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August 24, 2022

WHAT’S UP WITH TOCHI AND THE DEMAND FOR HUMAN-SACRIFICE BY THE GODS?

Greetings, folks!

I am Harry Agina, and I have edition 4 of Michael Shaibu’s “Blowback,” in the Afro-Scope “AfroCultural Drama” series on money-making ritual in Africa. We did say already that it is currently going haywire in Nigeria.

If you missed episodes 1 to 3, the link to episode 1 is waiting for you at the end of this. And, episodes 1 will link you to 2 and 3. Innocent humans are devilishly butchered, supposedly sacrificed to some gods, in search of wealth. At the end of the last episode (3), Tochi got the shock of his life from the agent of the gods, the witch doctor. He is known as ‘Babalawo,’ commonly called ‘Baba.’ Baba had just revealed to Tochi that he, Tochi, had to kidnap and sacrifice a female virgin to the gods.

Yeah, I know. You want to say something like; he should just walk away; right? Well, his own life now depends on it. He had been warned by baba that he could not pull out of the deal after the demand was already revealed to him. Again, I’m certain that you blame Tochi for allowing baba to reveal the demand of the gods; right? He had been told about a dire consequence, so he should have rejected the deal then; right? Well, maybe we shouldn’t blame him all the way on that one. After all, the gods had already made their demands from his two friends, Bude and Toba. The demands were no such a big deal; just a couple of empty coffins, some corns, and some chickens. Tochi probably figured that his own sacrifice couldn’t possibly be more than double quantity of those items.

Now he knows better. Is he going to hang in there and pull it off? Can he commit the murder just to make money? Now, I bet that you wanno say that Tochi should just go ahead and tell baba to go to hell, and walk away, as a child of God; right? Well, it’s not that easy anymore. Remember that there is a consequence for pulling out after the demand of the gods got revealed to him. Tochi now has only two choices of either making the sacrifice with the virgin, or sacrifice his own life. Which of the choices will Tochi choose? Will he commit murder, or die himself? Or, is there a third option? All that is for our dramatist, Michael Shaibu, to know, and for you and I to find out in this episode, pronto!:

BLOWBACK 4

1. HUT DOOR. EVENING.

BABA IS SITTING AT HIS HUT DOOR, A LAMP BY HIS SIDE, WAITING, SMOKING HIS PIPE, GRUMBLING, AND HISSING.

NOW BUDE, TOBA, AND TOCHI WALK UP AND GREET…

BABA

(Angrily)

What kept you that you are just coming?  And Bude, you know that you are supposed to be in your sleeping coffin before night falls!

BUDE:

I am really sorry, Baba.  There were things that needed to be done.  Besides, we were staying with Tochi, trying to give him some support.

BABA:

And who says he needs support?  I have given him all the support he needs.  All he needs to do is touch a virgin with the rod.

TOCHI:

I have been touching many girls with the rod, Baba.  It is just that-

BABA

(Cuts in)

It is just that nothing!  Look, young man, in case you think that rod would work indefinitely…it will work for only seven days!  And four days have already passed.

TOCHI

But Baba-

BABA SHAKES HIS HEAD AND MOTIONS FOR HIM TO STOP.  THEN HE RISES, FOLDS HIS WOODEN CHAIR, PUTS IT INSIDE, SHUTS THE DOOR, AND BEGINS WALKING AWAY…

BABA:

Come with me.

TOBA:

Do Toshi and I need to come with you too, Baba?

BABA:

Not necessarily.  We have already starved the cock and fortified both the cock and the corn for three days.  We will feed it when I come back from putting Bude in his sleeping coffin.

BUDE

(A bit jittery):

Come on, guys!  Come with us and give me some moral support!

TOCHI:

Yeah, that’s okay.  Let’s go with them, man.

TOBA

But Baba has promised to give him something that will make him sleep all through the night every night.

BABA

Don’t waste more time.  Let us go, Bude.  The stars will soon come out.  And then we cannot commence this night anymore.  And all the fortifications I have already performed on the coffin will go to waste.

BABA BEGINS TO WALK AWAY. BUDE FOLLOWS, LOOKING BACK, A BIT SCARED, LIKE HE WERE GOING TO BE SACRIFICED. TOCHI TUGS AT TOBI AND THEY FOLLOW…

2. EXT. UNDER A TREE. EVENING.

BABA LEADS THE THREE YOUTHS TO THE COFFIN UNDER A TREE.  HE ASKS THEM TO STAND AT A SPOT, WALKS ALL BY HIMSELF TO THE COFFIN, MUTTERS SOME INCANTATIONS, OPENS THE COFFIN, MORE INCANTATIONS, CHEWS SOME ALLIGATOR PEPPERS, SPITS INTO THE COFFIN, THEN TURNS AND FACES THE YOUTHS…

BABA

We are ready.  Step forward, Bude.

