January 02, (THEWILL) – Jerome’s Story: Jerome had been a farmer all his life. His parents were both farmers too and it never occurred to him that he would be anything else. Farmers grow things, they nurture life; they do not kill and it makes him sad to be associated with killing of any sort.
When he thinks back on the events that brought him to his present abode, Jerome sees the death of his wife as the defining moment; the point when the light went out of his life and the darkness set in slowly but surely, blotting out the light, guiding the events until everything was total darkness. That’s how he sees his life now, total darkness and he still wonders how he got here.
Jerome met his wife Mercy in 1995. Like him, both of her parents were farmers and she had practically grown up on a farm. Again, like him, she was a Christian but not well educated. In fact, neither of them had gone past standard six. Jerome always knew he wanted to be a farmer, even as a child. Farming did not lend itself to education much. During the planting and harvesting seasons, he always had to leave school to join his parents in their huge farms.
They both had separate farms, and he worked on both farms as a child and a young adult. With so much time spent out of school, he fell far behind with his studies and finally dropped out completely before he got to standard six. As a young adult he started off farming a portion of his father’s land in Kwaka, Suleja and in time was able to purchase some land and start his own farm.
Being out in the farm most of the time also prevented Jerome from building a social life and consequently his social development which included dating and approaching women was completely stunted. At the age of 39, Jerome had neither married nor even had a stable relationship with any woman. He was afraid to speak to women for fear of rejection and had no idea how to relate to them. Mercy was therefore a blessing in disguise for him because with her, he did not require much experience in speaking or socialising.
Mercy took charge from the very first day. Her parents’ farm was close to his and she had been observing him for a couple of years. She liked the way he kept to himself and was very diligent with his farm. She also liked the fact that he went to church every Sunday like her parents; they all attended the same church. Mercy had taken to stopping by his farm to talk to him most days. He wasn’t much of a talker and he was very shy around women. Mercy didn’t seem to notice. As she talked, she would help him with weeding and tilling his farm. Sometimes he presented some of his produce to her as gifts and she was very appreciative.
Marrying Mercy came naturally; it was a given. In her, he knew he had found his life partner and she never gave him reason to regret his decision. She was his friend, his companion and his lover. She knew everything about him and tolerated his shortcomings. Mercy was made for him.
They had four children together over a span of ten glorious years and then tragedy struck. Their last child was but a few months old. Mercy had never really recovered after the birth. She became very sick and could not go to the farm or even take care of the house. He had to help her with everything. Four days before Christmas she was so ill, he took her to the hospital for a scan but they could not find anything and could not explain her ailment. They returned home and opted to go for traditional medicine. On the 28th of December, three days after Christmas, Mercy gave up and left her best friend, Jerome to cope with their four children alone.
Jerome was devastated after the death of Mercy. He felt he had lost everything. The one person he could totally rely on, who stood beside him through thick and thin was gone. He was inconsolable. His parents and siblings gave him all the help they could render but when they went back to their own homes, he was all alone. The two youngest children at 18 months and 4 months, were too young for him to care for alone while also tending his farm, so he sent them to live with his sister. It was a sad time for his family as the thread that held them together had departed.
For a few years Jerome was alone but was well aware that he needed to find another wife, a companion who would help him raise his children. He was no longer as shy around women as he used to be but he also didn’t have much experience in that area either. The only women he knew and related to were either farmers or the women he sold his produce to. And that was how he met Christiana.
Christiana was from another village. She frequently visited Kwaka, where Jerome worked and lived, to buy produce to sell in her village. She was 41 years old and had been previously married with 4 children. Her first marriage had ended in divorce and she met Jerome two years later. Christiana had a fiery spirit unlike the calm nature of his first wife Mercy but Jerome liked her. He gave her gifts from his farm every time she returned to her village. He proposed to her within a few months and she stayed with him for 8 months after he had proposed.
At the end of that time, she went home to prepare for the marriage ceremony. He gave her N3,000 to buy a tree near his farm which she wanted to use for firewood. He helped her cut it down and she took part of the wood with her to sell when she went home leaving the rest on his farm. She had spent quite a few weeks at home, more time than it took to prepare for a wedding, when Jerome sent word to her to find out why she had not returned. Initially there was no response but a few weeks later Christiana reappeared and told Jerome that she was no longer in love with him and that she would not be continuing with the wedding plans.
She visited a few more times after that to collect her firewood but still insisted that she was not interested in the marriage. Jerome did not accept her rejection and sent word to her parents that he was still waiting to hear from them about the wedding plans.
The third time she came for her firewood, Jerome was in the farm and asked her what she came for. “I came to collect my firewood” she said.
“You cannot collect any more firewood. I gave you the money for the tree so the wood is mine. Since you said you don’t love me anymore, you cannot collect the remaining firewood” he responded. She ignored him and collected another batch of firewood which she balanced on her head and walked away.
A week or so later she returned for more firewood. Again, Jerome tried to stop her. “You can’t take any more firewood from here” he said. “I’ve told you not to come here again. What are you looking for here? The firewood is not yours”
Encouraged by her last victory, Christiana was unmoved. “Jerome” she said, “Come and stop me then. You better choose between the firewood and your life” she declared. The odds seemed a bit extreme but with their flaring tempers, neither of them stopped to put it in perspective.
Jerome was sitting down at this point and she advanced on him with the axe she used for cutting the firewood in her hand. When she got close to him, he stood up and she pushed him back. He lost his balance and fell over sustaining a little injury. He got up again and Christiana, furious by this time, raised the axe to strike him. He pushed the axe (which was still in her hand) back and it hit her on the forehead resulting in a gash. She held her head in her hands, screaming as she left, and went home without the firewood.
Jerome was disturbed by the altercation. He did not have time to examine the extent of injury Christiana had sustained but he knew her forehead was bleeding. He also knew that her family would be very upset about this turn of events. So, he left his farm and went to his brother’s house to inform him of the incident and to seek his advice. His brother told him not to worry, he would go and see her family the next day to resolve it. If she required any medical assistance, they would take care of it.
That morning as Jerome’s elder brother prepared to go to Christiana’s village, they received word that Christiana had bled to death on her way home. She never made it to her village alive. Jerome was devastated. This was now a murder case.
His brother went to Christiana’s village head to tell him what had happened at the farm. Christiana’s corpse had been taken to the village and the police went there to collect it. Jerome’s elder brother informed the police that she was his brother’s fiancé and that there had been an altercation which led to both of them being injured. The police told him to produce his junior brother and Jerome was arrested and taken to their Minna office for questioning.
He spent almost two years awaiting trial and then was sentenced to life imprisonment which was further reduced to 25 years. He has served 9 years of his sentence so far.
Jerome’s parents are still farming in Kwaka. As a result of what seemed like a minor altercation, lives have been destroyed and children have been rendered parentless. His four children, two boys and two girls now live with one of his sisters. Christiana’s four children are being raised by her relatives. Jerome deeply regrets the incident that led to the loss of Christiana’s life.
About the Author
