THE COFFIN OF
ERRORS........EPISODE FOUR
Little did Saka know about the misfortune that
was bound to inhibit the success of the journey.
They'd barely travelled five bus-stops when they
encountered another lone traveller at the side of
the road. The man, who was of a receding hairline
and pot-bellied, was visibly weeping. This sob
wrung such pity from the truck-driver that he was
forced to step on the brake and demand the
reason behind the smartly-dressed young man's
cry. 'I've-I've been waiting here for over two
hours with no vehicle to transport me. It's so sad,
so sad!' he continued wailing. 'Why didn't you
return home when you couldn't find a vehicle?'
'You don't understand, sir. See, I have an
interview to attend today; I've been jobless for
years and today's interview is the first in years, I
can't afford to miss it.' 'Where is the company?'
asked the sympathetic driver. 'It's a cassava
processing company in Ogbomosho.' Dawodu
knew the company, it was a popular one named
Ogbomosho Cassava Barns. 'Do you mind if I
transport you there in my convertibles?' The
driver's generous offer was not only the result of
his kind heart but also because he was not totally
comfortable with having only a coffin-maker
beside him and a coffin behind. He felt like there
was something quite ominous in this situation.
Having the presence of a third party wouldn't hurt
terribly. The job-seeker's joy was demonstrated in
a rather uncommon manner; he flew on Dawodu
like an elated beau and kissed him on one of the
disfigured cheeks. Saka almost puked with
disgust at beholding such an unsightly sight. The
man climbed into the vehicle and perched himself
jubilantly beside Saka. The odour that
immediately greeted the coffin-maker was
redolent; the man smelt of ginger. He extended
his hand towards Saka in greeting. 'Hi, my name
is Sule.' he smiled, revealing wretched gums in
the process. 'My name is Saka. Do you know that
there is a coffin behind this lorry?' The shock that
came to the face of Sule was instantly replaced by
a terror which could match the fear of someone
who had come face-to-face with a ghost. 'The
coffin is empty,' The handsome truck-driver
quickly chipped in. He was sure the young man
was ready to excuse himself from the lorry with a
hasty retreat. But the assurance from his new
saviour made the job-seeker relax back in his
seat and a grin was perfectly plastered on his
face. Then the journey continued. Hardly had they
journeyed another fifteen minutes when another
remarkable traveller was spotted trying to flag
down the lorry. The man was not only perspiring
like a swimmer but also strangely dressed; he
was white-skinned and was donned in a white
garment that was in that time popularly worn by
religious fanatics of the cherubim and seraphim
gatherings, but the white linen was already
turning black with sweat. And of course, the
truck-driver pulled over to help the angel out.
Dawodu, on getting down, discovered a stranger
thing about the stranger he was about to help; the
albino was barefooted. When asked, the stranger
replied that strapping any footwear while still in
the cloak of purity was against their religious
beliefs. This explanation made Dawodu wonder
whether his newest host was wearing anything
under the white robe. Even the lower portion of
the dress was swollen in such a trigonometrical
proportion that would make Mary Magdalene run
for cover. However, because the pronunciation of
this religious man's name tends to harden the
arteries, the man told the driver to simply call him
Sutana. 'Where are you going, Sutana?' Dawodu
asked, evidently ready to help. 'I'm going to
church, and I'm almost late. This fuel scarcity is
something else.' 'Where is your church?' 'At the
outskirts of Ogbomosho. I just wish this sun was
not as honest as it was today. I'm being baked
alive here.' 'Would you mind if I transported you
there in my private jet?' Sutana stared at the
driver a moment before staring at the 'jet' itself;
then he said to Dawodu, 'The jet does not look
like a private one to me, with those two
marsupials perched inside.' 'But that is the
probem, there is no more space in the front seat,'
he thought about this and added, 'You'll have to
use the back, that's if you don't mind.' 'I don't
have a choice.' 'But-er, there is a coffin at the
back.' The religious zealot's expression, on
hearing the new revelation, suggested he doubted
the driver's rationality, even his own. 'A coffin?'
'Yes,' Dawodu replied quickly, 'but it's empty. I'm
only helping out that skinny man in my lorry. I
assure you, the coffin is empty.' Sutana smiled
broadly, 'That's not a problem; coffins don't scare
me, neither do corpses.' 'Oh!' 'I work in a
mortuary.' Now it was the turn of Dawodu to be
scared. 'I see,' he said, but he was seeing
nothing, and his fear the man's disposition was
unmasked. There was always something ominous
in an albino wearing a white robe. Before he
could change his mind about admitting the
strange fellow in his lorry, Sutana had climbed the
back, thereafter urging the driver to step in and
start driving. A monkey couldn't have impressed
Dawodu more than he was at beholding the
acrobatic display of Sutana as he climbed the
back of the vehicle. The driver slowly climbed into
his vehicle, and as he drove on, he wondered if
allowing the white- skinned and white-clothed
man in the back of his lorry was a clever
decision. The journey continued steadily.