Mistaken Identity

MISTAKEN IDENTITY

“Stop!! Stop!!”, the soldiers exclaimed. They were chasing after a man; who tried to assassinate the Senate president’s daughter. The senate president had passed the social media bill, the bill met obstacles. He was one of the senators who clamoured for the passage of the bill. His family had received threats recently. The assassin had given the soldiers so much distance. I came out of my house waiting to board a cab. I was wearing one of my casual wears: a red shirt, black trousers, and a red face cap. The assassin and I wore matching outfits. I stopped a cab and was about to enter when someone pushed me to the ground and jump into the car.

I was on the ground in pain. The Assassin pushed me aside like a worthless object. A bounty was placed on the assassin’s head .“Oga naim be dis”, someone said, it was my neighbour; MR Nnamdi. He was talking to the soldiers. “Oga you think you can run abi” one of the soldiers said, “I don’t get you sir ” I said. MR Nnamdi interrupted me almost immediately. “ Richard doesn’t pretend, I stopped you from escaping”. “how did you stop him?” one of the soldiers asked,
“It was on the news. I heard soldiers were in hot pursuit of a man, who attempted to kill the senate president’s daughter. The description matched that of Richard, from his height down to clothing, to sum it up he was running”.
“When I saw Richard running I followed him to be sure. A few minutes later he came out and he was about scaling the fence when I hit him with a stick. He fell and lost consciousness ”.
” Oga it’s a lie this man is a liar”. “shut up”, one of the soldiers said, ” Badmus take this man to the Car” their leader said. He had been silent. He had an authoritative tone that could make one shiver to your spine.
“ Thank you MR Nnamdi “ their leader thanked him.
The scene had become crowded with newsmen, neigbours, and top politicians. The ABC news channel interviewed MR Nnamdi.
“MR Nnamdi how do feel being the hero of the day? The reporter asked. “ well l am great, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to stop a criminal like MR Richard. We have been neighbours for a while now. I wasn’t suspicious all this while until today. This tells you never to trust people”. “ MR Nnamdi anything else?” the reporter asked, “ always avoid crime”.
They rounded up the interview. Everybody in the neighbourhood were praising MR Nnamdi. I received the opposite, the soldiers took me away in their truck. I had gone from being an unknown fellow to a popular assassin. it didn’t feel real, but I couldn’t wake up from the dream.
The prison was another world of its own. We had a leader who we revered. he was a god In there. I heard stories of inmates who recounted their ordeals while in prison. The stories I heard were not pleasant. Mosquitoes have sucked my blood to their satisfaction. I am forced to listen to their occult anthem.
MR Nnamdi and I were not friends, but we weren’t enemies either. It was confusing why he would lie against me. I remembered when I went to his pharmacy to buy drugs. He was in a conversation with a man, they talked about money. I remember MR Nnamdi joked about using the man for money ritual if given the opportunity. He said he could do anything for money. I thought it was banter, but now l know better.
I have undergone a series of interrogations since my arrival. My answer is always the same; ‘ I am innocent’. I have received bruises for a crime I did not commit. The real culprit is walking free. My eyelid has run dry of tears. My parents don’t believe me. They were relieved of their duties because of me. They believe I am bad luck and my elder brother Dayo as usual doesn’t care what happens to me. My sister Lauretta is the only one that believes me. I no longer find a use for life, I want to die, my soul no longer sees my body as home. it longs for freedom.
MR Nnamdi is no longer in the country. He has gone to Europe for greener pastures. I stay all day without any thought going through my brain, my body oozes of suffering. My life is meaningless. Nobody believes me. I begin to think to myself; ‘what if there was a CCTV camera? What if someone actually saw the real culprit? It is a forgotten case as far as I was concerned.
As the days increased in numbers there was a decrease in my faith in God, a being who couldn’t save my ass is no God.

I was sentenced to death by firing squad. I am dying for nothing, my pictures were on all front pages of different newspapers. People were happy an assassin was caught. The spate of assassinations had increased. It was twenty days until my death. My hope was hanging on a thread.
MR Abasi the owner of the only supermarket ln our neighborhood was not in town when the scenario took place. He had gone to the village for his mother’s burial. When he returned to the city MR Nnamdi told him what happened. He didn’t believe MR Nnamdi’s concocted lies. MR Abasi could tell when something was fishy.
I began this ritual of smiling whenever I wake up in the morning. There was no need frowning when my soul would part ways with my body in a couple of days. The warden gave me a Bible. I read it often, it was my only friend.
Lauretta came to visit me a day before the execution we had talked at length. She prayed with me. She told me how everyone mocked our family. She told me how her fiancée dumped, but she still stood by me. We have been close from childhood at a point people thought I was her twin. She couldn’t believe she was seeing me for the last time. We hugged for some minutes then she left in tears.
The day was here. The day my spiritual sojourn commences, everything was set. The firing squad was awaiting an order to take me out. Their leader had started counting. “one, two, three, four, five and…”. “Stop”, Their leader gave an order to stop them from ending my chapter. The real assassin was caught on camera when he ran past MR Abasi’s supermarket. The CCTV camera in front of his shop had a good view of him. MR Abasi had immediately gone to the police to show them the video. The real criminal was caught and I was released. MR Nnamdi was also arrested. The police tracked him down to Malta where he was arrested. I was seconds away from death.
My parents were history to me. All their pleas fell on deaf ears, I needed to start afresh. The Government apologized to me. The senate president apologized to me as well. He visited me. ABC News interviewed me. We discussed my time in prison.
I moved to France where I want to begin a new chapter in my life. The city smells of beauty and the inhabitants breathe beauty. I live not far away from the Parc de Princes. I watch PSG’s match whenever I am. It’s like I have been in a cage my entire life. In Paris, I finally feel like a new being. The past is behind me now.

I have been a poet and writer, but my books were not read by many. In fact, I managed to sell my only book to five persons. After my release I became popular. I used that to my advantage to write a book on my time in prison. Millions have bought my book. I am now a bestselling author of many books. I am a modern modern-day. I must say every disappointment is a blessing.