The excitement of having a family move into a new neighborhood can be compared to the joy of an only child seeing the mother pregnant or being told that he or she has a new sibling.
This happiness was the feeling I had when I came back from school two years ago to the news that we have a new neighbor. The next day after our new neighbors parked in, a man came to introduce himself as a retired military personnel and also the new neighbor. He informed everyone in the neighborhood that he just moved in with his wife, five biological children and three step children. Such a big family right? He came with a crate of soft drinks that was shared to every household living in the neighborhood.
Some days later, we noticed the new children as they went about their daily activities but something got our attention, those children do not greet. They don't greet both young and elderly people, they only stare at people and use pidgin slang to communicate among themselves. It's only their father that greet and communicate with the people around. Their main language of communication is pidgin and that is what everyone in the family use including their last child of about 2 years. This raised curiosity among the neighbors and every one wondered was they use the language even when they went to good private schools that uses good and correct English to teach. Then it was later realized that they were born and brought up in Lagos, Nigeria. A city that uses pidgin as the commonest language to communicate.
Few weeks later, at around mid night, a loud noise and uproar was heard in their house and the children were heard crying and pleading and this alerted the neighbors. The neighbors started calling each other to get weapons and come outside as they all assumed that the compound was attacked by thieves or arm robbers. Now guess what!! On getting close to the compound, it was discovered that the voices heard was that of the couple not robbers and they were having a heated argument. Disappointed and surprised at the same time, they were asked to come outside and tell everyone was they decided to disturb the peace of the neighborhood at such an ungodly hour. The husband alone came out with the report that the wife said she is not coming outside and everyone there should go back to their houses as she was making noise in her noise and didn't call for any interference. This statement got everyone angry but the husband pleaded that he will fix the issue and also apologize for the disturbance. He thanked everyone for coming out to intervene while complaining that the wife is fun of fighting him and making the house unbearable for him.
This couple's fight turned out to be a weekly activity as there is no week noise is not heard from them. Everyone in the neighborhood has gotten used to the noise and everyone goes about their activities and no brothered whenever they start fighting.
Our only fear and prayer is that their children do not take up such attitude to their marriage as family feud is enough to get children traumatized and other neighbors too who now have fears about marriage.
Our once peaceful neighborhood now have a weekly activity of couples fight which brings sadness and anger at the same time.
