By Kesiena Ikeke
On a day that started off with great enthusiasm and positive energy, all I needed to do was rush down to my school, pay some fees, submit files and return back to Abuja and face some major work of the day, (editing).
Though I got to school quite early but couldn’t finish what I went to do, but on my high spirit I left Keffi back to Abuja, around 1pm and at this point I was very hungry. And at the same time I needed to meet my boss to collect the materials I’m to work on. He asked me to meet him at a food vendor, beside a popular garden called Life Style Garden behind area 10 secondary school, Garki.
Though hard to locate, I got there feeling tired and hungry already but was very excited because it was a food shop. I was offered food by my boss, I wanted to say no because of the environment, but when looking at the caliber of persons eating there, I couldn’t say no, how can I even say no when I was seriously famished.
But something strange happened the moment the food was brought, the hunger in me disappeared immediately, I looked at the vegetable soup and amala closely, within me I knew it will be difficult for me to eat it because the vegetables was not fresh, but the food was already here, I had to try, it was tasteless, very watery and to crown it all it was expensive. The first thing they did that I was pissed up when my boss was about paying the bill, we were told that vegatable soup is charge differently from the Amala. According to them , a rapped of Amala is N400, the vegetables and fish is N600 plus water N100 totalling N1100. Considering the environment and how the food test, such amount to me, is extotion. truly paying a whooping one thousand one hundred naria for a food that is tasteless, it was crazy and frustrating, I was pained and almost burst into tears, because that food wasn’t worth it at all and I had to manage to eat just little so that my boss wouldn’t feel so bad. And that singular act was the beginning of my ordeal.
30 to 35 minutes after eating the food, my body system changed, I started sweating profusely, I practically ran out of the keke I was in, jump into a bike, ran into my house to use the toilet. I have been having running stomach for two days now since I ate that food. It is a crazy experience but I thank God I’m still alive to tell this story.