CONTRAST

 The weather was stormy, an ancient one already old with time, it was dark and sinister like a haggard old witch with an evil apple. It was one of those times where over imaginative children begin to make pictures of evil scaring them so much, they go to their beds early and shut their eyes.
   Though it was the high noon of the day, it was so dark that you could feel the darkness crawl on top and beneath your skin. The darkness was so thick it could be felt like a big fur blanket enveloping the world. The kind of darkness a blind man saw.     

  The rain was pouring heavily on the roof like little missiles and made a scratchy sound like the fingers of a thousand zombies. The streets were getting flooded and the power had already gone out due to the bad weather. The rain just kept pouring with no sign of stopping and it was so heavy that it’s impart shocked the house to its foundation.   
 
 Following the rain was a heavy thunderstorm with volts of lighting that at some moments suddenly bright up the world around and then the next second sends it to the darkness that seems eternal. And usually after that the thunder comes, booming loudly like the cry of a mountain after it’s inflicted by destruction. The noise is as blinding as much as it is deafing.  

 The only thing louder than the cry of the thunder and more heart-catching than the tears of the lighting was the deep wail of labour as the unknown woman cried out in pains, it seemed like the whole world cried with her and, as she shock so did the world feel her pain and shock with her. Heavy with a baby even she has no idea of its origin, she suffered in labour for the rest she had had the previous nine months.

   The midwives rallied around her and urging and encouraging her to push but it seemed the more she cried, the heavier the rain became, only with the aid of a candle light did the midwives performed their operation which only made it harder. The woman with her swollen stomach tosses and turns on her delivery bed, trashing around in pains as this was no normal delivery. She had been here for eighteen hours and coincidentally the storm had lasted that long so far.

   Finally they can see a head coming out as the whole ground shakes in vigorous earthquake which now makes the nurses extremely scared, the woman is now screaming in pains, unimaginable, unfathomable pain and the weather continues to get worse. At this junction, it was like the weather could not get any worse but it did, the darkness was now choked, it swallowed the candle light and the thunder, louder. The earth shock like mother earth itself was wailing and turning in her wake, most of the midwives without the stomach had left leaving only one who persisted on.

   All of a sudden, the cry of a baby breaks a silence that only began as soon as the cry was let out. The pain is gone like aesthetic was administered, the rain stops like the lids to heaven was suddenly shut, the earthquake stops like mother earth was sang a lullaby and petted to sleep, the lightening stops like an ancient being cut the power, the thunder fades away so far that the cry of the baby is louder than it, the darkness fled like God suddenly shone a giant torch light at the world and it shun so glorious like the first ray of sunlight. The grass was greener and the sky was bluer and there were rainbows in it, everything was perfect and it all happened in an instance, the instant the baby cried all peace was restored and the turbulence and pestilences were gone. Coincidence, I think not.  

MY SAVIOUR, YOU THINK

They say when you die your life flashes before your eyes and usually you get some sort of epiphany, well something like that was happening to me right now, I thought as the man continued disfiguring my face with slaps and punches, and by that time I was already too tired to cry. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I had not planned my evening that I’d get battered and beaten by a white man, but it was exactly where I ended.

I had left the house for the egg store earlier in the hours. Mama had told me not to stay out too late due to the whole crisis and there was going to be a curfew at the black side of town and, I had to get back as soon as I can. So I didn’t even remember to take my jacket because I was in a hurry I hurried down the stairs very hurriedly and was soon on my way where only a black leggings and a skimpy green floral dress on.

“Talia how’s mama and papa today?” mama Rafi asked me as usual as soon as I got in front of the counter. She was one few black people that didn’t hate my papa.

“They very fine” I answered with a smile

As we conversed, all of a sudden there’s a loud noise a gunshot actually, a guy was trying to rob mama Rafi’s store,

“Everybody down” the masked man ordered

“You!” he pointed at mama Rafi

“The money now I haven’t got all day” he screamed at her as she fumbled out of fear to five him the money at the counter. The men had held us for a much longer time I was supposed to spend at mama Rafi’s and after he left, every customer left quickly not wanting the authority around, but mama Rafi did not call the police what the thieves had taken from her wasn’t as much as what the cops would take from her.

I left the store after mama Rafi had calmed down and was soon on my way back home, having it in mind I was going to tell papa about what had happened at mama Rafi’s. I was hurrying home as fast as I could, because it was getting really late. With the eggs in my hand, heart racing very fast and after what had happened earlier at mama Rafi’s, I had no more confidence to face more calamities. As I ran faster and faster, getting closer to home, just around the corner I could see my street up head, feeling a lot safe and no longer scared, I stopped for a minute to catch my breath close to a dark alley very close to the street.

As I stood up to continue, a white hand came out of the darkness and grabbed me by the hair with one hand, dragging me and covering my mouth with the other. I had a small stature and was very young it was pretty easy for him to pull me, I struggled as well and much as I my little strength allowed me but it wasn’t enough to get free from his grasp. He then released me closed to the end of the alley and stood blocking my way. He was a stereotype white man, tall, fat with a protruding belly, he was dressed like a biker with a jean jacket and dirty jeans pants and it was obvious he had been drinking because he so stank of booze and, the look he gave me was so savage, like a predator to his prey but in the present situation I was he’s to prey on.

“Make this easy for me and you’ll be on your way soon enough.” He said referring to me

“But, if you don’t then, we are goanna have ourselves an argument my little sweet thing.” He then added smiling widely and showing he’s dis-arranged yellow set of teeth.

I don’t know what he was expecting but all I knew was that I wasn’t goanna let his man touch me again and as soon as the thought came to me, I made a run for it but he was quite fast for a fat man, and soon caught me as I was about to make it pass him, he dragged me back quite violent that the force sent me to the floor, as I was about to scream he held my mouth nearly breaking my jaws as if he was going to twist them, the pain only made me want to scream more. To me it seemed the more I struggled the more he enjoyed it, and all the while he was smiling, the leggings I was wearing wasn’t a strong material, and he easily began to rip it off my body, as he concentrated on peeling off the leggings, his hand slipped into my mouth and I bit him really hard, he didn’t scream, he just began to batter on my head until I could not take it anymore and let go of it, even though I had the will to keep fighting, I had lost all strength to actually continue. Now he was mad, and I had given up, and, the only thing I begged for now was that he doesn’t kill me.

He continued disfiguring my face with slaps and punches, and at that time I was already too tired to cry. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I prayed in my heart for a miracle because nothing short of this would have been enough to save me. He had torn open my blouse and bra included and had almost had his way with me and, at that moment, my miracle came.

He was tall, slim, and handsome for a white man with all that was dressed formally. He bashed the molester on the head and while he still struggled to get himself, my saviour, took me by the hand and pulled me away, both running away to no direction in particular. All my concern was getting away from the molester and, after about three minutes of running, we arrived at the front of a classic British sub-urban house and he took me in, it was apparently his house since he had the key in.

On getting in he had offered me his jacket and then gone inside to get some cocoa. He then came back and gave me come clothes to change into and handed me the cocoa and while I took it he asked me to narrate everything that happened and while I did, he listened, after the whole thing, he gave me a room to lay my head due to the fact it was already dark, this was the first time I had ever met a nice white man, I had taken my bathe and then changed into something more comfortable And, laid my head to sleep.

Later that night as I slept on the bed he had provided, I heard the door slowly creak open and due to the fact that the lights were off, I could see the long shadow of the person. It was him, my saviour, Alan was he’s name. I was a bit glad he was around, because I couldn’t sleep and was big scared. I pretended to sleep and he came around to sit at the side of the bed. He tapped me lightly and amorously, and at that moment I turned to face him with a smile on my face.

“I wanted to know if you were okay.” He said smiling at me

“Am much better sir, but I couldn’t sleep.” I answered him trying to sit up but he held me softly pushing me back on the bed.

“What’s with this entire sir? Call me Alan, we are friends aren’t we?” he said again

“We are” I answered smiling back He then began to touch me slowly and then started running his hands on my thighs softly. Now fear was beginning to set in. I was wondering what he was doing.

“Sir, what are you doing?” I asked fearfully as I tried to shift away from him.

“We are both adult and you understand what am doing, to be fair I really like you actually.” He said smiling and trying to pull me closer to himself as I struggled to get away.

