Gidan Dadi Book Complete 2 Oum Aphnan

Description

Part 1: Sohail and Maheera

The food they had received from her lasted two days without them seeing the bottom of it, and they ate it until it finished. Sohail said, "Let me go and borrow some more food for us." Sahil stayed at home while Sohail went alone. Coincidentally, the young lady arrived with her food in a flask inside a Viva plastic bag. She saw Sohail and asked, "Is it you today?" He replied, "Yes, I came to borrow [food]. Give me some, and I will leave my phone with you so you can keep giving me food."

She looked at him and asked, "By the way, what is your name?" He said, "Sohail." She asked, "Where is the other one?" He was surprised that she recognized them and asked, "How did you recognize us?" [She replied,] "The other one has a protruding canine tooth, doesn't like playing, and never smiles." He remarked, "Indeed you have a brain! But by the way, which class are you in?" She laughed and asked, "What is your name?" He said, "No, let me guess—your name is Maheera."

"Where did you know my name?" she blurted out, staring at him. He said, "Give me a sweet so I can suck on it." She opened the sweet container and generously gave him one. She handed him the Viva bag and said, "Take this, and tomorrow bring back my flask. What should I borrow you?" After thinking deeply, she said, "Yogurt," then plunged into thought again and said, "Cakes," and finally, "Oh yeah, I remember, soft drinks." After she finished packing, he added, "And biscuits." Out of exhaustion, she packed them, gave them to him, and he left.

As he walked away, she sat down wondering, Are these guys normal? What they are doing looks nothing like normal people their age. She repeated his name: "Sohail and Sahil. Hmm, nice name." She pulled out her phone and began typing.

When Sohail returned, they opened the flask Maheera gave them. It was tuwon shinkafa (rice swallow) with egusi soup and four pieces of meat inside. Moreover, the food was plenty and would even be enough for both of them. They started eating quickly, the way they usually did without using spoons most of the time. Sohail said, "Their mother knows how to cook; it looks like she went to culinary school." Sahil replied, "Yeah, absolutely delicious."

Part 2: Adnan and Ibrahim's Mockery

Adnan wondered how they managed to lock the kitchen yet they kept seeing Sahil and his brother looking completely fine. Out of annoyance, they even opened the kitchen. They found Sahil sitting down while Adnan and Ibrahim were at the dining table reviewing work files. Stammering and speaking with difficulty, Sahil said, "Adnan... I... I... am going... out..."

Ibrahim took a harsh look at him and yelled aggressively, "Where are you going?" Sahil said, "I'm just going out into the world to look for money too..." Before he could finish his sentence, they burst into wild, crazy laughter, howling with amusement. He stood watching them until they finished laughing. Adnan looked him up and down and said, "So like this you're going to look for money? Do you even have a brain? Where did you get the brain to look for money?" They burst into laughter again. "Can you even think like that?" Ibrahim remarked, laughing and clapping their hands.

Sahil felt his knees completely weaken; he felt totally crushed, standing like a statue with his eyes filling with tears while they stood over him laughing.

Adnan stopped Ibrahim, seeing he was about to blow his top, and said, "Wait, Ibrahim. Hey Sahil, are you going to be given transport fare?" Sahil managed to speak with difficulty and said, "Yes." Adnan said, "Wow, Sahil, you've got heart, whoa!" Right then, he pulled out 20k and said, "Here, this is enough for you to manage until you manage to find work. If hardship tires you out, you can return to Abuja; here is home, you have nothing to worry about."

Ibrahim said, "So you're stepping out into the world now, Sahil?" And they burst into laughter again. Adnan said, "For God's sake go, the laughter is going to kill me." Sahil turned away, completely sapped of strength, and left.

He walked straight to their room, went inside, and collapsed on the bed, crying profusely. Sohail came in and found him like that. Without asking why, he lay down beside him and burst into crying even louder than Sahil. Sahil slowly raised his head, looking at Sohail. Sohail, crying, said, "Let's not stop, let's keep going, my brother." Sahil nodded to indicate they should keep going, and they continued crying. After crying for a long time, Sahil wiped his tears, said "I'm tired," pulled his suitcase, and packed all his things. Sohail asked, "Are you leaving now?" He replied, "What is the use of staying? I am going out into the world. It's better I go; whatever happens to me will happen." "Then let me accompany you."

