CHAPTER 15: NO ONE'S CHILD: A WEAKNESS CALLED LOVE :MEMOIRS OF AN AFRICAN HOUSEMAID

I had been selling food for a while. But saving the money is not exactly easy. If anything the capital had been decreasing. We have saved nothing. Selling food was not working. We were almost out of business. My mother was dead worried. We had to think of a way out. At the rate we were going, by the end of the month we will run out of capital. We wouldn’t have money for marriage. We would not have saved a dime. My mother was sitting in the courtyard on a small Woden chair, part of it was chopped of, it could not stand on its own. So, she set it beside the wall and rests her back on the wall. I was sitting on a clay brick. We were both silent, buried in our thoughts, thinking of ways to save some money. When Ameena ran into our house. She shouted

“Come quickly, Halimatu is back, she does not have azeeema with her. Baaba Sa’a is causing a scene. Come quickly”
She ran out immediately after the words left her mouth left her mouth.
We wasted no time. I did not bother wearing a hijab, I had a head tie already, so I followed her immediately, while my mother ran into our room and covered herself with a wrapper, running behind us.




“Give me the body of my child Halimatu, I had lost two sons in that Godforsaken city not knowing whether they are dead or alive. Let me bury my child, let me see her body at least I will have peace of mind. She said between tears. “

Pain sears through her eyes like branding iron.

All this while Halimatu could not look the woman in the eye. How could she, the woman had been through great tribulation. Yet here is another and Halimatu is to blame.

Although Halimatu deems it as an act of fate. She was still a road to the destiny.  Azeema is no longer alive. Halimatu had went to the city and had pressured Hajiya Kulu about Azeema. Hajiya Kulu had called and called but the people were not giving information so they decided to take a trip to the faraway town. They went to the town and were informed by the people she worked for that Azeemah is dead. She had a fever, she was given all the care but she died nontheless. When inquired about her body, they say she had already been buried. They talked to Halimatu and Hajiya Kulu very harshly as if they were some pests. They told them to leave the next day because they will not be habouring them for another day. They left without seeing neither her grave nor her body. The people of the faraway town hated to be questioned. They were kings in their realms that had to be respected and dealt with delicately.

Baaba Sa’a is now looking for trouble, she wanted to see the body of her child. She wanted to know what exactly happens to the child, she wanted to know her girl’s last days, she wanted to know why she was not told about the demise of her child as soon as it happened.

The woman had suffered a lot. She had been blessed with three sons and 3daughters. Baaba Sa’a had lost kids at infancy, four kids. But 6stayed with her. They were not affluent and the husband was more interested in marrying new wives every year after harvest than taking care of his immediate family. Whenever pangs of poverty became severe, he insists on getting married again, in his belief marriage relieves poverty.

 After he had the maximum wives agreed under the Islamic faith which is four wives, he was still  not contented. Every year he divorces one and replaced her with another. The wives had kids each year, as at recent the man has about 30kids. Yet he does not take care of them. When a woman is divorced she leaves the children at the man’s house and marries another leaving Baaba Sa’a to take care of them.

Like most men Malam Hassan does not want to spend a dine on his kid and insisted they be taken to the city for Islamic teaching. Who the females were taken to town to work as maids. The "almajiri" schools. When ever rain is about to fall Malam Hassan order the male kids at almajiri schools to come home and till the land. After harvest they are sent back to school without eating a grain of their hard Labour.

He pays a meager amount to the Malam( the teacher and head of the almajiri school) at the onset and let the kids fend for themselves. They beg to feed themselves and the Malam. They was a specific amount of money the kids had to pay to the Malam every week as allowance for the Malam.

They clean his house, wash his clothes and every other little thing in his household. They sleep in a stuffed, poorly ventilated small room like canned sardines. During the hot seasons many die of meningitis. They walk for miles without shoes their wide cracked heels bleeding. Often molested for money rituals, They work in houses for food. Yet the food they get is the one that had gone bad.

