THE DEVIL MAKES WORK FOR IDLE HANDS
Life has not been the same for me for some time now. I just cannot explain how it happened because am still in the state of shock and confusion as I write this sad story. My name is Ajiri and am in my teens. I live with my parents in Lagos and i have two younger siblings .My parents tried their best to shower love on me since I was their first child. For me, life was nothing but fun and enjoyment all the way. I was totally carefree about everything, I did anything Hiked with nobody counseling or ordering me about until my 'joy' and carefree life put me into trouble.
My problem started after i finished my UTME and instead of looking for something productive to do with my life i chose going to the bus-stop close to my house to read and argue football matches with other readers at the newspaper vendor's stand. This habit of going to the bus-stop on daily basis arguing endlessly about football matches and the money being paid to the footballers in various Western leagues was frowned upon by my parents.
My parents, especially my dad didn't like this unpleasant habit of mine. He condemned it to the high heavens but I refused to heed to his advice. Then one fateful day around 5am, he woke me up from my sleep in my bedroom and started talking to me in a fatherly way, 'Obot, what is wrong with you? I have repeatedly advised you as my first son to desist from this habit of spending the whole day at the vendor s stand arguing football. Why can't you look for something to do while you wait for your UTME result? I want you to go to that computer school across the road to make inquiry on how to enroll as their student. Give me the feedback when I come back from the office, okay?' He said clutching his briefcase firmly in his right hand and heading straight to his recently bought Mazda car parked at the garage.
I was so bitter that as soon as he left I started banging on my door to show my anger towards him. 'Why should I learn computer? Why can't I be left alone to enjoy my life for once? I screamed the more, waking up my siblings in their rooms.
Then, that same morning as usual I went to the vendor's stand to read newspapers and out of the blues a team of policemen in a.pick-up van raided the place and I was among those arrested I tried to explain my mission to the bus-stop that morning but they would not listen to me. l ended up spending four days at their station and I was exposed to mosquitoes' bites in their smelly cell until my parents came for my bail The DPO told my dad that his men carried out the arrest that morning because an elderly woman was robbed the previous night in her apartment. As I was about leaving the station with my dad suddenly my mother started scolding me, Now you have learnt your lesson since you don t want to change your ways,you have now realized that the devil makes work for idle hands'