The Stolen Bride
The people of the town of Ogunja are basking in the euphoria of the success of their local medical personnel the epidemic that gripped the town for weeks.
Ogunja Town
The town of Ogunja is an island situated among the waters away from the other towns and villages on land. To get to the town of Ogunja from the nearest settlement on land the people will travel by boat for 45 minutes because the town is situated in the midst of the sea.
Epidemic Source
The source of the epidemics that ravaged the town for weeks could not easily be traced by the doctors and as if the epidemic was being controlled by some demons, when it broke off in the town, the internet network connections to the town became bad. Prior to this time though the network had been having issues, fluctuating such that some works that used to be completed in minutes took hours and some even lasted weeks before it could be completed online.
This has been the trend in the island, with recurrent messages being sent to the network providers to rectify the anomaly and bring the internet services back on line in the town.
The engineers sent by the management of the network providers to look into the situation couldn’t do much before the epidemic broke out in the town and they had to flee the town for their lives when the news of the epidemic was broken out.
The Nature of The Epidemic
People of the town started showing symptoms of severe headache, with the sign of the head and neck becoming severely hot. After two days of this, the people will develop tooth-ache associated with fatigue and general body weakness. The inability of the medical personnel to arrest these within 72 hours lead to them seeing some of the affected patient dead, while some who did not die became paralyzed.
The medical personnel tried to make contact with their colleagues from other countries, but they could not reach them because of the telecommunication system that is down. They had to send some of them to the nearest medical research center to brief those people, but before those people sent would arrive, they need to do something about the epidemic.
Working Round The Clock
Pending the time that they would establish contacts with others from the other countries and or before their colleagues return from where they had been sent to they started working round the clock to nib the epidemic spread in the bud before it turns the town to a cemetery.
From the history given by a patient, it was discovered during medical review that a certain kind of food has just been imported into the island of Ogunja. It was after eating this food that people developed such symptoms. The person who gave the history could state that because the day that the symptoms began, he did not leave his house neither could he take anything apart from the food that day. That was why he could state that during the history being taken by the doctors.
When other patient who were yet alive were contacted and the history of their food was re-taken, they corroborated the fact that they had taken something like that but alongside taken something like that, they also took other things, that was why they could not categorically state that as did patient Emal.
After Statistical Findings
The statistical findings from the patients questioned showed that all of them took that particular food that day or a day before, while other foods taken by others were interwoven. From this The Ogunja medical team concluded that they need to contact the authority of Ogunja immediately, to tell them about their findings.
They sent message to the authority of the island of their findings and of the need to ban the food as well as send jingles out on radio and other social media that people who have such foods at home should hand the foods to the management of the island for destruction, because it is not good for their health.
The message got to the authorities of the island and they set the ball rolling by contacting the media outlets but since the network has been down and bad nothing much could be done by the media outlets as expected.
Island’s Authority Devise New Means
Due to this the leadership of the island had an ad-hoc meeting in which they resolved to employ another strategy to get the message across to the people of the town. The new strategy they plan to use is embarking on house to house campaigns to get the message across to the inhabitants of the island.
The job was handed over to the secretary for information of the island to work with the secretaries of health and foods in ensuring that the messages got to all and sundry within the island.
The secretary for health, the secretary of food and the secretary for information sent the message to their subjects on how to get the message across to the people of the island.
House to House
The house to house campaign with the use of megaphones, vehicles in which the combined workers from health, food and information were and trucks to destroy the foods when they are collected from the people started moving to the nooks and crannies of the island.
People of the island on hearing the information had no hesitation whatsoever in handing over those contraband foods to the group for destruction.
The style use was a huge success because the people complied with the authorities to bring an end to the epidemic.
Laboratory Workers on Their Feet
In the meanwhile, while those actions were on going the expert researchers in the island collect the samples of the food and took it to their laboratory for analysis. The researchers came up with the same report. They discovered that there was a virulent virus in the food substance that is specific for head and neck region of the body.
The type of drugs that could arrest the virus were being worked on in the laboratory by pharmacist and others but pending the time they will arrive at the definitive drugs for the treatment of the disease the patients are being treated with anti-viral drugs, with emphasis being placed on prevention which necessitated their going out to collect from the people the foods.
After series of tests and researches, they came up with a treatment for the disease.
Legal Action
The company which the food was being imported into the island of Ogunja was sued to court by the leadership of the island.
The company’s lawyers have appeared in court to defend their company. The case has however been postponed asking for both lawyers to bring more evidence to substantiate their claims.
Culture of Ogunja
The island of Ogunja has a culture that every four years the most beautiful lady would be contested for and married to the most handsome man in the town. The people had been thinking that that year’s contest would not be possible because of the epidemic that has gripped the town by her jugular for weeks.