Part 3: The Journey to Lagos

Together with Sohail, they got into a car up to the motor park. Sahil said, "I am going to Lagos, I will go and sleep under the bridge like that. When things settle down, I will call you so you can come too, okay?" Sohail said, "Okay, no problem."

They went all the way to the park, but Sahil didn't have money for a good vehicle, so he was forced to enter a trailer meant for hauling migrant workers, where water and wind beat down on their heads along the journey, for a small amount of money. He paid the money, and his name and everything were written down. When he tried to climb the trailer, he couldn't. Sohail squatted on the ground, Sahil stepped on his neck to stretch up, grabbed the trailer, and climbed inside, tumbling right on top of a young lady.

The girl was crying and pushed him aside, saying, "Mister, what is the meaning of this?" "Sorry," he uttered, rising and looking at her. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her—extremely beautiful, looking like a Fulani girl. He picked up his bag and adjusted his position next to the girl, shoulder to shoulder. Because people were packed on top of one another with no space, it was the only way to travel.

Sohail called out to Sahil from the ground at the park. Sahil stood up, waved at him while smiling, and said, "Don't forget to call me when you get there." "Insha Allah, bro. Take care of yourself." Sahil nodded to him. People were boarding the vehicle like sand. Sahil was astonished; there was zero space inside the vehicle, people stacked on top of each other. Cows wouldn't even be loaded like that. Their bodies were covered in dust, and some smelled terribly. He didn't know where to put himself inside the vehicle.

The stench overwhelmed him. He looked at the girl beside him, who had covered her nose, struggling to breathe as the back of the truck was crammed with people of all different languages. The truck moved out onto the asphalt, and they began their journey.

The girl screamed as someone shoved her head: "Ohh, he's going to kill me... I'm going to die..." she panted heavily. Sahil picked her up from where she sat and pulled her onto his lap. She shouted, "Hey mister, you bastard, put me down! Just like that you put me on your lap?" They started struggling, and Sahil said, "You must sit down, this place is safer. Out there you'll be killed for nothing, honestly. You're a young girl and you already know how to flirt? Shut your mouth or I'll slap you!" The girl's eyes widened in shock, while those sitting close by laughed and shouted. An old pervert said, "By God, you two match, one could even say she's your younger sister, you look alike." Sahil said, "I'm way more handsome than that." The girl retorted, "God, that's a lie! Who are you finer than?"

She felt herself being shoved across the truck, crashing into people and getting bruised because she didn't know Sahil—in his erratic state, he was hot-tempered. People pushed her back. She burst into tears, hurting her neck, but eventually managed to return to her seat. Sahil himself was fed up with the vehicle, not knowing where to put his head, tired of standing and tired of sitting.

The girl felt pity for him, stealing glances at him as he looked completely disoriented, as though out of his mind. While this was happening, a heavy downpour accompanied by strong winds broke out. She quickly grabbed her bag and stuffed him inside a large plastic bag she had brought so the water wouldn't touch him. As they traveled through the rain heading to Lagos, a long time passed before the rain stopped. Sahil came down with a cold and fever, shivering from the cold. The girl looked at him and said, "Change your clothes, or at least your shirt." Without waiting for his answer, she unzipped a bag, pulled out a thick shirt, and gave it to him.

He took it with difficulty and removed his shirt. The women in the truck stared at his physique, admiring the sculpted, God-given beauty of his body. He changed into the new shirt, and she took the one he removed and placed it to the side. Since she had brought large plastic bags with her during the rain, she protected her own things, and water didn't touch her at all.

He began to doze off, unknowingly resting his head on the girl's shoulder. She quickly turned to look at him, about to speak, but saw he was sleeping, so she just let him be. Everyone assumed they were traveling together as husband and wife, unaware that they were total strangers. An elderly woman remarked, "Truly you have found a good husband, young lady; he looks like a pampered boy, lucky you." The girl almost laughed but managed to keep a straight face, saying, "Um, just..."

