Stella's Happy Story

Photo credit: geneticliteracyproject.org

According to an African proverb, a man with a beautiful wife is like a farmer who planted corn along the road; anyone may pluck and eat from the corn stalk.

I really have a problem with this proverb because I know that I strive daily to keep myself as beautiful as possible, does it mean that I am like corn planted by the roadside?

There are over a billion attractive wives across the African continent, are they all free for all?

Sometimes it is difficult to be a beautiful woman across this part of the world, she is easily judged and any man who speaks to her has had carnal knowledge of her. If she’s successful, she is sleeping around and if she barely feeds, they say that she has been used and dumped by too many lovers and so has brought bad luck to her family.

If a once wealthy husband starts to struggle financially or suffers any set back, it is his beautiful wife’s fault; she has desecrated her home by her waywardness. 

A new twist to this however, is that there are no ugly women anymore so every woman is a victim of the sometimes harsh culture and mind set of our people.

So could the opposite have happened in Stella’s case? 

Stella could be described as the fairest of them all, a typical village beauty, the type that had over twenty suitors to choose from. Her skin was like a mirror; you could almost see yourself through her and she had the most beautiful smile.

When she made her hair with the black owu (thread), it stood so tall that the strands had to be bent triple times over. At six feet tall, Stella was way above average and she was the envy of all the other young maidens.

It was not a hidden fact that other young women especially those in her age grade were jealous of Stella, they all hated the fact that Nwokezue did not find any girl worthy to be his wife in all of Lokpanta. 

They considered it an insult that he had to bring onye mba (someone from a foreign land) to be his wife. Stella was from a neighbouring village which also fell under another state.

Nwokezue was a promising young man; in a village where mud houses with thatch roofs were seen all over the place, he dared to raise a two storey building with blocks. 

By every standard he was a very successful man and by far the most eligible bachelor of his time.

He left Lokpanta in search of greener pastures after his standard six, he joined his mother’s distant cousin in Onitsha where he learnt a trade in fabrics. He was sharp enough to key into a loan offer from a certain bank after his “freedom” from his uncle. 

When other traders could only see the evil behind the loans from banks, Nwokezue saw only opportunities. His business boomed and in no distant time, his uncle who grew jealous of his quick success began to spread a rumour which he genuinely believed to be true; Nwokezue had joined a secret cult and made human sacrifices which gave him fast money. 

He fell apart with his uncle but that did not deter him, he expanded his business, opened other shops and moved to Aba the China of Nigeria, Nwokezue was unstoppable!

We often discuss racism and tribalism but how do we address discrimination against people who are from the same tribe? There must be a name for it. 

The Youths of Lokpanta found it hard to accept Stella as Nwokezue’s wife; this stranger just appeared from nowhere to enjoy the wealth and status that came with being Nwokezue’s wife? They wouldn’t let her be and no matter how hard the beautiful and friendly Stella tried to be accepted, it was never going to be and they would stop at nothing to end Stella’s happy story.

To be continued…….

(The names used are fictitious and story modified for privacy sake)