Part 38

Madam Jolie Jolie was a pretty middle-aged woman: old enough to be Ibinabo’s elder sister. She was unmarried but not childless. Her son was a child she had had when she was in her very early twenties for a chief who was only too married to three wives, to marry her. But he had made sure she was well off, without marrying him. As a rule Ibinabo would often offer to help whenever she arrived at meal times at Madam Jolie Jolie’s home because she knows she would be partaking in the meals as well. So it was only natural she helped with the preparation. Madam Jolie’s son was obedient that morning. He was the one in the said kitchen. Outside by the kitchen’s doorway was Madam Jolie Jolie, on a small seat picking melon seeds from a green plastic bowl rested on a brown tray. Her hands were smooth and youthful. Her nails were painted pink and her hair had been combed into an afro. Her black beautiful facial skin glistened in the hot sun. she had a small facial mark on her right cheek, given her as when she was a child

Part 37

Ibinabo appeared to have arrived at the time the negotiations ended. She picked up the pestle that was lying on the hardened mud caked floor on the corridor to Madam Jolie’s kitchen. The kitchen to the building was an extension of the main building. It was a small doorless hut constructed with corrugated zinc sheets, built to keep most of the sun and rain away. Ibinabo placed the pestle, she had picked up, against the wall of the detached hut. The smell of kerosene burning with hot flames on the stoves had become apparent. Madam Jolie had not gone out yet as earlier anticipated. The corrugated sheets that were the walls of the kitchen were rusty brown, and black from the smoke that bellowed from the firewood Madam Jolie had once used to prepare her meals.

 

Part 36

Earlier on; a few weeks earlier, the Sage had heard of a certain farming community that had negotiated a relocation successfully. Apparently, negotiating with the officials was a possible solution to their problems. But this time luck was not on the side of the villages. The officials declined instituting the compensations requested by the representatives.

The farming community two villages away, that were successful had approached their negotiation as if it was a festival . Perhaps that counted in their favour. Perhaps they were simply fortunate, the state government was yet to implement proceedings for a right of way on the farmlands. But it turned out that they were one of the few lucky ones.

Part 35

The government officials listened, not amused by the cross talk going on between the Sage and Chief Iyagbaye. As far as they were concerned it was totally within their power to decide the fate of these villages. So they expected a little more proficiency in negotiation, if there was to be any negotiations between them and the villagers’ reps. A fact that did not go down well with the Sage who sensed this when he saw the reaction of the government officials. At first the meeting had seemed like a public presentation; it looked like it was ending as one anyway. The Sage had hoped to get a free reign on presentations but Iyagbaye was putting his fist in on the proceedings. This was becoming a difficult session of negotiations.

Part 34

‘’Yes I agree with what Chief Iyagbaye is saying but more importantly, we should negotiate for a quick response by the state government to our needs. We need the government to evaluate the fertility of our farmlands and how the transportation of crude has affected it.’’

‘’Sorry my Sage but there are more urgent needs than the evaluation of our farmlands. It is clear that the pipelines and oil spills have had an adverse effect on our farmlands. That is why we should not have them going through our lands.’’

Part 33

The Sage spoke convincingly and appealed for twenty minutes. This infuriated Chief Iyagbaye who had a long list of demands to make from the government officials. It sounded as if the Sage was joining sides with the government officials.

‘’I think we shouldn’t take this things for granted, you ought to see the evidence. The constructed pipelines on our lands have been more problematic than resourceful. We have petitioned the state and national government that this pipelines ought to go through the forest and not our farmlands. But you officials have refused to reason with us. We are being pushed into the Ossiomo river.’’

Part 32

‘’First of all Madam Jolie had petitioned and won an appeal to divert the route of the pipeline through the edge of the forest but the government had promised her a compensation for her farmland and a relocation  to another empty plot of farmland instead.’’

‘’Since the last two meetings we have had, as I speak she is yet to be compensated and relocated. Months ago, I spoke to her about what options may be available to her. she complained that she was forced to plant her crops on this same farmland as the season for planting was almost over and she had not received a favourable response from the state government’s ministry. No one had called to see her she complained to me.’’