By Uzo Ugwunze
A 46 year old man from Ebonyi state, Mr. Christopher Nwali, whose businesses is frying akara balls (beans cake) and moi moi which he sells to the public, rumoured to have died and disappeared, has been reportedly assaulted on reappearance by residents of Ezeiweka road, Awada Obosi, Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State, where he does his business.
Narrating his ordeal to newsmen weekend, Mr. Nwali, disclosed that it has been problem after problem since he started fighting for his means of livelihood as a family man adding that the worst that happened to him is to tag him a ghost which caused his business to collapse.
“My name is Mr. Christopher Nwali, I am from Ebonyi State. I am in mobile fast foods business. My business name, number and Facebook page are Uyaka or Nwoke Akara Na Otu, phone No. 08038051110 and my Facebook page is Nwoke Akara Na Otu. I am very popular at Ezeiweka road axis because of the akara balls I fry as a man.
“After the death of my master who I lived with as a house help, his children asked me to go and look for what I will do since their father has died. Then my wife was hawking akara balls and later procured akara balls’ frying pan and started frying her own. I joined her in the frying.
“She became heavy with pregnancy (our third child), and when she started nursing the baby, I was the only one frying the akara balls and people were joking with me, asking me to go and look for what to do as a man. Before I joined my wife in the business I was riding commercial motorcycle and later hawked satchet water.
“One day I took a commercial bike to go and procure motorcycle part for my damage bike and I had an accident and got fractured in one of the legs. I then sold the bike because I was hospitalized for one year. When I returned I joined my wife again in the akara business.
“Again, one day I took a commercial bike to go and procure plantain we will fry and was involved in another accident, fracture in the same injured leg. My situation became worse and on recovery I returned again to the akara business. We resolved to have two branches, one at Ezeiweka road and the one at Moore street, where we started the business and I was staying at the new site.
“One day I got burnt while frying the akara balls and my entire body touched. On recovery I continued the business and later felt sick. I was admitted at Federal Medical Center, Asaba, Delta State capital. While in the hospital I got a message from my relation that the news is all over the place that I am dead. That a woman called me and I disappeared.
“I then told my doctor what people were saying and he said it was not possible. I was inundated with calls to the extent that I became worried and demanded to be discharged to go home. I was even annoyed that my wife has not come to visit me, not knowing that she was scared and one day called me and asked me to pick my call and I picked and responded, she cried.
“When I was discharged the next day I made straight to my house and was told she was hospitalized and I rushed to the hospital. On seeing me she spoke with me and started crying. I told her here I come, I am not dead but people rumored I am dead. Later I went home and during the last monthly sanitation exercise, residents of where I do business and others insisted that I will join them in the exercise to clear their conscience that it was mere rumour being circulated that I am dead.
“I have about five workers in my employ and they told me that within the period of my absence that the business failed, people no longer patronise them as they believe that the akara balls were owned by the ghost. My son told me that he will not go to the shop again that people were telling him that his father was dead even as he insisted that I was not but hospitalized at Asaba.
“They call my children sons of ghost and disappeared man . So on the clean up exercise I came and was badly assaulted to ensure I was not a ghost. Some threw stones, pebbles, sand, satchet water, used sharp objects to spill blood from my body, among others at me to know if I will disappear as rumoured that I was a ghost. Some even scratched my body with their nails, poured water on me and I was only laughing and praising God.
“It was a thing I will never forget in life, people who carried rumour about should repent for it is aimed at bringing somebody down. We have lost all our customers but thank God that with my presence now, the business is gradually growing, I have to start afresh, such is life but the wicket must not go unpunished. The Bible told us so.
“I have been into this akara business for 18 years and we also cook moi moi, we are into indoor and outdoor services for those having functions like marriages, parties, new yam festivals, among others and we train apprentices. If not for lack of space I would have started roasting yam and corns. It is hard for me to get accomodation because landlords said I can’t afford house rent as my business is frying akara balls despite my plea to them that I am capable of paying,” he further disclosed
Contributing, one of his workers, Chukwunagorom C. Sabastine, lamented the ugly incident disclosing that he was about leaving when it got to the peak that their master was rumoured to have died but when he returned he had sigh of relief.
“Rumour mongers can kill one unexpected. We were so cursed and insulted when our master did not appear for two weeks. The rumour was all over the place that we are children of a ghost and that we sell akara balls to kill people who eat them. All manners of humiliations.
“Thank God that our master has appeared. Our business went down to the extent that we could not sell a painter of beans in a day because people were scared to patronize us. All who abused us have seen that our master is hale and hearty. Glory be to God in the highest,” he prayed.