The time when the guys in the town ought to start campaigning on what they will do for the bride has passed in fact due to the irregular nature of the network the people could not submit their online application and resume for the contest as they ought to do before the epidemic began.
All the handsome men who had interest in the competition had been thinking of a possibility change in the time-table till the following year for the election. Their campaigns ought to start a month ago at the designated market squares of the island.
Work of Electoral Body
Prior to this campaigns the selected people in charge of this election ought to have received their resume and application in which they would have verified the claims presented in their resume. They would have sent people out to go to courts and other bodies in charge of marriage within the island to ascertain that such people were never married before within or without the island. Their source of income will be looked at to know that it is real and not fake neither is the person jobless. It does not matter if the person is a low income earner all that matters which shall be verified is that does the guy has a job? Does he have a real source of income? A legal source of income? They will also check out his citizenship status, is the person a citizen of the island?
All these have not been verified because no submission has been made; the site is yet to be opened because of the network irregularities. Majority of the things done with the government of the island are done on line now because the world is now digitalized, this is the world of the internet and the town cannot allow herself to be left behind in the ongoing movement in the world.
Most beautiful Lady
Prior the election of the most handsome guy, the most beautiful lady would have been elected the previous year. This has been the system in operation in the island for long. The most beautiful lady has been elected and the people have known her.
Out of 20 maidens that registered for the most beautiful lady’s contest the chosen one was from the south of the island and her name is Iwalewa.
Iwalewa was 165 centimeters in height, simple and easy going. Her personality is of the introvert type. She is 32 years old. She has not contested for the most beautiful maiden in the island before because of her studies. She was of the type that values education and she has determined that she will finish her university degree before she will vie for the post. Iwalewa has kept herself well and has finished her degree. But hardly could anyone predict and predict well her age because of her comportment and how she has preserved herself.
It should be said here that university degree is not a criteria for pursuing this post in the island; in fact she was the only degree holder among all who vied for the post that year and for a very long time back that maidens have been vying for the position within the island.
When Iwalewa registered for the position, the people did not give her a chance of surviving neither making it through the screening stages for her age, but she proved all of them wrong as she was not only screened in for the competition she also won the competition.
When she signaled her interest in competing for the position, those who knew her and were close to her counsel her of the need to change her date of birth before submitting her credentials because no one of her age has vied for the position and won in the past. She was admonished to go to the law court and make the needful changes to her age before submission.
She gave this a serious thought, but after her thought she concluded that she will not change her date of birth for any reason, “if I will win, I will win and if I will not win I will not” she said to herself.
When those who have counseled her asked her if she has done the needful changes to her birth date, she replied them that she did nothing to it and had concluded in her heart that the competition to her is not a do or die competition, “let me give it a trial as sincerely as I can”, she replied them.
When her friends and the people who had counsel her to change her data heard this, they left her and wished her the best. However, some of those who wished her the best just wished her that from the lips because deep within them they thought she was a failure already.
Those people thought she was already a failure because all the previous most beautiful maiden in the island were under the age of 30 years before being chosen and now that she is above 30 years she was not given a chance. She thought about her certificates, how could she alter the date she finished her schools? If the electoral body went to those institutions won’t she be proved wrong? She left all like that hoping for the best.
Over hundred applications were received for the most beautiful maiden contest in the island of Ogunja.
She scaled through the screening stages and went ahead to win the competition against all odds.
Having completed the most beautiful maiden of the island the next one is the most handsome guy who shall be married to the most beautiful lady the following year.
The Amendment
The authorities of the island noticed that the online problem would continue for a while since most people are yet afraid of coming to the town because of the epidemic, they are not so sure of when the engineers will come around to rectify the problem to the internet. And since they do not want to miss the year without electing the most handsome guy to be married to the most beautiful maiden, they decided that they will use manual for the process of the screening and the election.
Information was sent out through the information secretary who sent people out on house to house basis to tell it to everyone within the town that those who are interested in the most handsome guy’s contest should start bringing their resume and application to the Youths department.
They were told that Youths department has been opened very close to the people, in each street and that they should start submitting their resume there. They were given 14 days to submit all their details, after the expiration of the 14th day no application will be received again.
Their application should include among others, the certificate of fitness from the hospital, considering the epidemic that has just visited the town.
Those who have been thinking the competition would not hold again had another thought and they started contacting those who have interest in the competition that the door has been opened.
The handsome guys on hearing this started submitting their applications within their streets. On the fourteenth day the window of submission got closed and the applications were submitted at the Youth department.
Screenings were conducted and those not fit were removed. Those whom they considered fit, special spies were sent into their homes and localities to make findings into all they said. This they did within three weeks. After which they invited about 30 people left and another sets of screenings were conducted for them.
