Vickie Remoe Institute of Digital Communications

Let My Gate Be Opened

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I got back from my Ghana-NY holiday on Sunday. It was a two hour flight from Accra and a 4hr journey from Lungi to my house in Murray Town. Luckily NPA was on when I got home so no generator wahala. I was really tired and hoped to sleep early but my angry belleh forced me to head to Paddy’s for the ever delicious grilled fish and fried rice. My DSTV subscription had expired the week that I went on holiday so I resorted to season 4 of Sex & the City.

I didn’t do much the next day but seems I brought the sun with me. My people had told me that it had rained continuously over the past three days. I left home zig zaggin my way up Banana Water’s Boyle Lane a.k.a UD- Undercarriage Destroyer which has killed two Mercedes Benz that Rest in Rust in my yard (one of which an innocent silver A class, my mom’s baby)

When I finally made me way up to Murray Town Rd, an unusually high number of people were still waiting for transport. Usually by 10 a.m most of mankind would have made their way to work. Passing the Congo Cross Branch of Commercial Bank I received a text message from MP Conteh; a famous pumui parliamentarian informing me that the police had set up check points at Congo Cross harassing drivers for licenses and seat belts. I quickly drove into the NP gas station and bought two gallons of fuel. WHY, would I be hiding? Well truth is I’ve driven maybe 2years now without a license. I’ve paid for it but needed to go back to get my picture taken which tay tiday any tem ah tink but kissy ah day vex…everyday ah say tomorra…en way police man dem kin stop me ask fo my license ah kin just day melt pan dem en dem kin make ah go….fo fine en sabi speak in fine oh…hmmm J

I put on my seatbelt and drove to town undisturbed. But by the tem ah reach by congo cross bridge ah bin want fo pull di seatbelt. Ah press the belt but din tin fashin…when u don’t use it, u clearly lose it. As I drove past Bus Halt, loads and loads of taxi and poda poda seekers waited under the sun while police officers deprived them of transport. Every taxi or poda poda that did not have a seat belt was stopped and fined 50,000 ($17). The thing is na di pipul dem noh moh bin day suffa because di whole tin no make no sense to me. Most taxis and poda podas had long since gotten rid of their seat belts, using them as a chain to tow their cars…clearly a better use then being restrained in your own car.

I made it to PaDemba Rd and parked on Liverpool St and MP Conteh and I went to lunch at Chill Grill for some very sweet goat pepper soup. When I finally finished my day’s errands in town I was getting into my car when a lady old enough to be my mother tapped on my window. She asked which way I was going and told me that she had walked all the way from kissy to pa demba road hoping that along the way she would be able to get a taxi. I told her I was going to Murray Town and although I hadn’t planned to take the route via Kingharman Road I would drop her off at Sanctuary Praise a.k.a Let My Gate Be Opened for their strategically timed monthly crusades held the first couple days of every month at the National stadium but now mostly held at the church. My manicurist Nancy also attends this church and I’ve spent the past two years teasing her that the church is choppin all their monthly salary nyafu nyafu. She has invited me to the church several times and each time I tell her that my gate need not be opened since I had completely removed it from its hinges and now I have an open space so that God’s blessings can flow freely without me having to consult the honorable pastor Ajasafe.

I asked the lady why she had not returned back home when half way she realized she couldn’t get a taxi. She told me that she was actually from BO and was briefly visiting Freetown but she had to make it to Let my Gate because she needed to purchase some holy olive oil to take back with her to BO. She asked me if I was Fullah and I Said no I’m krio and my mother is temne. A couple minutes later she asked if I was a lawyer and I said no. She said well then you have recently returned from being out. I told her that I’d been living in Sierra Leone for the past two years. She asked if I ever visited BO and I told her that I had several times. She asked for my business card so that she would call me and she gave me her number and pleaded with me to call her whenever I was in BO. As I got closer to the church she repeated her gratitude “aaye mi pikin u don try fo mi” “tenki oh tenki” “mi pekin, leh God Bless”. I let her know it was no trouble at all and a pleasure to bring her to church. As I dropped her off I wondered if she would give a testimony on what the Lord had done for her today….the miracle of a ride to church on a day when she had walked hours under the sun…Glory be to God

Let the Church Say Amen

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