Creative Writers' Club

-Sermz Thrings_prod. By Nensonic Download

Let's join to support a literary star as she launches her first book tomorrow. You can't afford to miss this enjoyable occasion.
Congratulations Miss Sani Mudi Khadijat!

Sign: Author Ruty Richy
(Editor Gen. Creative Writers Club BASUG)

Hephaestus Aetnaean (Vulcan)

Pity lies in friendship,
Love breeds care.
Family exceeds hatred.
Hatred,anger and jealousy;
Does not make a man.

A strong man is he who understands,
Not the one who can enforce;
Tyranny and fear,
On the vulnerable and dependent.
Love conquers anger destroys oneself.

The reign of the Tyrants shall end,
The reign of the wise prevails.
There words devours the hooligans.
There comfort embrace the people's heart.
The merciful always obtain mercy.

The Creative Writers' Club,
Bauchi State University, Gadau.
....Towards literary excellence
Welcomes you back on campus after nearly a year's break and halt in academic activities, the club's physical programmes and most importantly its weekly workshop.

The club hereby informs the university community and the general public of the resumption of her programmes and to invite you to her weekly workshop comprising of— *intellectual discourse*, and *poetry rendition* among others.

Tagged
Industrial action; A retrogression or progress in our educational institutions?

Venue: Remedial Auditorium D.
Date: 14 February, 2021
Time: 2: 00pm Writers time.

"Come and drink from the ocean of creativity".

CREATIVE WRITERS CLUB (CWC) BASUG CHAPTER.
Cordially invite you to her weekly workshop
The title remains.
"Covid 19, a reality, or a falacy of the 21st century"
scheduled as follows:
Date;
Sunday 7th February 2021.
Venue:
Remedial Auditorium .
Time:
2pm prompt.

Please submit your individual presentations via this platform for audit and production of our weekly bulletin.
Thank you
P. R. O

*The Scar*

The Kids Are Watching
(episode 3)

Insanity is being married and asking your wife to abort a pregnancy you both made happen within the confines of marriage. I mean, who does that? How can you tell your wife to abort your first seed after 5 months of being lawfully joined together in holy matrimony? The thought of this alone can make a person go insane because such decision is all shades of wrong and worthy enough to question whether a person is 'Man Enough' to be married in the first place. Derrick first crossed the line when he strangled his wife 'Naya', but this particular action was the last straw that broke the carmel's back.

After those disgusting words left Derrick's mouth, Naya was completely raged and ready to devour him into pieces. Still in shock, she burst into laughter because everything just felt like a joke of the century. After laughing for a while, her mood changed immediately into that of a furious person.

"Listen, I want to strongly believe that you are joking and didn't mean any of those words that just came out of your mouth; otherwise, you will have to be ready to swallow back your words because this baby is going nowhere. How dare you? Which sane man would say the things you just said now to his lawfully wedded wife carrying his first seed? How can a full grown man like you tell me to abort our first child as a married couple? Are you alright at all? What's the point of being married if your aren't ready to father a child and start a family? Listen, I would just pretend as though I didn't hear anything you said now. Go back, have a rethink and come back when you are ready to have a conversation with me about this baby because I would never abort my baby; over my dead body!" Naya angrily said. As she was about walking away, Derrick held her hair and dragged her back to where he stood.

It's apparent that something drastic was about to go down that night due to the way Naya spoke to Derrick. At that moment, he was furious at the audacity she had to question his decision. He held her hair extremely tight till she began to scream. "This would be the last time in this house you will ever talk back at me in this manner; do you hear me?" he angrily said but she didn't respond.

Due to Naya's failure to respond, Derrick held her hair even tighter and said; "Did I make myself clear woman?", but still no response from his wife whom he was inflicting severe pains on.

As Naya struggled to free her hair from Derrick's grip, he gave her a dirty slap that landed her on the floor. That slap was totally unexpected and it left Naya in shock. "Why did you slap me? Don't you ever try this again in your life; don't you ever! You disgust me" she said and spat on his body. That action triggered more anger in Derrick and he gave her more slaps till her mouth couldn't open again.

Such a monster right? Like which husband treats his wife this way; especially on a day such as this? A day she revealed to you that she was carrying your bundle of joy inside her. A day that was supposed to make you the happiest man on earth. A day you were supposed to hug her and kiss her tummy in anticipation of the arrival of your baby. Just in case we ever thought Derrick's scars weren't too deep, I believe this is an eye opener to let us know the intensity of his cuts and wounds.

