My Landlord’s heartless rule – Mbiataabasi Godwin | #SYL 2016 #landlordstories
My Landlord’s heartless rule – Mbiataabasi Godwin | #SYL 2016
MY LANDLORD’S HEARTLESS RULE
by Mbiataabasi Godwin
Cold sweat trickled down my entire body as I fought tirelessly hoping sleep would come but it was obvious sleep had betrayed my eyes. I laid there wishing the lights would come so the chill of the fan could lure my eyes to sleep but I knew that was far-fetched. It was the disconnection carried out by Electricity Company that had kept the entire compound in a complete black out, leading to the agony I was experiencing.
I could not imagine that the money jointly paid for the electricity bills, never got to the proper quarters. It had been rumoured that the landlord had been robbed while he sat drunk in a bar, which made him unable to pay, leaving us to suffer this fate. For a week, everyone in the entire compound suffered a similar fate. We hardly could charge phones, iron or even get to enjoy the cold comfort of our fans. The most frustrating part of the story was that the landlord never tried to remedy the situation rather he gave empty promises which were never realised. This was the misery I experienced living in the house of a man whose only true allegiance was paid to the green bottles.
Finally, the morning came and it was 7am already. I felt worn out and weak due to my inability to sleep. Just before I could have a second thought, a loud knock strong enough to pull down my door was heard “that must be the landlord” I thought. on opening the door, I met with the huge figure of my landlord right before me. I could perceive the stench of alcohol all over him. I began to wonder what message of doom he came to deliver. Soon, he began to mutter some words that we were to pay an extra N5, 000 to get the light re-connected. I just couldn’t come to terms with the fact that more money was to be paid after the initial payment. Before I could make any comments, the old man had walked away.
I decided to go take a bath to ease the misery my landlord had put me in. On getting to the tap, I met with angry faces of other tenants who were equally lamenting their plight. To my greatest chagrin, the tap was locked and no one was allowed to fetch without payment of light bills. ‘Not again’ out of rage, I stormed his apartment to face him. On getting there, before I could utter any word I heard him say ‘if you no wan pay comot for my house’ ‘but oga’ he had already turned his back on me.I could no longer contend with the negligence in the compound so I finally resolved to vacate his house not considering the money I was to lose.
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