The events from last week Saturday reminded me of why I want to get my own house.
“Ferix! Ferix!” The baritone voice of my annoying neighbour Okwudili boomed. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, yawned and got up from the bed grudgingly. Nene, my wife opened her eyes in time to silently urge me out quickly before the man’s incessant shout wakes our 3-month-old daughter.
When I got to the door, I angrily drank in Okwudili’s stout frame clad in loose camouflage shorts and white vest struggling to break free of his protruding stomach. “Ferix, I’ve been calling you since. Abeg come and move ya car, I want to drive out” he said without a single care in the world.
“But I asked you to park inside yesterday evening and you said there was no need because you were not going anywhere today” I responded, now obviously livid.
“So, somebody cannot change his mind again? Please come and remove ya car let me go out” he spat out then turned and walked away.
“You need to stop this nonsense o Okwudili… and by the way, my name is Felix, not Ferix” I called out after him. He marched on like I hadn’t even spoken.
I was angry. No, scratch that. I was infuriated.
If it wasn’t somebody waking us up at unexpected hours, it was another playing loud music and disturbing the baby, not to mention those who leave the pumping machine on till the water runs over and floods the entire outdoor space. Just last month, my car had borne the brunt of Okwudili’s fight with Baba Feyi. After so much begging, I let the huge dent they left on my car slide.
Now, I’m fed up. Nene is as well, and she didn’t mince words when she made it known.
“Felix, you and I need a quick solution to this issue. It’s either we use the money we’ve been accumulating in our savings plan to get an apartment with just two tenants or we start building on that our land around Amuwo Odofin. If you’re not tired of this madness, my dear I am” she said. My wife Nene doesn’t talk much, so this long sentence drove home her point.
My dream
I have always wanted something small and fancy – just appropriate for my small family. I had dreamed of a bungalow in a serene vicinity with 4 rooms and enough outdoor space to accommodate our love for fitness.
Our kids loved to play as well, a spacious compound would be just ideal for them. This dream has, however, remained a dream for too long.
It was time to put actions behind the dream. I had started a savings plan for this purpose five years ago and it has reached maturity.
I picked up the phone and called my architect friend Dipo. The plan for the bungalow must start coming alive now because, by the end of next year (all things being equal), we need to be in our own home. It may be more responsibility, but I think I’m done paying rent and housing inconveniences.