After the drama that went down that day, the couple began to keep malice and barely spoke to each other. After days of being in that house with a man that was now a total stranger, Naya decided to stay at her friend's house till whenever she was ready to go back to her matrimonial home; that's if she would ever change her mind to go back.

While Naya was at her friend's place, she cried non-stop whenever she returned from work. Initially, she didn't want to tell her friend the hell she was facing in a marriage that wasn't even up to a year old. It was after series of persuasion that Naya finally opened up to her friend.

Everything felt like a prank to Naya's friend 'Erica'. Never in a thousand years did she ever imagine that Derrick was capable of such behaviour. They all saw him like a Saint those days because he was reserved and barely socialised. Erica was truly disgusted by Derrick's attitude and was ready to stand by her friend against all odds.

It's been over four days since Naya left the house but Derrick hadn't noticed yet. It took a while before it dawned on him that she was gone and that was when his eyes cleared. Curious to know where his wife was at, he called Naya's phone countlessly but she didn't pick up. After a while of calling continuously, she switched her phone off.

That period was such a humbling one for Derrick indeed and he became restless. Gradually, he began to feel bad and started searching for his wife. After a marathon search, he was able to locate where she was staying. He found out through a friend of his that was close to Erica. After deliberating for a while on whether to pay his wife a surprise visit, he finally made up his mind to do so one evening.

One fateful evening; by this time it was over a week since Naya left her matrimonial home. There was a knock on the door and Erica went to see who was knocking. Immediately she opened the door and saw Derrick, she didn't even know when she sighed in disgust.

"Hi Erica, please call my wife for me" Derrick calmly said but Erica wasn't having it. She wasn't ready to act all nice to a man that maltreated her dear friend. "Your wife is not here, leave!" she flared up. Before Derrick could utter another word, Naya came from behind and said; "it's OK Erica, please let him see me" she gently said.

Still furious, Erica stormed out but didn't forget to issue a stern warning before leaving. "If you ever touch her again, I will come for you!" she said and left.

With Erica gone, Naya looked at Derrick with tears in her eyes. As she raise her hands to wipe the tears away from her face, Derrick hugged her tightly and soberly said; "Baby I'm so sorry, please come back home".

Sanni Onyi Aminat

*The Scar*

The Kids Are Watching
(episode 2)

No matter how much you try to hide a bad character, it's just a matter of time before you reveal your true self sooner or later. When a person has a personality problem or mental disorder, they never believe that they need help even if it's clear they do. Derrick had gotten extremely comfortable with his 'school of thought' as regards how women ought to be treated by men. At that point, it would take only God to correct his mindset and change his heart. In as much as Naya wasn't fully aware of the deep mess she had gotten herself into, it's now safe to say that she had seen a glimpse of it.

After what seemed like a subtle strangle by Derrick, Naya was left completely shattered and couldn't find the right words to perfectly describe how she felt at that moment. The incident kept replaying in her head and her heart couldn't stop pounding. Despite still being in shock, she managed to get up from the floor and climb the stairs that led to her matrimonial room.

Every step Naya took to get closer to the room increased her heart beat. She was low-key scared because she had no clue of what awaited her after what happened downstairs. Immediately she opened the bedroom door, she found Derrick seated in front of his laptop attending to work.

As Naya stood there looking lost and scared without knowing what to expect from her pi**ed husband, she finally broke the silence after keeping mute for a while. "Are we going to talk about what you just did to me few minutes ago?" she gently said but got no response from Derrick who looked as though he was engrossed in what he was typing in his laptop.

After few minutes of being ignored, the confused lady finally walked away from the room. Before leaving, she made sure to pick some clothes from the wardrobe they both shared.

It was quite clear that Naya wasn't going to be spending the night with her husband in their matrimonial room. At first, Derrick seemed unbothered about the whole thing but later began to feel bad for his actions; because of pride and ego, he refused to apologise to his wife and make peace with her. Despite being restless, the proud man retired to bed and forced himself to sleep.

That night was hunting for Naya because she was still having a hard time believing all that happened earlier. Unlike Derrick's mum 'Lizzy', Naya was a calm lady that didn't believe in drama and quarrels. She was a well brought up lady with good moral standards and values. Instead of escalating the issue, she prayed silently and asked God to block every loop hole the devil planned on using to destroy her new family that was barely four months old. After series of thoughts and restlessness, she finally managed to close her eyes and sleep.

