My friend just called me by 2:30 pm, after church service and said in an I-DO-YOU-FAVOUR tone "Hello Ben, Biting and drinking is on o, iga abiakwa ( will you come)?" I would've love to go but I can't miss the one  which my father was according to him cold bloodedly charged a whole three thousands naira (#3,000/ 3k). The truth is that father doesn't drink much, nor eat much too and I love his brilliancy for remembering he has a son, Ben beh.

Precisely 3: 30am he came to my room. 

" We will be closing meeting today. Is you or ifuna......" 

"I will go with you" I cut him shot and jumped up to begin arrangements. I knew he wouldn't have asked me to come if he had pay #500, but #3,000 each in this excruciating period of time, meant come along with family and friends, and  I knew others may have bought into this idea.

As presumed, others came with either son or male friend, except one young man who sat next to me, none came with daughters, may be to avoid 'give me malt' and father's brilliancy won't tolerate that at all. Do you know what it mean to pay #3,000 just for that? Who can eat up to that amount? Such amount could buy you a plate of delicious pounded yam and ofe nsala ( a typical Igbo soup) at Ike orukwu's restaurant and as well buy a crate of bear.

We all ate the delicious pounded fufu with bitter leaf soup, anointed with meats and dry fish. The party began with a feel free to drink your bland.

"Let's DRINK ON, IT'S FREE" said the chairman. Dad was in his First bottle, I'm already summarizing the second bottle and the young man next to me was over fast, summarizing his sixth bottle as if we are in a hundred meters race. Father's looks at me was a typical " yes let see if he will take any home, selfish planners " and I knew chairman was playing when he opened the party with such a nice remark "DRINK ON, IT'S FREE". According to some they were like " let see if you can go back with remaining drinks to have our balance in your selfish pocket''

The young man looked at me already exhausted on the seventh bottle and said " Nna drink on, do you know we paid a whole #3,000 each for this? Let's calculate, i never get drunken" he brought out the empty bottles, six in number " let's assume the food is #1,000 plus this six bottles equal to #2,200. I must make sure I gain my #3,000 back" He said already drunk ' ka ma nga anwu anwu ka m furu efuru na china' (rather than dying, let me get lost in china) he Sang, and I remembered Flavors song Oringo. 

I disappointed father, I gave up on the fourth bottle. And the chairman smiled at how some are getting tired and stiffened his face when he realized that my young man had only one bottle left to complete his money and take extra allowances. 

"Eeeh let's not drink to stupor o, we are all responsible men o" And father smiled asking for three tied fufu which he tied in a nylon and ask me to keep aside before leaking the meat canonized soup. He is not losing much, may be a shortage of #300, and so were many others who found out planner's intentions in the first place.As I rose up to go, My young man was already asking the chairman which road leads to Eke Awgu, the very road he plied through while coming and father gave me the key. I could read his thoughts 'mek I respect my dignity and hand this key over to him and enter keke (tricycle)'

Still me Ben, on top Fathers Motorcycle... I mean jet with bag of rice and 16 inches standing fan tied together, running in a high spirit and high  speed either to overtake a good running spirit or to escape a horror chasing spirit.