NOW A BIT SCARED, BUDE STEPS FORWARD TO BABA GINGERLY TILL HE GETS TO THE OPEN COFFIN…

BUDE

(Shivers)

Baba, how about the-

BABA

(Cuts in)

Tell the gods what your heart desires for them to do for you and stop fretting!  Your sleeping place is prepared and totally fortified.  The moment your back touches down in it, you will fall asleep!  Now, step in!

GINGERLY, BUDE STEPS IN THE COFFIN, SITS, AND THEN LIES IN IT. BABA UTTERS SOME MORE INCANTATIONS, AND THEN PUTS THE LID BACK ON THE COFFIN, TOTALLY CONCEALING BUDE IN IT.  THEN HE TURNS HIS BACK ON THE COFFIN…

BABA

Let us go.  And as we go, if you turn back and look at the coffin, then rest assured that you have killed your friend.  Is that clear?

TOBA/TOCHI

(In unison)

Yes, Baba.

BABA NODS AND BEGINS TO VOICE LOUD INCANTATIONS AS THEY WALK AWAY FROM THE COFFIN…

3. EXT. HUT DOOR. NIGHT.

TOBA AND TOCHI NOW SIT ON A SMALL BENCH, FACING BABA’S EMPTY RECLINING CHAIR.

BABA’S VOICE FILTERS OUT FROM THE HUT AS HE REELS OUT INCANTATION UPON INCANTATION.  NOW HE COMES OUT CARRYING THE COCK AND THE BOWL OF CORN, SITS ON HIS WOODEN RECLINING CHAIR, AND PUTS THE HUNGRY COCK AND THE COCK DOWN IN HIS FRONT…

BABA

Do you have any torch lights with you?

TOBA

Yes; my phone torch light is very bright.

TOCHI

Yes; mine too.

BABA

Good.  Put them on.  We need to watch very closely and count how many seeds of corn the cock is able to eat.

TOBA AND TOCHI PUT ON THEIR TORCH LIGHTS PRONTO. THEN BABA OPENS THE CORN, PUTS IT IN FRONT OF THE HUNGRY COCK, AND BEGINS ANOTHER ROUND OF INCANTATIONS. AT FIRST, THE COCK DOES NOT ATTEMPT TO EAT THE CORN AT ALL. THIS SCARES TOBA TO NO END. THEN BABA THROWS SOME ALLIGATOR PEPPERS INTO HIS MOUTH, CHEWS, AND COMMANDS THE COCK WITH AN INCANTATION. THE COCK RUSHES TO THE CORN AND BEGINS TO EAT. BUT AFTER EATING ONLY THREE SEEDS, THE COCK FALLS TO THE GROUND, BEGINS TO KICK WILDLY, AND SOON STOPS MOVING…

TOBA

(Scared)

Baba!  What just happened?

BABA

First, I am happy to inform you that you have only three days to wait before your wealth would come to you.  But…I am sorry to inform you that the gods have given you just three years to enjoy your wealth before you join your ancestors!

TOBA

(Alarmed)

What?!  Three years?  But Baba, you said you would starve the cock.  And that starving the cock would-

BABA

(Cuts in)

My son, I didn’t make any promises that the cock would eat a hundred seeds of corn!

TOBA FALLS SILENT, THEN HE BEGINS TO SOB, SNIFFING BACK TEARS…

BABA

Nothing else to do.

BABA PICKS UP THE DEAD COCK, GETS A BLACK NYLON, THROWS BOTH THE COCK AND THE UNFINISHED CORN IN IT, AND BEGINS TO FOLD…

BABA

You may go home now.

TOCHI RISES, PULLS A VERY WEAK TOBA UP, AND THEY TURN ROUND AND WALK AWAY INTO THE DARK NIGHT…

END

By Michael Shaibu.

Well, now we know that Tochi has not given up the quest for ritual money. He has actually resolved to kill for money. He has been trying to charm a virgin with Baba’s magic rod, but no luck yet. And he has only three of his seven-days timeline left.

Toba now knows that he is going to make money alright, but he only has three years to enjoy the wealth, and he has to die. He obviously doesn’t like that, not one bit!

And as for Bude, well, we don’t know his fate until he is through with his 14-days nightly bedding in a coffin. Some questions are now up: Will Tochi eventually succeed with the charm to sacrifice a virgin? If he does succeed; what happens next? Are we going to see any more of the hidden charges that I keep talking about? What will Toba do with and about his limited time on earth? It reminds you of the biblical verse about “gaining the entire world but losing your soul”; doesn’t it? Or something like that anyway. But Toba isn’t just losing his soul, his entire human body is going with the doggone soul inside it!

Michael Shaibu will give us the answers to those questions. And you will never know his answers if you miss the next episode of “Blowback,” on “AfroCultural Dramas,” on Afro-Scope.com. So, do visit the next episode, y’hear me so? Good! It’s already right here on Afro-Scope.com for ya. Harry Agina signs off for now!!!

HERE’S THE LINK TO “BLOWBACK,” EPISODE 5: