I always feel guilty about sharing this story, primarily because I caused the tragedy in this story. Dozie and Mariam were my closest friends; in fact, my mum used to call them my only friends. I met Dozie in the rarest of circumstances, it was the summer of 2016, and I was looking for a company to intern. I went back to my hometown, Uyo, to search for a good company, at least that’s what I told myself. The truth is, I couldn’t imagine spending the three months anywhere else. If you haven’t been, Uyo is the most beautiful city in Nigeria, but I digress. Anyway, after a whole a day of no’s and rejections, I decided to calm my nerves with a glorious plate of Eba and Afang soup.
I met Dozie at a restaurant while having my favourite dish, Eba and Afang soup. It was one of the best meals I’ve ever had, and my impromptu conversation with Dozie made it even better. After our lunch, I asked him if he knew where I could do a three-month internship, and he started talking about this “beautiful” friend he has and how she was in my situation a few weeks back. I didn’t know why he described Mariam like that, but I could see a spark in his eyes. He told me about the hub where Mariam was, and I decided to try.
I gathered that the hub was accepting interns and I could gain some skills. I went to the hub the next day and met Mariam, and yes, she was beautiful. She was a third-year Computer Science student at the University of Uyo. We got talking, well she spent half the time talking about how she met Dozie in a Keke Napep. I started my internship, and as I grew in skills, my relationship with Dozie and Mariam grew.
We had gotten quite close, so close that I felt like a third wheel sometimes. It was obvious they were meant to be together, but fear wouldn’t let any of them make the first move. Months passed, and I returned to school, and even though I wasn’t a long distance friend, I kept in touch with my friends. I settled their fights and counselled them when they needed some inspiring words. It was easy to do because they were there for me too.
Fast forward to March 30th, 2017. I got a call from Mariam, and she was calling to report Dozie. They had gotten into a silly fight, and as the loyal and neutral friend, I was asked to pick a side. Dozie stood Mariam up because of a work emergency, and she was upset that he didn’t care about her feelings or time. Yes, Mariam had also developed feelings for Dozie, and despite his high IQ, he couldn’t see it.
Being a messenger of love, I felt it was my responsibility to bring these two soul mates together. I wasn’t that experienced in relationships, but I gave Mariam an idea to take Dozie out to lunch in our favourite spot. But also being a storyteller and lover of drama, I wanted it to be a story to remember, and so I suggested a dramatic prank.
She decided to prank her soon to be boyfriend on his birthday which also happened to be April Fools day. That day, she sent a text to Dozie that she was stranded by the side of the road and without hesitation, he left the office and dashed to her rescue. I was excited to be a matchmaker and being his birthday; I offered to pay for their lunch, full course. It was 10 minutes past the average commute from his office to our location and Mariam started panicking, she thought he didn’t care, but I knew he did. If there is something Dozie and I shared, it was our Romeo-like hearts.
An hour passed, and then two and I knew something was wrong. I tried calling Dozie but it didn’t go through. I told Mariam she needed to check on him and on her way to his office, she saw people gathered on the side of the road. It was the kind of scene she saw only in movies. On one hand, she suspected that it was her Dozie but her optimistic side kept praying that it couldn’t be. Bad things don’t happen to good people, she said. She highlighted from the taxi in a bid to get closer, and she gathered from onlookers that a truck driver had lost control and collided with a cab, the cab that Dozie boarded.
Two people died in the crash, and my friend was one of them. I couldn’t hold back the tears; he was such a talented, intelligent, vibrant, patriotic, young soul. He always told me that if I ever contested for the presidency, he would want nothing more than to be my Vice. Who would ask me to stay in school or stick to that endeavour when it gets hard? Who would dream of a vacation with our kids playing around and we sipping champagne to celebrate a successful year? Who would look me in the eye and tell me that Nigeria will get better? In a way, Dozie made me the man I am. His optimism and outlook on the world gave me hope for Nigeria.
I don’t think Mariam fully recovered from the shock, none of us has and even though she blames herself for the loss, I know if I didn’t try to play matchmaker, he would still be alive. Our friend died on his birthday, because of an April fools day prank.