As they traveled in pitch darkness—no prayers or anything, just deep darkness in the wilderness—Sahil was fast asleep. Slowly, in his sleep, he slipped down and rested his head on the girl's chest. She felt him—he was not wearing a bra, of course, but she felt his face pushing deep into her bosom like he wanted to suck his mother's milk. She struck him hard on the back, and he slowly woke up, opening his eyes. Only then did he remember he was in a truck.

He heard her sweet-sounding voice say, "You're leaning all over my body." He sat up slowly and said, "Water..." She chuckled and said, "Unbelievable! You look like a baby with a big beard and all, yet you're acting like this with me while I'm younger. Wait until we stop somewhere, then you can buy and drink. Aren't you a man?" He ignored her, staying seated beside her as he drifted back to sleep.

Part 4: The Breakdown and Sahil's Revelation

Their truck broke down in the wilderness, and everyone was terrified of the road. People were praying and reciting supplications, but Sahil just kept sleeping. They stayed there for a long time before the truck started moving again. Deep in the night, they stopped at a park in a Yoruba town, and everyone spilled out to find food and pray.

The girl was the only one who couldn't get out, keeping one foot inside. Sahil laughed, reached out, picked her up like a twig, and placed her on the ground. Overwhelmed with shyness, she panicked. He looked for a mosque to perform his prayers, and she did the same. Upon returning, he bought apples, bananas, roasted chicken, yogurt, soft drinks, and water, returning early to the vehicle to avoid the crushing crowd.

As for the girl, she didn't have a single penny to buy anything, so she simply returned inside the vehicle to avoid the pushing and shoving. She found him alone inside, sitting on top of his suitcase. He looked at her and asked, "Why didn't you buy anything?" She smiled and sat down, saying, "I have no money." He said, "Tsh! Life requires eating. You must buy things for yourself. That's why you never make progress; yesterday is like today, you're always broke, obsessed with hoarding money. You won't eat for your own body, but you keep your damn secret savings account!"

The girl's eyes widened; everything he said was the truth. She never spent money; whenever she needed to spend money to buy food, she refused, preferring to hoard it in her account.

He handed her everything he bought and said, "Here, eat it all." She opened her mouth and asked, "What about you?" He said, "Just eat; if there's any left, I'll eat it." She said, "No, that's not right, let's eat together." Angrily, he said, "Eat it right now or I'll take it and throw it away!" She was astonished. What kind of person is this? She began eating, and despite saying she was full after eating a good amount, she wasn't actually full.

He said, "You're not full, keep eating, you're lying." She just said "Hmm," continued eating her food, and then asked, "By the way, what is your name?" He said, "Sahil." She said, "And I..." He cut her off, saying, "Your name is Islaha." Her mouth dropped open, thinking to herself, Is this even human? She heard his reply: "Of course I'm human."

She got scared, and he said, "Stop being scared, I am human." Her eyes widened and she couldn't say anything. He continued, "I can tell you your entire background and history accurately." She said, "Okay, tell me, let me hear."

"Your people are not Hausas; you belong to an ethnic group from the Taraba State region, similar to the Fulani with your cattle and everything, yet you are not truly Fulani. Your parents are from Taraba. Your father's name is Sule, and your mother's name is Halisa, called Nany. You are their only child, and they are both deceased. You grew up in Taraba under your mother's younger sister. Eventually, her husband also died, and she started making tuwo for a living. From then on, she and her three children—one boy and the rest girls—all her children engaged in prostitution.

Among her children, her eldest daughter Shema'u became wealthy through prostitution. Even your mother's younger sister and her other children became rich and moved to Lagos to live there, completely unbothered by Hausa people or relatives. You were pressured over and over to start joining them, but you refused. So she turned you into her housemaid, though a real housemaid holds higher status than you do in their eyes. They subjected you to torture. Even now, she sent you to your village to deliver a message, and now you are returning. You are twenty-five (25) years old. The reason they want you to start doing it too is because you are extremely beautiful, with a great figure and body shape, and any man would want to possess you.

You love the color white, you love swallow and egusi soup, you love wearing shadda attire, your period lasts for four days... and..."