That same night, Naya had a horrible nightmare that woke her up at around 4am in the morning. In that dream, she found herself in a bad situation and it seemed as though her life was at stake. One funny thing about the whole situation was that her supposed husband 'Derrick' looked absolutely unbothered in that dream and didn't care to help her out in the mess she was in.

Such level of negligence and carefree attitude from someone whom you claim to love. Despite Naya's shouts for help from her husband, he didn't frine or care to rescue her.

When Naya woke up from that dream, she became even more confused than she was before sleeping that night. The fastest relief she could seek was to immediately go to God in prayers.

One mistake Naya made in her prayers to God was praying amiss. Instead of asking God to reveal more mystery to her or open her eyes to clearly see the hand writings on the wall, she naively kept binding and casting.

As humans, we are limited as to what we can know but God isn't. The most effective prayer to pray when you are in a confused state or when strange happenings begin to spring out of nowhere is to ask God to open your eyes to see what mere eyes can't. The spirit of discernment should be a key request from God during moments such as this. I believe if Naya had prayed rightly, God would have gradually revealed Derrick's scars to her but rather, she kept binding and casting a demon that wasn't even present in her home.

One thing most people don't know about God is that he is principle based and doesn't work by emotions. What you ask is what you get and not the other way round. Since Naya was binding and casting, God sent angels to encamp her home and protect her family from any devices of the devil and his cohorts (demons). Since there wasn't any strange demons evident in her household to destroy her marriage, the angels had no serious work to tend to, but guess what? The problem was still very much habitat in that home and it was no other person than 'Derrick'.

You see, there wasn't any new demon in that home that needed binding and casting, all that needed to be done was healing and restoration to take place in Derrick's life. The only demon in that house was Derrick's scars. Those scars were the only thing that needed discernment to detect and correct. Too bad it wasn't yet visible for poor Naya to see.

After a morning well spent praying, Naya began preparing to head to the office. Still angry with Derrick for his actions the night before, she only greeted him that morning and didn't utter another word to him till she left the house.

Few hours into the day's activities, Naya got a text message from her husband and she curiously opened it to read what he wrote and it read; "I am sorry for yesterday, I don't know what came over me; I guess I was just pi**ed that you stayed out late. Would make it up to you tonight. Love you!".

In as much as Naya was still angry, she just couldn't help but blush at the sweet text message sent by her husband. That apology restored a certain level of peace and happiness in her again. Her sad mood gradually changed and her joy was restored once more; but for how long? Well, we would see!

Before Naya returned home that day from the office, Derrick had already prepared a delicious meal for her. On arrival, he gave her a warm hug and apologised once more. Naya's heart melted and she opened her arms wide enough to accommodate her beloved husband.

After a wonderful meal, they showered together and made love afterwards. That night was blissful for the couple who had just reconciled their difference and fortunately, things remain peaceful after that day.

It's been two weeks now and there hasn't been any trouble in their home. However, something unexpected happened one fateful evening that left Naya drop dead shocked.

It happened that Naya was late in her monthly menstrual cycle and didn't know why it was delaying. She began to notice that she might be pregnant after other symptoms began to show too. Curious to confirm every doubt, the happy wife took series of tests and was confirmed pregnant. Oh, what a happy day indeed for the newly married woman.

Happy and excited, she couldn't wait to break the good news to her husband later that evening. When Derrick arrived from the office that day, he met his wife looking all happy and excited. "What's going on? Am I missing anything? Why are you so happy babe?" he happily enquired as Naya helped remove his suit.

After a few minutes of leaving the anxious man in the dark, Naya finally let the cat out of the bag. "We are pregnant babe" she happily said. Immediate Derrick heard her, his countenance changed and he instantly became furious for no known reason.

Raged and triggered, Derrick drop a shocker; "How did you let this happen? I am not ready to be a dad to anyone anytime soon' he said. Naya almost dropped dead after such insensitive response from her supposed husband who ought to be screaming joyfully. She looked at him in total disgust and said; "Tell me you are joking?".

Derrick looked at Naya right in the eyes and replied, "I'm dead serious; you are aborting that baby".

Sanni Onyi Aminat

The Scar
Sanni Onyi Aminat

*The Kids Are Watching*
(episode 1)

They say "history always repeats itself" and to be honest, there's an atom of truth in that harmless statement. Have you ever wondered why kids that were raised in abusive homes and environment sadly turn out to be abusive as they grow older, while kids raised in a loving home and environment turn out to be loving and affectionate as they grow older?

