"Defiant in death" by Chiamaka Nwangwu

He is light skinned, with eyes the color of burnished wood

On his knees, at the centre of the crowd

Sweat and tears coalesce and run down his face

There is terror in his haunted eyes;

He knows what Lagos crowds do to thieves

This particular mob is vicious

There is desperation in their eyes

And they reek of desire

Desire to maim, hurt and kill

The robberies have gone on for far too long

Climbing in the back of the block of flats,

Cutting nets, stealing from the poor and rich alike

Ten families in two weeks

It has to end, with him.

Such a beautiful boy, with eyes that show

So much promise

He gets stuck while climbing

Couldn't move up or down

He stays up there for hours

Wondering what to do

By 7am the street boys of FESTAC gather

With cutlasses in their hands and anger in their hearts

They yank him down and tear his clothes

They hit and hit him until he faints

Then they drag him around 5th avenue, chanting,

“Ole! Ole! Stealing from an old man, you no dey

shame!"

“Barawo!" “Oloriburuku!"

They stop at the basketball court

that serves as the site for parties

Still spitting and cursing

No ceremony, no last words said, no explanation

demanded, and none given

Two tires thrown around his neck

His naked torso doused liberally with kerosene

Then they light the match

He burns slowly

The flames dance madly to the rhythm

of death's song

The air, filled with smell of roasting meat

His heart continues to beat, defiant even in the face of

the death to which he is resigned

But then it stops

The crowd disperses, silent, fulfilled.

Their rage quelled, their hunger for death satisfied.

Tomorrow, someone will get married on that field.

Chiamaka Nwangwu is a 200-level student of the Department of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State.