Islaha felt her secrets were being completely exposed—everything he said was true without a single lie. She stopped him and said, "Okay, I've heard enough." He added, "And you finished secondary school and entered the NCE, but they stopped paying your school fees, so you were forced to quit your studies."

She sat completely mute; everything he said was accurate. She handed him the food and said, "I am full." He took it and began eating his food. Islaha stared at him like a witch. "Am I looking good to you?" she heard his voice say without looking at her. She quickly averted her eyes and began playing with her fingers, wringing her hands. He laughed helplessly, grabbed her hand, and said, "Let's see if it hurts." Slowly, out of shyness, she withdrew her hand. He threw a question at her: "Don't you have toys to play with?" Surprised, she asked, "What kind of toys?" "Dolls or Teddy bears bought for you at home." She smiled and said, "At my age?" She pouted, her red lips catching his attention. She lowered her head out of shyness. They stayed like that for a long time until the passengers returned and they resumed their journey.

Part 5: Arrival in Lagos and Sahil's Job Hunt

The next morning, they arrived in Lagos. After they disembarked, Islaha asked Sahil, "Where are you going?" He said, "Into the city," turned around with his bag, and walked away without even looking back. She shrugged and went her way too.

She headed to their house in a taxi. When she arrived, her mother's younger sister, whom they called Aunty, saw her coming in the morning and said angrily, "What the hell did you stay back doing, Islaha, not returning early? Who is going to do the housework here?" Islaha said fearfully, "Forgive me, you know the vehicle you told me to board was slow and had too many stops, that's why." Khairat, Aunty's biological daughter, shouted, "Shut your mouth there!" She was probably around 30 years old. Her younger sister Khalisat added, "This girl is completely messed up." Islaha remained silent. Aunty said, "Well, look at the chores piled up, get to work." Even though Islaha was exhausted, she started doing the housework.

It was a nice house inside an estate where all the houses on the street looked alike. The house was decent and respectable for Lagos—even though the neighborhood was for low-income earners, it was nice. Islaha cleaned the house thoroughly, finished everything, and started cooking dinner. Khairat said, "What about our laundry, when is that?" "I'll do it tomorrow, Insha Allah." "There's still daylight in the city, madam, wash our clothes." Khalisat brought the clothes and dumped them. Islaha cooked and did the laundry simultaneously until she finished completely. Luckily, the clothes weren't too dirty.

When she finished everything, she managed to take a bath and change into second-hand top and trousers that suited her well, enhancing her natural beauty. She dished out her food and ate her fill. While she was in the parlor, Yaseer walked in—Aunty's eldest son. Aunty said, "Yaseer, I don't want this girl you said you want to marry, Rukayya." Yaseer looked at their mother and said, "But you know the wedding date has already been fixed!"

Aunty said, "You are not going to marry her, honestly. I consulted my spiritualists, and they said there is absolutely no blessing in your marriage. Furthermore, if you marry her, they said you will only ever dream of getting wealthy. I know you've been in love since childhood, and even though she waited for you through our poverty until God blessed us, you will not marry her. The clerics said there is no blessing."

Islaha, overhearing them, said, "But nobody can stop anyone's wealth in this world; God is the one who gives and takes." Aunty gave Islaha a knock on the head and said, "By God, if I am talking and you put your mouth in it, I will deal with you!" Islaha stayed quiet, listening to them. Even Yaseer, an absolute illiterate, believed what his mother said and replied, "Well, Aunty, you'll just have to go back to the clerics to remove Rukayya's love from her heart. If not, how can I say I'm calling it off?" She said, "Don't worry, that's easy; she'll be made to feel she doesn't love you and she'll be the one to call it off." He said, "Okay then, since there's no blessing, what do I need her for when I am blindly desperate to make money?"

Part 6: Sahil at the Tomato Market

Sahil boarded a motorcycle and said, "Take me to the tomato market." The Okada rider took him to the major tomato market in Lagos. Hausas and people of other tribes were packed tightly, bustling with activity. Sahil stood holding his bag, watching what was going on, realizing they wouldn't be capable of hard labor.