Domestic violence is a very sensitive issue and practice that is unfortunately passed from one generation to another without any atom of hope for this sad practice ever coming to an end. Ever wondered why they say "an apple never falls far from the tree"? Well, that's because behaviours and practices don't just spring up from thin air, but are rather nurtured and groomed. When next you raise your hands to beat your wife or husband, pause for a minute and realise that the kids might be watching that act of anger and it can permanently damage the moral standards and mindset of a promising young boy or girl. Grab your pop corns and get ready for a lesson-filled tale. Your ready? I bet you are; now gently enjoy the ride down the reality check of an abusive couple.

Several years ago, Dominic and Lizzy tied the knot in the presence of their family and friends. It was such a dream come true for the couple who barely courted but rushed into marriage because they were head-over-heels in love with each other then. After what seemed like a heart warming wedding ceremony, the newly weds eloped to an unknown destination for their Honeymoon.

The honeymoon lasted for two weeks and during that time, the couple could hardly get their hands off each other. It was 2 weeks of blissful intimacy and erotic moments. There and then, their union felt as though it was ordained and blessed by God, but how long did that bliss last? Well, not for too long.

Years passed and the couple were blessed with a handsome son. Just when we all felt their union grew stronger as the years went by; sadly, the reverse was the case. From little arguments every now and then, to bigger and unresolvable quarrels.

It first started from mere shouts and snapping of fingers but later graduated to throwing slaps and punches. A once happy family now turned into a deadly war zone. One unfortunate thing about the situation was the fact that both couple were too hot headed for one another. None was humble for the other and also, none was willing to summit to being at fault whenever there was a fight.

You know what they say about "two wrongs never making a right"? Well, that was the case with Dominic and Lizzy. The abuse came from both sides and not from one party alone. Due to this, it was hard for the circumstance to be curtailed and controlled. The slaps and punches came from both sides and this usually left the couple with bruises and cuts on their bodies.

As time went by, Lizzy began to feel weak and unable to compete with her husband's strength due to her feminine nature. Due to this, Dominic always had upper hand and power in their fights. He would drag her hair and throw her on the sharp furniture edge whenever she tried fighting back. What initially seemed like a subtle abuse grew and developed into a serious domestic violence case in the union of these couple. I wonder why divorce wasn't an option of escape from the hell they now found themselves in; maybe they just didn't want the outside world to have a glimpse of their troubled marriage.

Little by little, Micheal 'their son' began to sense the negative and hostile atmosphere and energy that surrounded their household. As at the age of 7, he had already witnessed series of fights from his parent. Most times, the tender boy would come to the defence of his battered mum by holding her from behind; in the bid to shield her from the mighty punches of his dad but his innocent efforts were always in vain.

Most nights, the emotionally tortured boy would hide himself in his room with his hands forcefully pressed against his ears to prevent himself from hearing the shouts that came from the living room or his parent's room. It was such a nightmare for the little boy to grow up in such environment but sadly, there wasn't any way out.

As years passed, Derrick's mind began to get messed up due to the constant abuse that played out almost everyday in his presence. Gradually, the teenage boy began to feel that women were weak and ought to be manhandled as a way of propelling them to get things done. Another sad thing was that he felt violence was the perfect and only love language that women understood.

Now without any reasonable doubt, it's apparent that another beast was breeding to be unleashed into the outside world very soon. Too bad there was no one close enough to the troubled teenager to be able to correct the wrong mindset his abusive parents had successfully instilled in him. Too bad indeed!

Just as we felt the worst had happened, it's clear we weren't ready for what was ahead. One fateful day, something highly unfortunate happened while Lizzy and Dominic were in a severe fight. It happened that Dominic was trying to free himself from his wife's grip after she accused him of sleeping with a close friend of hers. That fight initially started like one of their numerous previous fights but no one had any clue that something drastic was about to happen.

"You are a big fool, I regret the day I married you. Today you must kill me or I kill you...big fool" Lizzy flared up as she held Dominic with all her strength. "Leave me alone you mad woman; C'mon leave me!" he struggled to free himself while throwing punches at his wife. As they kept dragging themselves up and down, Lizzy mistakenly pushed Dominic too hard that he forcefully fell on the glass centre table and the glass shattered on his body. Sadly, a large part of the glass wasn't completely shattered and that sharp edge pierced through his back and punctured his belly.
Immediately after the incident, Lizzy's eyes cleared but it was too late because Dominic was gasping for his last breath. Confused on what to do, the devastated lady picked race and ran out of the house; leaving her dead husband lying on the cold parlour floor.