“Please sir don’t do this to me, haven’t I gone through enough please sir.” I said pleading with him

“Am not trying to hurt you Talia, I want to love you” he said again still trying to draw me even closer.

Now I was completely scared. How can similar calamities happen to me twice in one night? This time I was willing to do anything to get away from him. I reached slowly for the table lamp beside me and smashed it on his head with one heavy swipe. He didn’t scream but got up staggering and nearly losing his balance. I got up and ran for the door only getting there to find out that he had locked it, I looked back and there he was standing dangling the key in front of me before shoving it in his pocket, the smile on his face had disappear and replacing it was a dark sinister expression less look. It was then I realised that there probably was no escaping this one.

“I cared for you and helped you and all I asked from you was just something small and you refuse me of it. Now am really going to hurt you.” He said not smiling at all As I was trying to plead with him, he didn’t even give me a chance and though he was slim, it turned out he had a lot of upper body strength. He easily lifted me and threw me across the room, my back shattering the table I tried to get up but couldn’t I had lost all strength and I was losing consciousness.

Out of some deep inside of my soul I summoned a strength I didn’t know I had and decided if I was going to go down I'd go down fighting. I lunged at him that it surprised him, but it wasn’t much of a fight, he just slapped me away right back to the bed. This time all I had on was the bath throb he had earlier given to me. Is was easy to get it off me but I made sure it wasn’t easy for him I held onto it strong enough he would have to tear it off my body, but he just continued hitting me until I let go of it. He removed the bath throb exposing my bare body, he started fondling on my just developing breast, and I tried as much as possible to stop him but he was obviously ready to kill me. He had beating me so bad that I could no longer lift a finger to resist and at the end of the struggle I had no choice than to let him have his way with me, I had never had sex before and I had to lose my innocence to a savage white man.

All the while he committed his atrocity, it hurt worse than even the beating I had received from both men that had assaulted me today, even as much as I cried and begged him to stop, he didn’t and just continued to satisfy himself and ignoring my cry of pain.

After he was done, he left me there broken, and innocence lost, there was blood all over from cuts tears and bruises I had gotten, I could not stop crying I couldn't believe this still happened to me, I was stake naked and all he did was get up and leave locking me in. after some minutes, he came back into the room facing me and standing without a single trace of guilt in his eyes.

“What else do you want to do to me, the only thing you can take from me right now is my life and right now I’d gladly give it to you.” I said to him

“Your life means nothing to me, you are worthless.” He said and dragged me out the bed with my clothes all ripped and all, I was screaming but he just hit me even more and kept dragging me until he finally pushed me out of his house and locked the door, where would I go now, it was the middle of the night.

Now am standing at the edge of a bridge completely naked and bruised all over ready to end my life and thinking how my life was ruined in just one night, thinking of the stigma I was going to live with and the things I’d have to face what if I get pregnant and give birth to a white's man bastard? I looked down into the river and without hesitation, let go of the railing and plunging to my death freeing me of the misery of this worthless life.

By joseph Mathew junior

The funny thing about movies

Just think about it, if you were allowed to make or direct you own movie, what would you do, with would it be like? Me for instance anybody that knows me well knows that I love movies, like I'd take time out of my schedule to watch a good movie, and if I'd be allowed to direct my own movie, I'd want it to be good. Am not pro-Nigerian movies or anti and neither am I pro-foreign movies or anti and just pro-good movie and anti-bad movie. My love of movies or basically and anything artistic makes me hate bad movies.

The funny thing about movies expecially Nigerian movies is the fact that sometimes I see some movies been aried and I wonder why it's even there. Their are so ridiculous that as an average movie audience, I wonder if the producers and directors even spent any dedication make it. Sure it obviously not easy to make a movie but I think if I have been making movies for forty years I ought to be good at it or at least better than I started.

I have seen some really good movies, great Nigerian movies in fact, mentioning a few names like October first, doctor Bello and others. October first had one of the most spectacular use of fantastic props I have ever seen in a Nigerian movie and the quality was breathe-taking. The customes were very convincing and so was the location. It made me feel like that must have been how it was in 1960. Though I thought the storyline could have been a whole lot better. But it was pretty good compared to a conventional Nigerian movie.