A man in the market looked at Sahil, saw him standing for a long time, and assumed he was a famous rich man who had arrived from abroad to buy tomatoes. He rushed up to him and said, "Good day, sir." Sahil replied in Hausa, "Good work." The man said, "Oh, you speak Hausa? I thought you just landed from Tunisia." Sahil said, "No." "Okay, are you here to buy goods? How many truckloads do you want?"

Sahil looked at him and said, "I came to look for work, I am the son of Malam Shehu." The man looked Sahil up and down and said, "Work? The kind of heavy work we do, like offloading tomatoes from trucks?" Sahil replied, "Yes, exactly that. Back at our house, because I didn't have money, whenever rain clouds gathered, raw daddawa (locust bean cakes) would even be brought to my room for me to sleep with, because you know life has no balance at all. Nowadays, if you don't have money in your house, your mother could die and you wouldn't even know."

The man, whose name was Aminu, laughed heartily and said, "A guy like you, because of poverty, they bring daddawa to your room to sleep?" Sahil said, "Well, unless rain clouds don't gather; but when they do, it's brought on a tray." The man said, "Wait, you don't even have a single kobo? Look at your clothes, only rich people wear those kinds." Sahil replied, "Yeah, I'm just going to look for it."

Aminu laughed loudly and said, "Look at your complexion, can you really do it?" "I can do it," Sahil said. The man said, "My name is Aminu, what's yours?" "Sahil." "Well, if it's hard labor, it's not hard, you'll find it. Offload each basket for 50 Naira."

Sahil agreed. Sahil actually possessed physical strength beyond normal people, but when it came to useless laziness versus tasks that could benefit oneself, laziness would engulf them and strength would completely fail to show up. He dropped his bag and waded through the baskets of tomatoes. Aminu said, "That's the truck we are going to."

As they reached it, Sahil climbed inside a giant trailer, forced by circumstance to seek money. He bent down to lift a tomato basket, tried and tried, but couldn't lift it. The youths around burst into shouting and laughter.

Sahil mustered his willpower again, strained to lift it, but with all his effort he failed, tripping and falling right on top of the other baskets. People gathered around, watching him pant and huff. People assumed he was too used to luxury, judging by his skin tone—you could tell at a glance he was a spoiled city boy (ajebo). They began scolding him to get down from the truck. He climbed down with a completely dejected body.

He headed to the food vendors because he hadn't eaten anything since the motor park. He bought jollof rice with two pieces of meat, sat down, drank pure water, stretched his legs, and walked back into the market.

Aminu called him and asked, "Please, where do you guys sleep?" Aminu laughed and pointed to some corrugated iron shacks, saying, "Look at these rooms; do you know how much we pull together to pay for them every year?" Sahil asked, "How much?" "Two hundred thousand! Look, it's like a container, and more than twenty of us stay inside, almost sleeping on top of each other. Just wait and see where others sleep."

Sahil was astonished and went to sit by the side. Heavy rain clouds gathered. As he sat, a drizzle began, and he saw everyone putting on raincoats. Because night had fallen, some people sleeping on iron wheelbarrows used for hauling goods placed cardboard boxes over themselves to sleep, while some Okada riders sat atop their motorcycles wearing raincoats to sleep as the rain battered them—an ugly sight showing how some of our Hausa people, despite having heritage and everything, go out and disgrace the North. You would never see another tribe living in such degradation in the North in the name of looking for money, but Northerners are wherever humiliation is found. People talk about "looking for money," but is looking for money putting your life in extreme danger when back in the North some people have capital far exceeding what it takes to live out there?

Night fell, and Sahil stood under a small makeshift shed for shelter as people swarmed around. Some drug addicts ran up and shoved Sahil out into the rain, taking over the shed. There was nowhere else for Sahil to shelter, and night had fallen while rain poured down in sheets. He looked around through the rain but found nowhere to enter. Realizing there was no use standing around, he stepped out into the pouring rain and started walking, not knowing where he was heading.

His phone was ringing, and he knew it was Sohail calling to find out if he arrived safely, but there was no way to pick up the call.

As he walked through the floodwaters, he left that street and entered a fine, unfamiliar street. He reached a massive hotel and decided to take brief shelter by its perimeter wall. Peering into the luxurious hotel premises, he found a spot, crouched down, and fell fast asleep until morning without realizing it. When the sound of a car horn made him open his eyes, his feet were heavily swollen. With great difficulty, he managed to stand up and looked into the hotel once more.