As Lizzy nervously ran out of her matrimonial house in a bid to escape, a motorcycle on speed that wasn't alert collided with her and that was her instant end. Passer-bys gathered the scene and everyone began to shout on top of their voice for help. On seeing Lizzy lying helplessly on the ground, one could tell straight-up that she was dead on the spot but they still managed to rush her to the hospital.

There was double fire on the mountain but no one was aware yet. The neighbours ran inside the couple's house in hopes to alert Dominic that his wife had just been involved in an accident, that was when they saw the man lying in cold blood in the living room. It was at that moment that hell broke loose.

There was screaming from every angle and the more the neighbours screamed, the more others gathered the scene. The police were alerted and they came with an ambulance to carry Dominic's dead body to the mortuary.

A day that started off as a usual day for another quarrel episode, sadly turned out to be a day that Derrick lost both parents and automatically turned into an orphan. What a sad reality to digest indeed for the teenage boy who just got back from school that day.

Now, the most shocking thing that happened that day was after the sad news was broken to the 17 year old boy, he didn't shed a single tear. Mere looking at Derrick, you could tell that he had already been broken and rendered emotionless long before that day. It felt as though he had a substantial amount of shock absorber; hence the reason he was able to stomach his parents death without letting a single emotion show.

All through that day, Derrick was quiet and didn't say a word. Well wishers and neighbours broke down in tears as they saw the little boy sitting quietly without saying a single word. All they could do was imagine what was going through his head; if only they knew!

After that incident, Derrick was taken in by his grandmother from his mother's side. The burial arrangements were made promptly and the couple were buried alongside each other. The energy at their burial was off to the extent that the clouds were dark all through. Derrick was indoors all through the burial ceremony and didn't come out for once to pay any respect to his dead parents. It was such a sad day but the worst was yet to come because Dominic and Lizzy had succeeded in killing any chance at a normal and happy life for Derrick. Too bad!

Days tuned to weeks, weeks to months and months to years. Thankfully, Derrick did extremely well in his academics because he didn't have a social life at all. He graduated in flying colours, which landed him a well paying job at one of the best telecommunication companies in his city. Since his grand mum was aging gracefully, she began to bother him for a grand child.

Initially, Derrick felt he could dodge his grandmother's numerous questions but couldn't do so any longer as time went on and the persistence continued. In order to grant her wish, he finally settled down with a beautiful lady he had been seeing for sometime.

They didn't date for long before getting married. The naive beautiful lady felt as though she hit a jack pot by marrying Derrick because at that time, he had so many ladies that were crushing on him. The eligible bachelor was a spec and everyone wanted him to be theirs. If only they truly know who was behind those dry and faint smiles; if only they did!

Sadly, a lot of people skip the dating stage these days and just jump straight into marriage; which is why they are usually in for a great shocker as time goes by because a person's character can't be hidden forever. The dating stage would have been the best time to spot any red flags so as to know your final verdict. Too bad Derrick and his Beau 'Naya' skipped that stage. Few weeks after the newly weds got joined together, the dark hunted side of Derrick unknowingly surfaced.

One fateful evening, Naya stayed out late due to the workload she was tied down with at the office. As a good wife, she informed her husband via text about the development but didn't get any reply from him. She waived it off as though he wasn't with his phone and carried out with the work she had to attend to.

After about 7pm, Naya returned home but wasn't aware that Derrick had been waiting for her in the living room with the lights turned off. Immediately she entered inside the parlour and turned on the lights, she almost dropped dead when she saw her husband sitting just beside the door.

"Oh my! Baby you scared me" she innocently said but before she knew it, Derrick held her neck very tight till she almost chocked to death. "Don't ever stay out this late again" he coldly said and release his grip from her neck. Without uttering another word to his wife, he walked away.

Devastated and shocked to the brim, Naya sat on the cold floor, held her chest and nervously muttered; "What just happened?"

WHEN I DIE
Profess no love if you never loved me
Tell not the world how close we were if we weren't
Lie not to the world how caring you were if you weren't

Tell not of gleeful company while we were foes
Shed no tears on my funeral while my stayed was despised
Never wish "rest in peace" while glad your heart be of my demise.

Shoulder not my funeral ceremony while I benefited not a pin from thee
Decorate not my tomb when agony besieged my sojourn
Tell not of my biography when you are bereft of same.
Draw no sympathy while you never pitied
Tell not of my suffering when you could have eased it

Yes !
Tell them
Tell them
We were foes
Never liked
Never loved because of thy acrimony
Never crossed lane because of thy sentiment and rancour

Tell them
Tell them

C Moses
4th April, 2020