Sometimes they gather arround the woman who sells "danwake" ( a traditional meal made from a dough of beans, sorghum, cassava flour and baobab leaves)and help her. chunks of the sticky dough is to be  dropped and cooked in a pot of boiling water, leaving the water green and slimy. As payment for the services rendered by these kids the woman gives them the slimy green water that is otherwise thrown away. they share it amongst themselves and take it as pap, grateful at least they will not starve. it was not enough to fill their hungry bellies neither was it tasteful, but desperate conditions call for desperate measures. They drink it like it was the most delicious and nutritious meal.

The kids live in an animal jungle of survival of the fittest. The bigger kids picking on the smaller ones. They showed no mercy, no consideration, no kindness, no feeling and no compassion. But how could they? when no body ever showed them kindness only coldheartedness and brutality.


All the Malam teaches them are the plain Arabic verses of the Quran. He ignored to teach them morals, the meanings of the Quran, the Islamic courtesies and injunctions, manners of worship, the life of the Prophet for them to emulate. No, there was no time, for the Malam needs his belly to be filled with tasty scrumptious meals, his body needs a soft mattress to sleep on, his children need to be educated, his house needs to be cleaned and these kids were his only source of livelihood. The kids were his business, he is an entrepreneur maximizing his profit.

He think himself blame free despite cries from the learned Islamic scholars about it's illegality under strict Islamic rules. He too is a poor man who cannot take care of such a massive number of kids. Their parents know that. Yet they insisted he takes them. He is doing them a favor by taking their burden, the kids they brought to this world and refuse to take care of. He is a savior, a hero and a humanitarian.

The kids are strong kids. They were determine to survive. Yet The rags they wear were no match for the harmattan season in the city. the malnourished, diseased stricken, hungry and barely clothed children roam the streets seeking alms. After all they had to survive.

The city is not altogether bad. Besides those who turn into thieves, the abducted, those turned into heretics, the dead, the once used for rituals, the once traded/sold for organ harvest, the permanently incapacitated, those turned into political assailants,a few make it. They amount to something.

They in fact became cobblers, domestic help and even tailors. Some lucky ones become soothsayers as well as skilled magicians that work with powerful spirits.

 The story of  Isa shall forever be told. A man who rose from literal rags to riches. An "almajiri" that rose to greatness. Like all the beggars He came with nothing and was lucky to be a house help. He wash plates and takes out the trash.

When He was 25 he was working as a washerman. one day the commercial vehicle he boarded broke down in the middle of no where. He went to the bush to relieve himself. It was then he met the strong Spirit. The great ‘azerdijerdeen’ She vowed to make him rich beyond his wildest imagination as long as he marries her.

He married her and she kept her word. She even allowed him to marry two other wives. The only price he had to pay was that he was never to wear shoes again for as long as he lived and that he should indulge in womanizing.

But he did became rich and in fact a powerful magician who does wonders. It was said that when he was courting his second wife on his first visit, he gave her five hundred thousand Naira. The woman did not know what to do with such a ridiculous amount of money. She handed it to her mother. The mother became anxious and paced around.

Never in her entire mortal existence had she seen such huge amount of money. Her heart could not take the pressure, she fainted and was taken to the hospital.

The father called Isa and told me never to give the child money again, but he can give her non monetary gifts. The gifts Haji Isa gave her were too much and so the father called for an immediate wedding.

Two of  Baaba Sa’a’s kids were sent to the city to one of those almaji schools never to return again. They were not confirmed dead, they just got missing never to be found again.  Baaba Sa’a went to the school to inquire about her kids. The Malam told her to accept it as an act of fate and that she should be patient, God will reward her for her patience.

To subject your child to that system is to subject him to slavery and ruin.


“Baaba Sa’a I have done my best, believe me, but let’s go to the city together so you can see for yourself. I am truly sorry. But it is not my fault. It is predestined, it could not have been evaded. Come tomorrow let us go back to the city together. “ Halimatu finally said, raising her head to face Baaba Sa’a for the first time.