His eyes widened in shock as he saw Islaha stepping out of a car—a gorgeous young lady dressed in stunning clothes. She wore a bum short and a short top, bundled up and trying to cover herself modestly, feeling shy and walking with difficulty as if she wasn't used to it. Her curves and everything were fully on display. Shocked, she stepped out, hurried away without looking at anyone, flagged down a taxi, and hopped inside.

2. Summary

The story follows two lazy, pampered twin brothers, Sohail and Sahil, whose lives revolve around doing nothing while relying on others. After a neighborhood girl named Maheera regularly provides them with food through their borrowed phone scheme, Sahil is mocked and humiliated by their wealthy benefactors, Adnan and Ibrahim, for claiming he wants to go out into the world to make money. Stung by the mockery, Sahil breaks down crying, packs his bags, and decides to migrate to Lagos to survive.

Sahil embarks on a brutal, grueling journey to Lagos packed inside a crowded, filthy cargo trailer. During the trip, he encounters a naive, money-hoarding young woman named Islaha, who is returning from an errand for her abusive Lagos-based aunt and prostitution-ring family. Despite Sahil’s eccentric and rough behavior, he shares his food with her, reads her entire life history and background accurately, and eventually parts ways with her upon arrival in Lagos.

Meanwhile, Islaha returns to her aunt's house where domestic abuse, forced labor, and manipulative schemes regarding her cousin's marriage unfold. At the same time, Sahil attempts to work as a manual laborer offloading tomatoes at a chaotic Lagos market. Due to his utter lack of physical endurance and pampered background, he fails miserably, experiences the harsh reality of Northern migrant poverty and destitution under rain and harsh conditions, and spends the night sleeping on the cold streets outside a luxury hotel—where he coincidentally spots Islaha stepping out of a car in glamorous attire the next morning.

3. Description

• Setting: Northern Nigeria (Abuja/home residence), a grueling cargo trailer journey across the wilderness, and the bustling, chaotic, and unforgiving slums and markets of Lagos State (specifically tomato markets and upscale estates).
• Tone: Gritty, dramatic, cautionary, and eye-opening, blending elements of romance, youth idleness, socio-economic critique, and the harsh realities of rural-urban migration.
• Core Themes: The dangers of laziness and entitlement, the exploitation of migrant workers, family dysfunction and forced prostitution rings, socio-economic disparity, and unexpected human connections forged in adversity.

4. Analytics

• Character Arcs:
  • Sahil: Transitions from a completely pampered, lazy dependent (ajebo) to a humbled migrant facing the brutal realities of urban survival, testing his physical and mental limits.
  • Islaha: Moves from a repressed, exploited maid hoarding her savings to someone experiencing unpredictable encounters that expose her family's dark background.
• Social Commentary: The author sharply criticizes the mindset of certain Northern youth who migrate to Southern cities like Lagos under the guise of "looking for money," only to live in degrading, sub-human conditions when they could have utilized better opportunities or capital back home.
• Pacing: Fast-paced narrative style shifting between domestic drama, travel misadventures, and urban survival struggles.

5. Comments

• Realism vs. Drama: The transition of Sahil from a helpless, weeping homebody to someone capable of reciting a stranger's exact life history adds an almost mystical/eccentric layer to his character, contrasting sharply with the raw grit of the Lagos market scenes.
• Cultural Relevance: The text touches heavily upon contemporary Nigerian social issues, including urban migration hardships (yan cirani), family exploitation, and societal judgments on wealth and marriage.

6. Categories

• Genre: Nigerian Fiction / Hausa-English Contemporary Drama / Social Fiction
• Sub-Genres: Migration & Survival Stories, Romance, Societal Critique

7. Conclusion

This narrative serves as a powerful moral and social reflection on dependency, pride, and the harsh realities of survival. Through the parallel journeys of Sahil and Islaha, the story highlights how comfort breeds vulnerability, while the unfiltered struggles of the outside world strip away pretension and expose the true resilience—or fragility—of the human spirit.