In an like ours where we have technology that should if not for anything give us quality movies, why do we still end up it lame ones? I have watched some movies and thought to myself "was this really made in 2015" some movies are to bad that if they were made in the 90s they'd still be bad. For having the biggest movie industry in the whole of Africa, we sure do make a lot of lame movies.

For instance, how can you make a movie where some one gets shot in the leg and ends up in the hospital with a bandage on his head. Or in a situation we can actually see that the guns are fake, why would you give a pistol the sound effect of an automatic rifle? As if it's not bad enough, so times you watch a movie and you see knockouts or "bangers" as popularly known in Nigeria jumping already the screen while guns are been shot. We are not stupid you know we can see Em.

Sometimes, someone gets shot and his blood spills on the camera. Isn't that taking it a little bit far. And you'd think in this age of such flamboyant cgi, Nigerian video effects should have improved but they are just as lame. What's with the Len flare they always use to symbolize disappearance?

I was watching a movie just today and you should see what flying looks like, it was just bad. Lemme talk about a movie that's quite popular on African magic, a quite recent movie at that. I won't mention the name but if you've watched it, am sure you would know it as I write along. The movie was so bad, I had no choice but to stop and watch it.

The very first scene I saw in this movie, depicts a man, a popular small person in Nigerian screens, under a mango tree with his so called girlfriend. He is supposed to be a musically talented person in the movie, and he's about to sing for his girlfriend. This is exactly how he looked like. He wore a netted singlet in the colour of the ghanaian flag I think, with an oversized shorts. Then he had something that could easily pass off as the hide of a dead goat on his head for a dreadlocks or "dada" as if all this wasn't bad enough, he had in his hand a broken-down lead guitar that God knows where they picked it from and was playing it, without light or an amplifier. And that wasn't enough or, he was also singing and playing it. But of the sounds where like they were dubbed over the video and it was obvious he wasn't really singing or playing. What would it actually take to actually dread his hair, or just give him a normal acoustic guitar? And every time in the movie he played and sang with the lead guitar without an amplifier and with that dead goat hide on his head.

It seems some Nigerian actors and directors don't know there's something called over acting, that's when your acting looks forced or its obviously fake and yet they dub themselves professionals. If you know your actors are not capable then don't put them in situations that with show their mistakes. And at least you can either re-act mistakes or just crop them out, but no, they are not that dedicated. You're watching a movie and someone just got shot and then they zoom in on the persons face who is supposed to be dead and you can see the person either blinking or breathing. Or someone is hanged or died in a hospital and they zoom in on the person's face and you can see the actor's eyes moving.

That's why it called movie magic. We know it's fake but it should look so real that we doubt that it fake, and kinda believe it can truly happen. Another thing gangstas don't have to dress like fools the way they are shown in Nigerian movies with their stupid fake accent. And not everybody who goes aboard comes back with and American accent. If he went to Britain he should come back with and English accent. And how can come travel abroad and without seeing the airport, the person gets deported and yes comes back with an accent. He was in America for like what two minutes?

Besides what's with the stupid effect of accident. When someone is about you have an accident, you show the car interiors and shake the cameras, so lame isn't there any other way, and also what's with the lame soundtracks that reminds you of what has happened in the movie previously? For instance ngozi, goes to Lagos and gets pregnant so the soundtrack of the movie will play "ngozi leave village go Lagos come get belle what a wicked world, chei ewo" and on and on, just crazy.

As much as there are lames movies there are great movies, that other movies should learn from. And I think there should also be a standard to Nigerian movies, so that not anything goes. And not only Nigerian movies are guilty of all these great crimes against my eyes and ears but others too. I was watching an Indian movie that also had such blunders. The blood looked red, not bloody but red crimson red like the flash. In fact everybody is guilty in fact. I think bad movies should be banned. It's not like we are not trying but there so kind of movies I don't expect to see anymore, there should be improvement. In Nigeria, some commercials or popular called advertises are have some much better quality and cgi than a regular movie why should it be so, Abeg make we improve o. God bless 9ga.

If you have any other blunders from movies that should be addressed or treated don't forget to leave them in the comments and also reactions too, cause I know not everybody will agree with me.