Out of those 30 handsome guys only four scale through. The four handsome guys who scaled through are: Handy, Light, Dark and Stone.
The Next Process
When these people have scaled through they were given orientation about the program and what they shall do. They will be campaigning at the market squares in the north, south, east and west of the town. Their campaigning would come every weekend. They will start by campaigning in the morning for the first for four weeks and they will campaign in the evening the following month for four weeks also.
Their campaigns would be simultaneous, as one is campaigning in the north, the other would be in the south, west and east at the same time in the evening. This will also happen at the same time in the morning also the following week.
The campaigns were so slated so that when anyone misses the evening section, the person will strive not to miss the morning section the following month that the person will be coming to the locality.
Statistics
After the first phase of the campaigns the political statistics shows that Handy is having the upper hand. People admonish others to step up may be they can overtake Handy. But during the second phase of the campaign it was clear that the people have fallen in love with Handy and the gap keeps widening.
The campaigns have been completed now and the people are preparing for the election when tragedy struck.
The Role of Most Beautiful And Most Handsome Guy
The position of the most beautiful and the most handsome guy within the town of Ogunja is not for fun. The people elected to this position outside becoming husband and wife according to the culture of Ogunja, their duty is also to see to the welfare of the Youths within the island for four years. The Youths of the island will be bringing pressing issues to them which they will be solving and apart from this they shall also be standing for the Youths before the leaderships of the town of Ogunja.
The laws of the land have mandated them to be representing the leader of the town at all functions except rare ones that would need the presence of the leader of the island.
They are the voice of the voiceless because they are agile and the heads of the island think they will be able to be interacting with the people of the island.
Their tenure is a single one non-renewable, after the completion of their four years they will retire to their homes. They may likely be appointed for some positions in the future but it is not compulsory.
The Tragedy
It has become obvious from the nooks and crannies of the town that the people really wanted Handy to be married to Iwalewa, they are the ones the population wanted to be representing them before the leadership of the island.
When Stone one of the contestants saw this, he arranged with people to kidnap the maiden. It was three days away from the election, the atmosphere looked dull, the town looked dried, and the Sun was not showing its full strength this day.
The people were asking themselves what sign could this be? The star gazers were looking at the sky to know what this could mean, they could not arrive at logical answer for this, but it was certain that something is in the offing today the star gazers concluded at after their deliberations.
When the star gazers got home, they talked to those who were close to them to be-careful, they tell them not to stay out late that day.
Around 22:00 hours local time, the unknown people went into the house of Iwalewa and she was kidnapped. Before the authorities could be contacted, they had gotten into the ship and have fled. She was taken to another island very far and remote from Ogunja island.
The Search
The law enforcement agencies were sent out to look for the most beautiful maiden. Everywhere was combed by the law enforcement agencies but she could not be found. They contacted those in other islands but nothing.
The contestants for the election were disturbed. The election could not be held again at the stipulated date.
Increase Security
The legal team of Ogunja island met and resolved of the need to review the law of the land about the security attaché to the most beautiful maiden and the most handsome guy in the island. After arriving at the need for this, their propositions were passed to the leadership of the land of the need to review the security laws associated with anyone who wins the most beautiful maiden as well as the most handsome guy in the island.
The leadership met after receiving the proposition from the legal body of island and asked that the laws associated with the positions be reviewed up.
Those who handled the review of the law included there in that after the last stage of screening for those vying for the position of the most beautiful maiden and the most handsome guy of the land the security around them would be increased. And after the winner has emerged from both competitions, the security surrounding the winners should be doubled.
This amendment to the law was submitted to the leadership of the island who signed it into law immediately.
In meeting with the associated financial obligations, the leadership had to review up the fees required for each candidate to be paid while applying for the position in the island.
Ad-hoc Meeting
The leadership met after the incident and decided that the vacuum be filled else there would be gap between the people and the government.
The election for the most handsome guy was rescheduled to hold when it was exactly 12 months that they have been looking for Iwalewa. The conducted the election and Handy won the election hands down.
The maiden who took the second position was married to Handy and governance continued.
Iwalewa Married to Stone
After the election, Stone travelled out of the island to where Iwalewa was kept. Iwalewa has been anxious of who it was that asked her to be kidnapped all that she was being told by the people was that soon enough she will know the person.
When Stone appeared that was when she got to know that it was Stone who was behind the kidnapping.
After few days of resistance, she married Stone and they were living there. Stone did not return to the island again until his death.
25 years after their marriage, Stone and Iwalewa died under mysterious circumstances without children. They were buried at the island. None of them returned to the island again.
Comments