From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo.
Anxiety, fear and disbelief have enveloped Awe community in Afijio Local Government Area of Oyo State, following the appearance of a ‘dead man’, Pa Akintola Akinyele, in the market to buy ingredients for his family members to be used for his burial.
Pa Akinyele, from Jagun Oke-Odofin compound, died over a month ago.
While the children and family members were preparing for the burial (he will be buried today), Pa Akinyele went to
Odo-Oba market, near Ogbomoso last week, bought yams, pepper, tomatoes, okro and other ingredients, paid a commercial driver and loaded them in a Pick-Up van.
The driver and the deceased then proceeded to Awe.
A kilometre to the town, he told the driver to stop because he forgot some essential items to buy in the Odo-Oba market and wanted to hurriedly buy them at a nearby market, about 400 metres from where the vehicle stopped.
After he had spent about 20 minutes, the driver was getting agitated and called him (Pa Akinyele gave him his GSM number before going to the nearby market).
The driver told him he needed to return to the motor park to get other customers for the day and Pa Akinyele was delaying him.
In a few minutes, the deceased emerged from the market, gave the driver his money and also gave him the address to his house.
He told the driver to go and drop the goods in his house, that he would get another vehicle to convey him home.
Before getting to the house, the driver missed his way twice and called Pa Akinyele who directed him immediately.
On getting to the house, he called Pa Akinyele to ask him who he would deliver the goods to but the line was already switched off.
The angry driver went to the house and asked for relatives of the deceased, shouting that they (the deceased and relatives) were wasting his time but since he had already been paid by Pa Akinyele, “please come and take the goods from my vehicle and let me get out of here”.
Initially, they didn’t understand what he was saying. Then, one of them summoned courage and asked him why he mentioned the name of the deceased and what he was doing in their compound with the goods.
When he told them his story, they were astonished.
Some started crying.
They all rushed to the nearly market to look for Pa Akinyele to no avail.
Their inability to see Pa Akinyele led to more confusion as some of them started running from the driver, thinking that he was from the land of the dead.
The driver eventually removed the goods from his vehicle and left.
The goods were still where he left them when family members contacted some spiritualists to come and pray on them.
As at the time of this report (Saturday), Pa Akinyele is being buried in his compound.
