confused, and broken. While all this was happening, her husband wasn’t at home. She didn’t know what to do.

Who would have done this to Gift? She might be twenty-two years old, but she was still as naïve as most female children in secondary school, and she still looked younger than her age in body size.

How did this happen?

When did this happen?

She asked Gift to show her the house of the person who was responsible, but from the clinic back to the house, Gift couldn’t point out a house or give an address.

When they arrived home, Aunty S began to question Gift immediately.

“Who got you pregnant? Who is responsible?” Aunty S asked Gift, but Gift wasn’t forthcoming with answers.

When Aunty S tried to get the answer out of Gift, but she wasn’t succeeding, she was forced to ask the one question that hung at the back of her mind.

The one question no married woman in her situation ever wanted to ask.

“Or, is it Daddy?”